Meet our Executive Team
The Valued President and Vice Presidents of Tempus Novo.
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Founder and CEO
Steve has worked in the criminal justice system since 1986. Starting at HMP Wormwood Scrubs he worked with some of the most notorious criminals in the UK. Since then, he has led on several offender rehabilitation initiatives in prisons across the North of England. He worked as Business Development Manager at HMP Leeds, and it was during this time he developed a successful model for rehabilitating ex-offenders based around sustainable employment.
Seeing the power of changing lives is what inspired Steve together with M.D and co-founder Val Wawrosz to set up TN.
As the CEO of Tempus Novo, Steve works on an array of day-to-day activities for the charity including managing the overarching strategy and vision of the charity, managing the funders and funds, leading on marketing, and overseeing stakeholder relationships.
Steve is recognised as an influential leader on prison reform and is a member of a select alliance working with the Centre for Social Justice think tank on future policy.
He sits as an executive in residence at Sheffield Hallam University and contributes as a member of the employer advisory board.
He is also a Leadership Fellow of St Georges House, Windsor Castle, where leaders from all sectors come together from across the globe to effect change for the better in society.
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Co-Founder & Managing Director
Val joined the prison service in 1988 and was posted to HMYOI Huntercombe where he worked for 2yrs before transferring to HMP Leeds in 1990.
He has a comprehensive understanding of offender management having overseen Offender Management teams in prisons, and currently sits on the MOJ Employment Advisory Board at HMP Hatfield.
Val is also recognised as an influential leader on prison reform and is a member of a select alliance working with the Centre for Social Justice think tank on future policy.
He sits as an executive in residence at Sheffield Hallam University and contributes as a member of the employer advisory board.
He is also a Leadership Fellow of St Georges House, Windsor Castle, where leaders from all sectors come together from across the globe to effect change for the better in society.
As Managing Director, Val oversees the charity's operations. A key element of which includes managing the relationships between the prisons, business partners and the employers.
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President
Jonathan Aitken is a well-known author, broadcaster, ex-Cabinet Minister, ex-MP and ex-prisoner. Through his writings, speeches and broadcasting he has been a leading voice for the cause of rehabilitating offenders.
His ground breaking report ‘Locked up Potential: A strategy for reforming prisons and rehabilitating prisoners’ was published to widespread acclaim by the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) in 2010. It has since had a major impact on government policy.
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Vice President
Dolly first met Val and Steve while working as a researcher at the Centre for Social Justice Think Tank in Westminster. Dolly is now completing her PhD on evidence-based policy at the University of Cambridge.
Dolly is also on the Board of the non-partisan political ideas festival, Big Tent Ideas Festival, and co-founded 50:50 Parliament’s #AskHerToStand campaign, which inspires, encourages and actively supports women from all parties to stand for Parliament. She is a strong advocate for Tempus Novo and focuses on engaging policymakers in their work.
Follow Dolly on Twitter @dollytheis
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Vice President
His Honour John Samuels QC has been the Chairman of the Criminal Justice Alliance since 2012. He was a Trustee of the Prisoners’ Education Trust for 13 years, its Chairman for 6, and is now its first President. He was previously a Circuit Judge (he sat in the Crown Court for a total of 27 years); and had been Chairman of the Criminal Committee of the Council of Circuit Judges, where he pioneered liaison between the Council, Ministers and their officials. A long-term proponent of judicial monitoring, he has written and lectured on the topic both in this jurisdiction and overseas for over 10 years. In January 2016 he was appointed by the Lord Chancellor and Lord Chief Justice to advise a current Working Group on problem-solving courts. He was a founder member of the National Sentencer Probation Forum until March 2012, when he also retired from the London Probation Forum, of which he had been a member for 10 years. He is a Trustee of the Howard League for Penal Reform.
He is the Board member for England & Wales of the International Association of Drug Treatment Courts; and is Vice President both of UNLOCK, the National Association of Reformed Offenders; and of the Association of Members of Independent Monitoring Boards. He is a Patron of Prisoners’ Advice Service. Between 2005 and September 2015 he was a judicial member of the Parole Board, and visited prisons up to 3 times per week in that capacity. In 2012 he was appointed a Visiting Professor at Nottingham Law School, focusing on sentencing and criminal justice issues. He remains actively involved in the educational agenda of Lincoln’s Inn, of which he has been a Bencher since 1990.
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Vice President
Sir James is already a great supporter of many good causes in Yorkshire and having attended an event at Eversheds where he met and heard from some of our graduates, he offered to help Tempus Novo.
He recently visited Armley jail where he was visibly moved by the conditions offenders live in. He is passionate about Yorkshire and wants to see those in need given a hand up, through programmes like TN.
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Vice President
Tony has been a valued and long-standing partner of Tempus Novo thanks to his former role as the CEO of former Clipper Logistics PLC. During his time with the business it grew from a relatively small private logistics business into a listed UK PLC. The continued success of the business raised its profile leading to its acquisition by GXO - a US based global logistics player in 2022. This incredible achievement is a testament to the strength of the Clipper senior team & their focus on retail supply chains. Tony is a gifted leader with an innate ability to drive growth and success.
Tony's appointment as our Vice President represents an incredible opportunity for Tempus Novo. His unrivalled experience in the logistics sector brings new perspectives and insights to our organisation, enabling us to strengthen our position as a leading force in offender rehabilitation and reintegration programs. His commitment to innovation and excellence aligns perfectly with our core values and mission.
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Executive Director
With a career history spanning over 30 years in HR, Richard is a commercial, pragmatic HR leader, having held a number of strategic Board roles in Manufacturing, Construction, Retail and, more recently, Logistics.
His strong international background has enabled him to work in a number of diverse cultures where he has influenced multinational integration of teams. Organisational development, learning and engagement are key features of his work which he sees as key to supporting the ongoing growth and development of Business, enabling talent development and succession.
A pro-active driver of cultural diversity, Richard has been influential in engaging ex-offenders back in to work. His visionary work in ensuring inclusivity in organisations, including creating the Fresh Start programme as Group HR Director for Clipper Logistics, which has won him national recognition with the In-house Recruiter of the Year Award (Finalist 2018).