Impress has confirmed that Caron Bradshaw OBE has taken over as chair of the organisation, replacing Richard Ayre who stepped down from the role in April.
Bradshaw joins with 15 years tenure as chief executive of the Charity Finance Group, and boasts a wide array of experience across charity, regulation, policy, member support, and professional ethics.
On her appointment to the role, Bradshaw said: “I am delighted to be joining Impress at a critical time, when mis- and disinformation is having such a huge impact on the fabric of democracy and society as a whole.
“Impress has such an important role to play on this and so many other related aspects. I’m excited to be joining a cracking team under the dynamic leadership of Lexie.”
Impress Chief Executive Lexie Kirkconnell-Kawana also expressed her excitement at the new appointment, sharing her eagerness to work with and learn from Bradshaw in the years ahead.
“We are absolutely thrilled to have Caron join the Impress team to lead the organisation through what is sure to be an exciting and changeable climate, and at a critical point in Impress’ development”, Kirkconnell-Kawana said.
“Caron brings exceptional experience and wealth of knowledge that I know will energise our board and our staff and help lead us towards our goals of creating an information ecosystem that works for everyone.
“I would also like to recognise the excellent work Richard Ayre undertook in his three years as Impress Chair. Richard became a truly invaluable member of the team whose guidance, humour and knowledge helped shape Impress, our culture and standing for the better.”
Bradshaw was appointed by Impress’s appointment panel, an independent group ensuring that new directors remain completely independent from the journalism industry and the political sphere.
She’s a qualified Barrister who studied law at the University of Westminster before becoming head of the charity and voluntary secretary at The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.
Bradshaw remains in her role as chief executive at the Charity Finance Group which she joined in 2010. In her time at the CFG, she also sat on the BBC Charity Appeals Advisory Committee, became a non-executive director at the Lending Standards Board as well as a member of the board of trustees of the Wollstonecraft Society, a charity that fights for equality, human rights and justice for young people. She also returned to the University of Westminster as an independent member of the court of governors in April 2025. Bradshaw was awarded an OBE for services to charity in the new years’ honours list 2021.
Keep up-to-date with publishing news: sign up here for InPubWeekly, our free weekly e-newsletter.
