Board of Directors
Mr Bill Webb (TC 1957) is a top international corporate executive and distinguished Trinity alumnus who has led operations in the Altria groups of companies including food giant Kraft, Millers Brewing, and Philip Morris. He is respected around the world for his wisdom and outstanding leadership capacity and now serves on many boards including Pernod Ricard, the International Tennis Hall of Fame, the Foreign Policy Association, and the American Australian Association. The College is delighted that Bill readily agreed to assist Trinity in this way.
Dr Bob Nicholls (TC 1957) a distinguished academic and researcher, ardently champions opportunities for young people. His own life was transformed when he won a scholarship to Trinity to study engineering and found College life expanded his horizons in every direction. This led to a distinguished career spanning more than thirty years at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the engineering of advanced electronics. Bob has long supported Trinity philanthropically. He currently serves as the Treasurer of the AFoT.
Mr Phillip Cohen (TC 1966) is a merchant banker and businessman who has lived in New York for over thirty years and has been hosting alumni receptions in his home for more than ten years. He is passionate about the College's capacity to ‘open up the world to young people’ and eager to redress the fact that the College is ‘hundreds of millions of dollars behind in its endowment’ compared with similar institutions in America. He believes ‘the quality of what is on offer in human terms at Trinity is second to none, but the physical plant is in serious need of upgrade’.
Bishop Andrew St John (TC 1968) hosted the inaugural Board meeting in his rectory home of the Church of the Transfiguration, more famously known as the ‘Little Church around the corner’. Bishop Andrew has been Assisting Bishop in New York for the past three years, as well as rector of two Manhattan parishes. Bishop Andrew has been a long-term supporter of the College, especially the Theological School, and offers himself as chaplain to the Trinity community in New York.
Dr Duncan Thomas (TC 1979) graduated as a veterinarian, going on to spend 6 years in Europe establishing a skiing business in Switzerland before going to Cornell for graduate school in the US after which he joined McKinsey & Company, followed by Bain & Company, EVP & COO for several public companies and is currently a Board member of 3 organizations, CEO & Founder of Newbridge College and an advisor to a private equity fund. An active businessman with 3 children he lives in Los Angeles. Duncan notes that ‘Trinity has been a major influence in my life and a remarkable and inspiring place that builds and shapes wonderful people, and we need to ensure the Trinity legacy endures and flourishes for others.’ Duncan is the immediate past Chair of the Board of the AFoT and was influential in helping the AFoT obtain its 501(c)3 accreditation.
Ms Pera Wells (JCH), as Secretary General of the World Federation of United Nations Associations, brings to the board a truly international perspective. Her skill in the building of international communities to support a mutual vision, her engagement with young people through projects such as model United Nations, and her extensive global connections with community and political leaders, bring invaluable perspectives to the College as it reaches out to its international community. Pera recently visited Trinity College and participate in their fireside chat program and is returning in October to work more closely with a number of Trinity students on the topic: How is the increasing focus on climate change giving rise to new concepts of global citizenship? Pera will be interviewing Trinity students as subjects for a paper, possibly for the Climate Change conference in Copenhagen in December 2009.
Mr Simon Bell (TC 1991) graduated with Engineering/Commerce and Science degrees from The University of Melbourne. He worked for several years in New York City as an Investment Banker with JPMorgan and then as a Venture Capitalist. During this time he completed his MBA at New York City's Ivy League-ranked Columbia Business School, following which he transitioned into the media industry, taking on business development roles with Viacom/MTV Networks and most recently Fox Interactive Media/MySpace Music in Los Angeles, where he now resides. Having lived in the US through several defining moments for not only the United States but the world, including financial booms and busts, violent conflicts and auspicious moments of regained hope, Simon felt that the US was very much a part of who he was. No longer wanting to be considered an "ex-pat" and he decided to become a dual US/Australian citizen. Simon is the current Chair of the Board for the AFoT. (not pictured)