Staff and Trustees

    Name: HRH Princess Maria of Romania

    Title: Royal Patron

    Location: Bucharest, Romania

    Princess Maria of Romania, born in exile in Copenhagen, is the youngest of the princesses of Romania. She was baptised in the Orthodox faith with Her Majesty Margareta, her sister, as godmother. Princess Maria went on to live and study in Switzerland, then spent most of her life in the United States. There she pursued puericultural studies and worked extensively in the field of childcare. Her Royal Highness also worked in public relations for private companies in New York. Later, Princess Maria moved to and lived in the State of New Mexico where she was active in the field of private consulting. Between 1997 and 2014, the princess visited the country and Bucharest several times. Princess Maria's most important stay in the country was during Christmas in 1997, when the entire Royal Family came to Bucharest, for the first time together on Romanian soil. Her Royal Highness turned 50 on July 13, 2014. At that time, King Michael agreed that the celebration of Princess Maria's jubilee would take place in Bucharest, in advance, on the occasion of May 10. On that occasion, the Custodian of the Crown Margareta conferred, on behalf of King Michael I, the Order of the Roman Crown and the Grand Cross of Princess Maria. In the fall of 2014, Her Majesty Margareta asked her sister to move to Romania permanently. Princess Maria followed the path proposed by the Crown Custodian and, in January 2015, moved to Bucharest. Princess Maria is involved in various projects of a social, medical, educational and civic nature.

    Name: Simon Errington

    Title: CEO Children In Distress UK

    Department: Board of Trustees

    Location: North Yorkshire

    Simon Errington is Director, Gundog HR & Development whose primary aim is to solve the people challenges for small and medium sized businesses to allow the business owners to focus on the business activity they set out to deliver as entrepreneurs. Simon is co-Director of a Community Interest Company who supports those over 50 years old back into employment, training, or volunteering. As a Chartered member of the Institute of Personnel and Development Simon has held many HR and Training positions with the Fire & Rescue Service, the Science Museum Group and a University in York as well as delivering Apprenticeship programmes in Leadership & HR. In addition, Simon is a volunteer with the Scout Association where he is a trustee for a Scout Outdoor Activity Centre and a unit leader providing life and leadership skills to young people aged 14 to 18.

    Name: Anne-Marie Martin

    Title: Chair

    Department: Board of Trustees

    Location: London

    Anne-Marie Martin is currently Director Global Business Networks at British Chambers of Commerce, a prominent business representative organisation in the UK and globally and leads the international trade programme and global network development strategy of organisation.   An experienced senior businessperson, Anne-Marie has worked in industry and the business representative sector at executive level over many years. Most recent roles have included that of former CEO of the Council of British Chambers of Commerce in Europe and before that the founding CEO of the British Romanian Chamber of Commerce.    A Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute, Anne-Marie was awarded the King Mihai I of Romania Medal for Loyalty for services in promoting business, social and cultural relations between Britain and Romania. 

    Name: Ian Catley

    Title: Trustee

    Department: Board of Trustees

    Location: Newcastle Upon Tyne

    Ian Catley is Vendor Manager, European Patent Office. An engineer by profession, commuting to the Netherlands to work as an IT Service Management specialist at the European Patent Office. Ian has always had an interest in children's and youth work and, already as a teenager, was solely responsible for the organisation of the Saturday morning events programme of the Methodist Association of Youth Groups' annual London Weekend for over 12,000 young people. It was through that that he also met Rachel, whom he married in 1996. Both have established and run various youth groups and activities over the years, as well as holding other leadership roles in Christian communities in Munich, where they spent over 20 years, and back in the UK. Both he and Rachel enjoy travel and otherwise spend many an hour in their garden just outside Newcastle. They first visited CID in Romania on a mission trip in 2015 and have been actively supporting the charity ever since. They are both keen to encourage and empower a new generation of supporters of CID to help sustain its important work for many years to come.

    Name: Diana Comsa

    Title: Trustee

    Department: Board of Trustees

    Location: London

    Diana Comsa is Global Head of Customer Data at Condé Nast, a media organisation home to some of the world's most iconic brands, including Vogue, The New Yorker, GQ, Vanity Fair, Conde Nast Traveller and more. She is a product marketer turned customer journey and big data specialist who has worked with brands in over thirty countries on marketing strategy and campaign execution. Furthermore, Diana is the author of hardback travelogue "Secrets of Transylvania", which takes the reader on a journey through Transylvania’s landscape, crafts, and rural life, accompanied by beautiful photographs. The book has attracted rave reviews.
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