About us
Meet the Pennies team
We are run by a small but dedicated team of staff from a huge range of backgrounds and sectors who are helping make the Pennies movement a reality. Meet the members of the Pennies Team below and visit the Join us page for current vacancies:
Alison Hutchinson CBE
Chief Executive Officer
Alison has headed up Pennies since day one. Alison also holds Non-Executive Director positions at Yorkshire Building Society, Liverpool Victoria and DFS plc, and once held the Guinness World Record for the longest stretching of a Curly Wurly.
Paul Seaman
Business Development and Product Director
Paul oversees the Business Development, Implementation and Product team at Pennies, as well as looking after our existing, new and prospective partners across the retail hospitality, travel and leisure sectors. He has been involved with charities for almost 50 years having run his first fundraising event when he was 10!
Chris Hawkins
Technical Implementation Manager
Chris is in charge of implementing Pennies with new retailers, managing projects from first contact to taking the first donations, using his many years of experience in the card payment and industry. Chris likes to travel with his camera and he cycles about a lot – he hopes to combine the two activities when he can sort out a decent tripod.
Rozi Collier
Brand & Marketing Manager
Rozi has over 13 years experience in the charity and retail sectors, and is responsible for the direction and development of the Pennies brand, both online and off, leading on all things marketing and social impact reporting too. When not designing Pennies’ materials, Rozi can be found with her nose in a book or out in nature, walking, hiking and bird-watching (on the lookout for the ever-elusive smew).
Natalie Charlotte Smith
Digital Marketing Executive
Natalie is responsible for Pennies’ end-to-end social media and digital channel process including strategy and content creation. Prior to joining Pennies, Natalie worked as a marketing professional across several industry sectors from technology to childrenswear. She is currently learning Danish and working her way up to tongue-twisters such as “Rødgrød med fløde” which, once perfected, will mean she has officially mastered the language.
Peter Nugent
Finance Director
Peter is one of the original brains behind the Pennies movement, and heads up the Finance and Operations team. Peter has previously held senior roles at Puzzler Media Ltd, Esso Petroleum Ireland and Arthur Young Ireland (now Ernst & Young). Peter is the (self-confessed) number one consumer of the biscuits in the Pennies office.
Adam Reardon
Senior IT Analyst/Developer
Adam’s background is in software development and computer science. He is responsible for coding improvements to help monitor Pennies’ income streams, as well as the day-to-day processing of donations and adding automation to Pennies’ systems. His interests include all things tech, science and the much promised artificial intelligence revolution.
Jo Wadham
Legal Consultant
Jo trained as a lawyer in the mid 90s and worked in the corporate department at Linklaters in London and Paris and then in-house at BT plc. Jo then moved with her family to the UAE where she lived for eight years and worked as a freelance journalist. When not working at Pennies, Jo can be found deep in the shrubbery indulging her love of gardening.
Cormac McCarthy
Partnership Development Manager
(Bio coming soon)
Ann Tomsett
Commercial Director
Ann is a corporate lawyer and prior to joining Pennies, she was Group Legal Director of FTSE financial services company Kensington Group plc. Along with Peter Nugent and Alison Hutchinson, Ann was there for the genesis of the Pennies movement, back in 2008.
Dion Christiansen
Head of Business Development – Retail
Dion works with retailers keen to join the Pennies movement, and is responsible for managing new and existing partnerships of all sizes across the retail sector. Prior to Pennies Dion held senior roles at the Post Office and Barclays, and in his spare time is keen on keeping fit – except at the weekends when the gym is swapped for running around the garden with his young sons.
Rebekah Ryan
Business Development Executive and EA to the CEO
Rebekah supports the Business Development team with on-boarding new merchants and leading on Pennies event schedule. She also looks after our CEO for 2 days a week. When given the chance, Rebekah loves to travel and aims to visit at least three new cities a year.
Rob Dyson
Head of PR & Communications
Rob leads on PR & Communications at Pennies, responsible for the strategic direction and delivery of all communications, PR and media relations, whilst also leading on the Pennies events and awards strategy too. Rob is a co-founder and ex trustee of CharityComms. In his spare time, Rob co-hosts a ‘synthwave’ music radio show!
Caroline Osborne
Marketing Consultant
Caroline has a part time role at Pennies as our Marketing Consultant, offering strategic advice and operational support regarding brand, digital and communications. Caroline, a senior marketing professional, also spends a lot of time chasing after her wayward Golden Retriever.
Neil Ambrose
Systems Manager
Neil is responsible for designing, building and managing Pennies Back Office systems. Having worked previously at BBC Worldwide and UBS he has over twenty years’ experience in IT but still struggles to operate his mobile phone.
Jolanta Knysz
Management Accountant
Jolanta is responsible for managing the company’s accounts, including preparing, developing and analysing Pennies’ key financial information. Outside working hours, Jolanta is studying to become a professional accountant and also enjoys cross country cycling (but only when it’s not raining).
Gemma Whittle
Executive Assistant and Office Manager
Gemma is our Office Manager and assistant to Alison, CEO of Pennies – alongside Rebekah. She supports the day to day running of each department and also helps with the organisation of Pennies events. Gemma has recently joined her local WI and is now on a quest to make the perfect Victoria sponge.