Management team

Peter Wanless - Chief Executive

Linda Quinn - Director of Communications and Marketing

Gerald Oppenheim - Director of Performance and Planning

Mark Cooke - Director, Finance and Corporate Services

Adrienne Kelbie - Director of Operations

Walter Rader - Director, Northern Ireland

Dharmendra Kanani - Director, Scotland

Ceri Doyle - Director, Wales

Peter Wanless - Chief Executive

Peter Wanless joined the Big Lottery Fund as chief executive in January 2008 from the Department for Children, Schools and Families, where he was Director of the Families Group. Before that he was Director of School Performance and Reform.

Born in 1964, Peter was educated at Sheldon School in Chippenham, where his father taught music.

From 1983 to 1986 Peter read International History and Politics at Leeds University before joining the Civil Service.  For ten years, he worked in various Treasury roles, including head of Private Finance Policy, and was a private secretary to three cabinet ministers.  Peter moved across to the Department for Education and Employment in 1998 as the department’s Director for Strategy and Communications.

He is married with one son. He is a Somerset County Cricket Club supporter and a fan of some dodgy American TV shows.

Linda Quinn - Director of Communications and Marketing

Linda is responsible for corporate communications, including press, public affairs, publications and new media, marketing and information and enquiries. She was previously Deputy Director of External Relations and Head of Communications for the New Opportunities Fund.

Before joining the Fund, Linda was Head of Communications at the Communications Workers Union, where she helped oversee a merger between the unions representing Post Office employees and telecommunications employees.

Linda’s long career as a journalist involved senior positions on a range of titles, including national newspapers and magazines.

Gerald Oppenheim - Director of Policy and Partnership

Gerald is responsible for strategic and corporate planning, customer care, legal affairs, equalities, support to the Board and the integration of the Community Fund and New Opportunities Fund to create the new organisation.

From February 2002 he was Director of Policy and Communications at the Community Fund, responsible for policy development, public affairs, press and media. He was Director of the London Borough Grants Unit from 1985-1995. Before that he worked for the Greater London Council for 12 years in a variety of posts, mostly in the Housing Department.

Mark Cooke - Director, Finance and Corporate Services

A chartered accountant, Mark was previously Finance and Commercial Director at the British Printing Industries Federation (BPIF), CBI Trade Association of the Year for 2003.

Mark has a wide range of experience across the commercial and not-for-profit sectors. Before BPIF he was Deputy Finance Director of Consumers' Association and its publishing company Which? Ltd. Earlier in his career he was Finance Director of New Islington and Hackney Housing Association and Financial Controller of a large public sector consultancy firm. Mark has also held office as a London borough councillor.

Adrienne Kelbie - Director of Operations

Adrienne took up this post in May 2004, having been Deputy Chief Executive (Operations) and Director for Scotland with the Community Fund for three years

Before this, she was Operations and Grants Manager for the National Lottery Charities Board for three years. Before grant-making, she worked in the voluntary sector as a trainer, co-ordinator and director of projects focusing on economic development in many of Glasgow's most deprived communities.

Walter Rader - Director, Northern Ireland

Walter has 34 years' experience working with local communities across Northern Ireland. He has worked in both the statutory and voluntary sectors as well as for UK wide organisations.

He has experience of administering European funding streams and was responsible for setting up one of the intermediary funding bodies for the European Peace I programme. He was Honorary Secretary for the Prince's Trust Northern Ireland for over 13 years and is associated with the Duke of Edinburgh Awards. He is a member of the Institute of Directors and the Chief Executives Forum NI. In the 1980s Walter had a close association with BBC Youth Programmes Unit, Belfast as one of the Community Service volunteer trainers of youth correspondents.

Dharmendra Kanani - Director, Scotland

Before joining BIG Dharmendra was head of the Commission for Racial Equality Scotland and later the director of Countries, Regions and Communities GB-wide restructuring its regional structure; introduced Country Committees; developed the Commission's approach and policy to faith; youth, gypsy travelller, asylum and immigration issues; concieved and delivered Getting Results - outcome funding for racial equality bodies and established the Safe Communnities initiative. Until 1999 he was a director of racial equality bodies in Scotland and London.

He has chaired a number of voluntary community organisations in Scotland and London, and set up various community organisations dealing with employment training, youth mentoring, community advocacy and social housing.

Dharmendra has been an adviser to several statutory and voluntary organisations, the Scottish Executive and Whitehall ministerial groups. He is the Chair of the Scotland Funders’ Forum, and a board member of several arts bodies in Scotland.

Ceri Doyle - Director, Wales

Ceri began her career as a management trainee with British Coal Opencast. She moved to the planning department of Glasgow City Council and set up their first European Unit. Headhunted to South Lanarkshire County Council as Head of International Affairs, she later established the Council's External Resources Unit, a best practice model now replicated by local authorities across the country. As Head of External Resources, Ceri established a number of not for profit companies representing public, private and voluntary sector interests in tackling unemployment and community regeneration. She was a Board member of South Lanarkshire College, and is currently a non-executive director with Bro Morgannwg NHS Trust.