The Trustees

Capital Cranfield chair the Trustee board and are a leading professional pension Trusteeship and governance firm. Capital Cranfield offer true independence with a pragmatic, individual approach to meeting client needs.

Jonathan represents Capital Cranfield as Chair of The Scottish Widows Master Trust. He started working with Capital Cranfield in 2013 having worked in Pensions and Investments for the previous 25 years.  

Jonathan started working as a Trustee in 1991. Since then, he has built up a broad range of experience working with defined benefit and defined contribution pension schemes, advising both trustees and corporates on pensions and investment matters.

He has been a professional Independent Trustee since 2014 and has worked on Master Trust boards since 2015.  He has always had a strong affinity with members and is a strong communicator. Jonathan's focus is on member outcomes and helping members achieve their retirement goals. He takes a keen interest in the investment strategy and how Master Trusts can provide a true to and through approach to retirement for all members. 

Before becoming a Professional Trustee, Jonathan was a Partner in a national accountancy firm, advising a portfolio of DB and DC clients. Prior to that he was a director and shareholder of a regional pensions and investment consultancy.  

Jonathan has a BSc in Sports Science from Loughborough University and remains an enthusiastic participant as both a coach and player in a variety of sporting endeavours.  

Jo is a Professional Trustee and Client Director of ZEDRA Governance Limited. She is a qualified actuary and brings 30 years of experience within the pensions industry, gained as adviser, in-house pension manager and Trustee.

She brings to the board significant experience of managing the governance and operations of large occupational pension schemes, having previously worked as the pension manager for both Tesco and Marks and Spencer. She also has direct experience of being a Master Trust client, from the point of provider selection and implementation, through to overseeing ‘business as usual’ services, and, most importantly, as a member.

She is a member of the DC Policy Committee of the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA), which aims to help shape future public policy decisions on DC-related matters.

Gerald is a highly experienced Professional Trustee with over four decades of experience in the financial sector and more than 20 years serving as a pension trustee. His expertise spans Master Trusts, defined contribution and defined benefit occupational schemes, as well as Independent Governance Committees.

During his career, Gerald held senior positions at BNY Mellon, a global leader in pension services, where he led the UK and European pensions industry team, supporting clients with both asset management and asset servicing solutions.

Gerald brings deep investment expertise and strategic insight to the trustee board. He is committed to strong governance and oversight, with a clear focus on helping members work toward positive retirement outcomes.

Cheryl Black is a communications and engagement specialist with more than 25 years’ experience in customer focused roles at Scottish Water, Orange and O2 and more than 10 years experience as a Pension Trustee. Cheryl was influential in achieving number one industry status for customer satisfaction during her time as Customer Service Director at Telefonica O2. She was previously a Vice President of the Institute of Customer Service and a Non-Executive Director at UNUM Limited, a leading insurer in the employee benefits sector.

Mike is a Client Director at Vidett, who are specialists in trusteeship and pension governance. His career spans Government, regulation and banking and he joined Vidett in April 2024 from The Pensions Regulator (TPR), where he served as Director of Supervision. In that role, Mike was responsible for TPR’s engagement with pension schemes and for shaping its supervisory approach and was also a member of TPR’s Regulatory Decisions Committee, contributing to the authorisation of Master Trusts. 

Mike serves as the trustee board’s lead on risk and regulatory engagement and he is committed to supporting good member outcomes through strong governance and effective risk management. 

Mike is an accredited professional trustee with the Association of Professional Pension Trustees (APPT) and a member of the APPT Legislation and Regulation Sub-Committee.