Case Study: Trustees appointment | Wembley Stadium Foundation
The Wembley Stadium Foundation's purpose is to support community projects, particularly those that help young people through sport.
Peridot Partners was briefed to source Trustees for the Wembley Stadium Foundation. The Wembley Stadium Foundation is the independent, grant-giving charity connected to Wembley Stadium. Its purpose is to use income generated by events at the stadium to support community projects, particularly those that help young people through sport, movement and the performing arts. The Trustee recruitment represented a significant moment of change in the organisation’s journey, as they look toward delivering a change of scale and impact leading up to Euro 2028 and beyond.
Context.
WSF has the ambition to operate as a national grant giving charity, delivering impact beyond Brent; the aim is to become local, regional and national. Having a high-performing Board of Trustees from a range of sectors to act as sounding boards will help them to deliver on this mission.
Brief.
The organisation offered Peridot an open brief, enabling us to explore a genuinely broad leadership market. We were tasked with identifying senior and executive leaders whose backgrounds demonstrated depth across multiple organisational disciplines, including marketing, strategy, legal, HR, IT, finance and large‑scale change management. The Trust was clear that it needed individuals who had operated at a significant scale, ideally within complex, multi‑site or multi‑stakeholder environments and who could bring both strategic acuity and operational credibility. Our brief was to ensure that we surfaced leaders capable of contributing to a high-performing executive team: individuals who could bring sector‑relevant insight, cross‑functional expertise and the ability to translate organisational ambition into measurable impact. This required us to cast the net widely, engage across sectors and assess candidates not only for technical competence but for their ability to operate within a values‑driven, collaborative and ambitious culture.
Outcome.
Peridot sourced over 90 applications of high quality, from a range of sectors. The appointed individuals came from various backgrounds and the foundation was so pleased that they appointed more than their initial quota. The appointed candidates were:
- Chief HR Officer of a global law firm
- Managing Director of a PE backed, global sports enterprise
- The Former Director of the BBC
The client found Peridot to be efficient, understanding and fully committed to delivering forthem. Not simply leveraging the Wembley brand, but clearly articulating WSF’s differentiation to the stadium, as well as, importantly, their opportunity to grow and how becoming a Trustee could help them achieve their mission.
Category: Board Recruitment & Development
Consultant in charge
Dan Baxter
Principal Consultant | Further Education & Charities
Dan has always had a thirst for knowledge, a drive to learn more, and a desire to improve the spaces and communities around him. As the first in his family to have an A-Level, go to university and move out of their local town, Dan was fortunate to have gained so much from his education. But university quickly revealed that being the first to do something wasn't necessarily the easiest path. Dan discovered that his background suddenly had significant ramifications on his social, cultural and educational capital. This realisation and related experiences have been the driving force throughout their career.
Since completing a postgraduate degree in educational research almost 20 years ago, Dan has worked collaboratively across the FE sector for organisations that share his values: creating opportunity, championing those who need support and inspiring the next generation.
This passion led him to join Peridot, where he works with colleagues and clients who share the same ambition. Building relationships with people who care about the communities they serve; Dan meticulously searches to find exceptional leaders who will champion and inspire.
Outside of work, Dan is a northern-based school governor, a kid's football coach, a sports watcher, a book reader, a (very amateur) guitar player and a Pointless trophy winner. But most importantly, he is a husband and a dad to two amazing little people.
