William Shawcross, CVO, joined the Charity Commission as Chair on 1 October 2012.

William became a writer after leaving University College Oxford in 1968. He was in Czechoslovakia during the Soviet occupation: this inspired his first book, a biography of Alexander Dubcek, the Czechoslovak leader, which was published in 1970. Since then he has travelled widely. In 1995 he wrote the BBC Television series Monarchy. In 2002 his BBC Television series and book, Queen and Country celebrated the Queen’s Golden Jubilee and examined the changing face of Britain during her reign. His official biography of the Queen Mother was published to acclaim in 2009. In 2012 he published Justice and the Enemy and Counting One's Blessings: the selected letters of the Queen Mother. He has also written on the work of aid agencies and international organisations in his books The Quality of Mercy - Cambodia, genocide and Modern Conscience and Deliver Us From Evil - Warlords and Peacekeepers in a World of Endless Conflict.

William has broad charity sector experience, particularly in human rights and international aid. He was Chairman of Article 19 from 1986 to 1996; a Board member of the International Crisis Group from 1995 to 2005; and a member of the Council of the Disasters Emergency Committee from 1997 to 2002.

John Knight CBE is a high-profile policy analyst and campaigner, with over 20 years experience across the statutory and voluntary sectors. He was for over 16 years Director of Policy and Campaigns at Leonard Cheshire Disability. A founding member of the Voluntary Organisations Disability Group (VODG) and once a Trustee of the National Council of Voluntary Organisations (NCVO), he has also previously held Board level positions on national regulatory agencies - the Commission for Social Care Inspection and General Social Care Council. John brings a strong understanding of equality issues, regulation, campaigning and public service delivery. In 2012 John was elected as a Governor of University College London Hospitals Foundation Trust.

Sharmila Nebhrajani enjoys a varied career spanning media, technology and health. She spent 12 years at the BBC where she was most recently the Chief Operating Officer and Finance Director of BBC Future Media and Technology managing the business functions of bbc.co.uk including the launch of the iPlayer. For the last two years she has been Executive Director of Finance and Performance for NHS Sussex.

She started her career in management consulting after graduating in Physiological Sciences from Oxford University and worked on corporate finance and strategy projects for a range of private sector clients in media, telecoms and technology around the world.

She has held non-executive roles in the health and science sectors including Deputy Chair of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, the body that regulates all embryo research and licences assisted reproduction clinics in the UK, and Board Member of the Human Tissue Authority which regulates the storage and use of human tissue.

She is currently in her second term as Board Member of the Charity Commission. She has also recently been appointed to the General Council of the University of Sussex and the Audit Committee of the Institute for Cancer Research. In addition to her non-executive work she took a World Fellowship at Yale University in the US in 2007 where she lectured on both media policy and practical cases in medical ethics.

Sharmila joins the AMRC in November 2011 and she is based in Brighton.

Theo Sowa CBE joined as a Member of the Commission in July 2007.

Theo is an independent advisor working on a wide range of international issues with a focus on social development and children and youth issues.

Her work covers evaluation, facilitation, policy and organisational development with a range of international and intergovernmental organizations and grant making foundations, including UNICEF, Stephen Lewis Foundation, African Women's Development Fund, DFID, UNDP, amongst others.

Simon Wethered joined as a Member of the Commission in July 2007 and is one of the Commission's two legally-qualified Members. Simon is a legal consultant specialising in charities with Charles Russell LLP and was formerly a partner there. He has 37 years experience as a solicitor, nine specialising in charity work. He is a member of the Charity Law Association, associate member of the Charity Finance Directors' Group and co–editor of Butterworth's Charity Law handbook.

John Wood joined the Commission on 1 February 2008. He is one of the two legally-qualified Members of the Commission. John was a partner of Herbert Smith LLP for 25 years and headed up its Trust and Charities practice. He is a member of the Charity Law Association and the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP). He is a founder and committee member of the Association of Contentious Trust and Probate Specialists (ACTAPS). John is Honorary Secretary of the Trust Law Committee and a CEDR qualified mediator.

Christopher Daws has been the independent member of the audit committee since August 2009.

Until 2007, Christopher was the financial and deputy secretary of the Church Commissioners for England. He has been treasurer of a major parish church. He is a trustee of Action for Children and chairman of the Action for Children Pension Fund. He is on the management committee of the Charity Investors' Group. He is also a member of the Board for Actuarial Standards, an operating body of the Financial Reporting Council.

Christopher is a chartered accountant and a member of the Chartered Institute of Taxation and the Association of Corporate Treasurers.

Sam Younger joined the Charity Commission as chief executive in September 2010. Sam has extensive experience of leadership in regulation, in public policy and in charity. His previous roles include founding Chair of the Electoral Commission, Director General of the British Red Cross, and Managing Director of the BBC World Service. After leaving the Electoral Commission he was interim Chief Executive of the housing charity, Shelter, and also held interim roles with the educational charity Bell Educational Trust and with the Electoral Reform Society.

Sam is an independent member of the Greater London Authority Standards Committee. His previous non-executive roles include Chair of the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education and Chair of Council at the University of Sussex.

Sam was appointed Commander of the British Empire in 2009. He is a Companion of the Chartered Management Institute and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, and holds a number of honorary and advisory roles in academia.

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