Directors' resumes
Director General - Michael Forbes Smith
The Director General is the Chief Executive Officer of CIArb. He is responsible for creating and implementing the Board of Trustees' strategy to promote CIArb's vision across the globe. He is also responsible for the day-to-day management of the organisation. He reports directly to the Chairman of the Board of Management, of which he is himself an ex-officio member. Currently, he heads a team of twenty five people, including his four Directors, operating out of 12 Bloomsbury Square.
The current Director General of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, Michael Forbes Smith, was appointed in February 2006.
Commissioned into the Gordon Highlanders, a British army regiment, in 1971, he served in Northern Ireland, Singapore and Malaysia, before joining the British Diplomatic Service in 1978. His first Foreign Office posting was in Ethiopia as Head of Chancery of the British Embassy there.
From 1983-85 he became the first Political Adviser to the Governor of the Falkland Islands, immediately post-Conflict. He was then appointed a "Foreign Office Spokesman" in London, before moving to Zurich to run the British Government's trade promotion and inward investment team in Switzerland, also reporting on developments in the Swiss economy and financial sector to the Treasury and Bank of England. In 1994 he moved to the British Embassy in Bonn as Head of the British Government's public affairs team in Germany. He was then promoted to become Deputy High Commissioner in Pakistan from 1999 to 2002, a turbulent period culminating in the local aftermath of 9/11. Subsequently, he set up a new Embassy from scratch as Britain's first resident Ambassador to Tajikistan from 2002-2004.
Leaving the Diplomatic Service in 2004, he founded The Tempered And True Consultancy, offering training in diplomatic skills, leadership, decision-making and crisis management, and international business briefings, which he ran until his 2006 appointment as Director General. (see also Who's Who, A&C Black, under Smith, Michael Forbes).
Directors of The Executive
Director of Membership and Marketing - Nicki Alvey
With more than 25 years of marketing and communications experience, Ms Nicki Alvey JP joined CIArb in September 2008 as Director of Membership and Marketing.
Immediately before joining CIArb, Nicki was Interim Marketing Director (part-time) at the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy where she focused on member recruitment and retention strategies. During her time (May 2007-June 2008) at The Royal Institute of Public Health [now Royal Society for Public Health], she completed a Department of Health funded project to create a large network of training providers - attracting over 1,000 candidates to take the new qualification in 'health improvement' in the first year.
Nicki's extensive membership expertise was gained from working at the National Housing Federation for a number of years. Heading up their marketing and business development activities, Nicki led the development of key stakeholder relationships which provided substantial benefit to both the organisation and its membership. In 1997 she wrote and published a book Organising an Event - a practical guide for housing organisations.
Gaining insight into a variety of different sectors, Nicki has also worked for companies including: Brooke Bond Oxo, Capital Radio and Dunlop Slazenger International. Moving into the not-for-profit sector in the mid 90s, Nicki put her experience in marketing services, conference and exhibition organisation, sponsorship, advertising and sales promotion to good use - by generating income and improving the customer experience through enhanced/tailored member services.
Nicki's remit at CIArb includes raising the profile of the Institute in new sectors, promoting the benefits and services offered, and enhancing communications and support to users, members and branches across the UK and internationally.
Director of Education and Academic Affairs - Yvonne Hanly
Yvonne Hanly is CIArb's Director of Education and Academic Affairs, having joined the Executive in April 2011.
Prior to her role at CIArb, Yvonne was Director of Business Property at the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) with a varied remit including the direction and management of six Professional Groups tasked with the delivery of global professional standards in the fields of dispute resolution, commercial property, management consultancy, facilities management and arts and antiques.
In 2000 Yvonne was responsible for establishing the newly created RICS Dispute Resolution Faculty with overall responsibility for promoting dispute avoidance, management and resolution and the role of Chartered Surveyors in non-Court dispute resolution. Under her direction RICS was one of the first Professional Bodies to publish mandatory standards for surveyors practising as expert witnesses.
With over 22 years experience at RICS, a large and complex not-for-profit organisation, Yvonne has a wealth of experience of the issues and challenges faced by modern Professional Bodies. Her career to date has developed a knowledge and experience of disciplinary processes, public policy, education and training, CPD and lifelong learning, content generation and delivery for professional journals and newsletters as well as conference and seminar production.
Prior to RICS, Yvonne worked for three years as an Executive Officer in the then Department of Employment, leading a front line team in a Local Unemployment Benefit office.
Called to the Bar of England & Wales in 1984 by The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, Yvonne also holds Practising certificates in Neuro-Linguistic Programming, Timeline Therapy and Hypnotherapy.
Yvonne is responsible for all aspects of CIArb's education and training offering as well as the research and development function and furthering the Institute's Learned Society agenda.
Director of Legal Services - Tony Marks
Tony Marks, formerly a senior partner of the international law firm CMS Cameron McKenna's Commercial Litigation and Dispute Resolution Group, joined the CIArb, on a part-time basis, in the post of CIArb's Director of Legal Services.
At CMS, Tony's areas of practice covered a broad range of commercial litigation and arbitration including contractual disputes, professional negligence, commercial judicial review and public law. He has had significant exposure to dispute resolution in the energy and financial services industries.
From 2001-07, Tony was Chairman of the Litigation Committee of the City of London Law Society. He has acted for parties in arbitration proceedings administered by LCIA and the ICC as well as in ad-hoc domestic arbitrations, is an Accredited Mediator with ADR Group and has been appointed as a neutral a number of times.
Taking responsibility for the Institute's legal and regulatory affairs, Tony will liaise closely with the Charities Commission, Privy Council and with CIArb's Professional Conduct Committee to oversee the handling of any complaints made about members' professional activities.
Director of Administration and Finance - Clare Hughes
Clare Hughes was appointed Director of Administration and Finance on 1st February 2010 with responsibility for Administration, Finance, HR, IT and Venue Hire.
Clare joined the Institute in September 2003 and has built up a highly successful room hire business at Bloomsbury Square. She has also qualified as a CIArb Accredited Mediator in the Workplace.
Clare has a BSc degree from Bristol University and a Masters from the University of Wales and is shortly to complete an MBA at Henley Business School. After University, she entered banking on a graduate management programme and completed the Chartered Institute of Bankers qualification. From there, she moved to finance departments in the charitable and legal sectors and prior to joining CIArb, ran the London branch of Nottingham Law School.
Last Updated: 23 May 2011