The Trustees
Emma Shuckburgh
Director for Wales
Emma Shuckburgh (nee Ashley) is Laura and Bernard’s daughter. Born in Wales, Emma contributed as a teenager to her mother’s company, designing a special collection of clothes for teenage girls. She has a BA in Graphic Design from Camberwell School of Art. After a career as a freelance illustrator and textile designer, she became a director of textile printing and fabric manufacturer Elanbach. In 2010 she founded the antique business Rosebud and Violet. She is married to Ben and they have two children, Sam and Rose. Emma has been a trustee since 1999.
Andrew Wimble
Chair of Finance Committee
Andrew is a Chartered Fellow of the Securities Institute and Chartered Wealth Manager, working for over 30 years as a stockbroker, fund manager and private banker. He has previously worked for JM Finn & Co, Barclays Wealth, Kleinwort Benson and ANZ Grindlays Bank. He has managed portfolios for private clients, foundations and charities. Andrew has extensive experience of charity investment management and previously has been a governor of a school. He is a committee member of the Charity Investors Group. Andrew is a keen aviator and Honorary Secretary of the Royal Air Squadron. He enjoys tennis, skiing and tending to his flock of Black Welsh Mountain sheep. Andrew was appointed a Trustee in 2024.
Anita George
Chair of Trustees
Anita is a lawyer who has worked within international business environments in London and Hong Kong across several sectors, most recently in private equity and financial services. She is a former director of the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama and a former trustee of Westside School and The Photographer’s Gallery in London. Anita is a native Welsh speaker and is delighted that The Ashley Family Foundation continues the family’s close links with Wales. In addition to her support of The Ashley Family Foundation, Anita is also a director of the Welsh television channel S4C and a member of its Audit and Risk Committee.
Alexis Ashley Korner
Chair of Cefndryd Committee
Following graduation from the University of Sussex, where he completed an undergraduate degree in English and Film, Alexis undertook apprenticeships at Human Rights Watch and the Rock and Roll Public Library. Travelling extensively afterwards, he has worked at an inner-city school and collaborated with affiliate organisations to support local refugee communities. He counts music and sport among other interests.
As a second generation trustee, Alexis wants to support and promote shared community values as well as arts and educational projects.
Julian Ashley
Director for England
After graduating from Bristol University, Julian has spent his career in the advertising industry working for a number of international agency networks and creating campaigns for clients such as Procter and Gamble, Kellogg’s, Unilever and the British government. He lives with his wife Kate and their two children in East Sussex and joined the Foundation as a trustee in 2020.
Mandy Williams-Davies
Trustee
Mandy has a strong background in design and community regeneration. She has taught textiles and fashion in a range of colleges, and worked as a self-employed fashion designer. For a number of years Mandy was a member of Gwynedd County Council and its Cabinet for Economy, Communities (including arts and tourism) and Procurement. She is also an experienced Trustee and previous Chair of the ‘Storiel’ Art Gallery and Museum in Bangor, Gwynedd. Mandy is a fluent Welsh speaker and lives in Blaenau Ffestiniog, North Wales, where she has played an integral part in the local community’s post-industrial regeneration.
Meirion Rees
Trustee
Meirion is a chartered accountant who has worked in finance director roles since 2015 and is currently Chief Financial Officer of Phastar, a London-based data business which has won the Queen’s Award for Enterprise. His experience of the charity sector covers fundraising for various causes, being the founding treasurer for Now-U (an app that links individuals with causes they care about) and treasurer for his local branch of RNLI. He is a native Welsh speaker, and having grown up in a rural part of North Wales he has seen first-hand the impact that financial support can make in growing and developing arts and community involvement.