Executive Team

The National Trust's Executive Team

Meet the current members of the National Trust's Executive Team and find out what they do.

Hilary McGrady, Director-General

Hilary became Director-General of the National Trust in 2018. Hilary has worked for the Trust since 2006, when she joined as Regional Director for Northern Ireland. She later became Regional Director for Wales and the London and the South East region and in 2014 was appointed Chief Operating Officer, leading the Operations and Consultancy teams.

Originally trained in graphic design, Hilary's career path started in the drinks industry in brand and marketing. In 1998 she moved to Director of a national arts charity and was seconded in 2002 to the role of CEO for Belfast's bid to become European Capital of Culture.

Find out more about Hilary McGrady, Director-General

Andy Beer, Director of Operations and Consultancy

Andy leads the senior Operations team, the Consultancy and the Central Operations team to ensure collaboration and joined-up working, both centrally and regionally, across operations and consultancy.

Andy has worked for the Trust for many years - most recently as Regional Director for the Midlands - and took up his current role at the beginning of January 2021.​

Harry Bowell, Director of Land and Nature

Harry has worked in a range of leadership roles for the National Trust: as Assistant Director of Operations, as Regional Director for the Midlands and then for the North, and as first interim Chief Operating Officer and then Director of Operations and Consultancy.

Harry moved to his current role in January 2021 and has found the combination of looking after nature, culture and history, all in service of the nation, to be a deep privilege.​

From 2000 to 2009 Harry was Regional Reserves Manager for RSPB, with responsibility for the nature reserve operation which spans from the Peak District to Scotland. Before that, Harry led Norfolk Wildlife Trust's nature reserve team for 13 years. Harry studied Environmental Science at UEA.

James Bennett, Interim Director of Finance

James is a Chartered Accountant who started his career in audit, financial reporting and corporate tax, joining the Trust in 2005 as its technical lead on charity accounting and reporting​.

Since 2017, James has been the Trust’s Group Financial Controller and as interim Director of Finance until February 2025, James will be responsible for overall leadership of the Trust’s finance teams, procurement and risk. James is committed to the role that finance can play in the charity sector, adding strategic value to charitable cause and enhancing public benefit.

Jan Lasik, General Counsel and Secretary

Jan heads up the Trust’s Legal and Governance directorate. He is responsible for all legal advice and legal risk management across the organisation, as well as co-ordinating and supporting the work of the Council, Board of Trustees and executive team​. He provides support and advice to the executive team and the Board of Trustees on legal issues, as well as being a member of the Trust’s Property Investment Board.

Jan joined the Trust as The Solicitor in November 2018 from the Bank of England, where he was a deputy head of Legal. Before that he worked in private practice for two international law firms, in London and Moscow.

Tina Lewis, Director of People

Tina has worked for the Trust for over 13 years and became a member of the executive team in 2010. Tina is responsible for the Trust’s central Business Services team, as well as the People and Volunteering teams across the Trust. Tina is an experienced HR Director, but has also spent a large part of her career in senior commercial and operational roles.

Before joining the National Trust, she worked in both the private sector and public sector, holding both executive and non-executive director roles. Tina is based at the Trust's central office in Swindon and works part-time for the Trust.

John Orna-Ornstein, Director of Culture and Engagement

John Orna-Ornstein is the Director of Culture and Engagement and is responsible for leading the National Trust’s visitor experience and care for its historic places.

John was formerly Director of Museums for Arts Council England and Head of London and National Programmes for the British Museum, where he started his career as curator of Roman coins.

Sharon Pickford, Director of Support and Revenue

Sharon joined the Trust in 2015 as Membership Director and quickly set out a bold ambition for growth leading to record membership numbers, retention levels and funds for conservation. She joined the executive team in October 2018 and now leads on all supporter-facing income streams and development.

Prior to joining the Trust, Sharon held a variety of senior roles across a wide range of industries, from telecommunications and utilities through to being COO in a corporate accelerator for digital start-up businesses.

Sharon has led large commercial teams and held accountability for significant business P&Ls. She has built her career on focusing on delivering great customer experiences, developing new business models and helping teams perform at their very best.

Celia Richardson, Director of Communications and Marketing

Celia joined the Trust in 2018. She is responsible for communications and external affairs including media relations, marketing, public policy and parliamentary affairs. She’s also responsible for the Trust’s web and digital services and publishing, including books and our magazine.

Celia has spent most of her career in not-for-profit organisations, either running campaigns for UK charities or managing communications for public service organisations.

Having spent eight years working with the leading mental health charities Celia  has also worked in the fields of social enterprise and social investment, urban planning and cultural heritage. Before joining the Trust she worked for Historic England.