One of the longest serving independent charitable trusts in the Midlands, which is this year marking its 125th year, has recruited four new Board members.

Bournville Village Trust (BVT), which was founded by George Cadbury in 1900, has welcomed Adem Mahmoud, Kate Foley, Mark Cadbury and George Woods.

The charitable trust provides a range of services from estate management and commercial premises to affordable housing and community support services that help people thrive.

It works within more than a dozen diverse communities in south and central Birmingham and Telford and provides services to 8,000 homes and 25,000 people.

And as a not-for-profit, all its surplus – which was £3.8 million for the last full financial year – is ploughed back into the homes, facilities and the neighbourhoods it manages.

All the new Board members will play an integral role in making sure Bournville Village Trust continues its mission of creating and sustaining communities where people can thrive.

They will monitor Bournville Village Trust’s strategic direction, its performance and the organisation’s financial viability.

Hannah Pryce, Head of Governance at Bournville Village Trust, said: “It’s fantastic to welcome four new Board members to the organisation.

“Adem, Kate, Mark and George each bring a wide selection of different skills and experiences to the role but most importantly, they also all believe in our values of integrity, fairness, quality, partnership and innovation.

“We look forward to working with them to make sure Bournville Village Trust remains a resilient and financially strong organisation that continues to create and sustain communities where people can thrive.”

Adem Mahmoud is Head of Communities (central region) at Places for People and has nearly 15 years of housing sector experience whilst Kate Foley has a wide-ranging professional background and recently retired as Housing and Customer Services Director at the Pioneer Group.

Mark Cadbury runs his own marketing consultancy and is the acting Chief Marketing Officer for a charity in Bath. Mark has been in the communications and marketing sector for over 30 years. George Woods is a barrister who practices in commercial, construction and insurance law and has worked at South-West London Law Centres for over 15 years.

Both Mark Cadbury and George Woods are Cadbury-family Trustees. Bournville Village Trust’s deed of foundation requires that it must have a number of family members on its Board at any one time.

Its current Chair of Trustees is Caroline Cadbury, who is the great granddaughter of George Cadbury.