Francesca has enjoyed a varied career spanning IT & Telecoms and for the last 15 years Financial Services where she held senior positions in Risk, Governance and Compliance. Having supported the successful sale of her last firm to a NASDAQ listed organisation, Francesca stepped back into professional services providing advice to small to medium sized financial services firms as well as chairing the industry association. Since retiring from paid employment in 2019 she has been active in the voluntary sector in Basingstoke and has worked with Guide Dogs UK as a guide dog boarder. Francesca feels it a privilege to support the fantastic team at BVA which does such incredible work across Basingstoke and Deane.

Beth is a highly experienced Education and Project Management professional with a variety of management, teaching, research, administration and leadership roles for 32 years in both academia and the wider educational sector. She is also a fluent German speaker.

Beth currently holds the position of Personal Tutor at The 6th Form College Farnborough, where she advises students on careers and wellbeing, and teaches.

Having lived in Basingstoke for 20 years and been a school governor and Vice Chair at The Costello Academy, Beth wishes to continue to contribute to the town and give back to the community. She very much enjoys volunteering and learning a wide range of new skills!

Neil has spent 30 years in Financial Services, gaining a broad range of experience from working within large corporations and many small startups. This led him to join BVA in early 2020 following the sale of his own IFA firm. Having been part of the team that sourced food, support and many volunteers during the pandemic, he was asked to become a Trustee in 2021 as his career took him elsewhere.

Sue joined HMRC straight from school and Tax has been her profession ever since. Sue is currently Head of Tax Operations at RSM UK.

Sue has lived in the town for over 35 years during which time she was President of the Women in Business Group for several years. Having been approached to become a Trustee in 2023 Sue was keen to accept, give something back to the town, learn about the voluntary sector and the excellent work BVA delivers to the residents of Basingstoke and Deane.

Jonathan has enjoyed an extremely varied professional career having served in management roles in healthcare, retail, service, IT and the energy sector during the past 40 years. He returned to the UK in 2021 having lived in Bermuda for nearly 30 years and feels privileged to now be based in Hampshire.

His voluntary experience in Bermuda included support for Age Concern as Deputy Chair, and Chairman of the Bermuda Hospitals Board. Since his return to the UK Jonathan has endeavoured to support the charitable sector in the local community through his role as trustee of the BVA, Chair of the Odiham and Old Basing Health Centre Patient Participation Group and as a crew member at the Accessible Boating Association. He is excited about working alongside the tremendous team at the BVA as they support the residents of Basingstoke and the surrounding areas.

Gauri Narang is the CEO of SARR Hotels Limited, which owns and operates two full-service hotels: Crowne Plaza Basingstoke and Mercure Noke St Albans. She has been managing investments on behalf of stakeholders and hotel investors since 2017.

A Fellow Certified Management Accountant with an MBA from the University of East London, Gauri has a proven track record of delivering business growth across management.

She is passionate about leadership, innovation, and progression, actively participating in team leadership and management programmes. Building Empowered Teams is central to her leadership approach, focusing on mentoring and continuous training to create practical growth pathways at all levels.

Gauri also serves as a Working Committee Member of the IHG Owners Association, representing 350 hotels across the UK – a role she undertakes on a voluntary basis.