Our mission
We are a diverse network of no nonsense, curious, tenacious, generous and abundant collaborators. We bring technical and practical experience to work together in solidarity with those seeking to build an alternative future.
How we work
PG Collective was founded in 2016 under the name Practical Governance, not by governance specialists, but by people with a wide range of experience across multiple sectors, geographies and types of organisations. We are a small consultancy with three partners and one employee and with an extensive network of diverse, experienced consultants that share a collective passion for helping bring about a more equitable and sustainable society. None of our partners are full time with PG Collective, we are also practitioners working in many different ways towards the same goals ourselves.
Our project teams extend beyond our partners; we work collaboratively in everything that we do, drawing in expertise from our broad network wherever it is needed. Our growing network of regular associates, friends and collaborators are central to the future of our business.
We are strongly guided by our mission and values in the way we work, deliver services and organise ourselves. We draw on the Sociocratic principles when making decisions and developing our services and the Co-operative principles to structure and develop the business. PG Collective is co-owned by the partners who equally share all control and decision making. We all work remotely, flexibly and part time in workstyles that fit around our roles outside of PG Collective and our family lives.
Our values
No nonsense
We are professional, straightforward, honest and clear. We’ll tell you what we actually think. We’re more interested in keeping things simple rather than writing a glossy report. We don’t do hidden charges or unexpected invoices
Curious
We really want to understand a problem before we tackle it. As active listeners we will take the time to get to know you. We’ll help you analyse and seek out evidence. We’ll bring in other people to get alternative points of view as and when is necessary
Tenacious
We focus on working in the best interest of your mission and will work hard to ensure you see the value from start to finish. We help you get going. We help identify the next steps. We support you to test and refine what you do until it works, and we don’t hesitate to roll up our sleeves and get involved
Generous
We believe in the power of community and open collaboration; building strong relationships is critical to what we do. We look at processes only after looking at people. We’re kind, fair and always ready to talk. We treat everyone with respect, no matter their status or background
Abundant
We come to our work with a regenerative mindset, seeking to embrace as wide a range of perspective & experience as possible; looking for and building from assets and resources that already exist; recognising how we all connect with each other and with nature and using that to frame ideas rooted in abundance not scarcity
Our Team
Partners
Bob Thust
Finance
Bob has held multiple Directorships spanning the private and third sectors. With a background in charity accounting, corporate responsibility and foundations. He co-founded practical governance to help challenge traditional power dynamics and outdated governance practices, working alongside passionate people to help create a more socially just, equitable and sustainable world
Christel Hawkins
Charity Governance
Christel has over 15 years of working with and advising on charity governance. Christel enjoys finding solutions to challenges and sees governance as a way to enable safe testing of new ideas, allowing groups and movements to organise in accordance with their values
Associates
Abigail Handley
Leadership & Coach
Abi Handley is a facilitator, leadership team coach and digital strategist, working with teams to embed effective working practices to ensure that their collective aims can be met, whilst being fulfilled and happy at the same time. She brings a wealth of experience and enthusiasm for figuring out how teams might be able to work effectively together and create the space they need to learn and develop rather than just firefight through the tasks.
Adonis Akra
Governance
Adonis has a strong passion for values-based governance. He recognises the importance of equitable, inclusive processes and approaches governance with a lived experience lens, with the commitment to upholding ethical principles to foster positive change through effective governance.
Arran Marshall
Operations
Arran is an experienced manager & planner and has tremendous attention to detail. Arran spent 18 months driving PG Collective's internal operations and was at the centre of all activities within PG Collective. He believes in clear and courteous communication and thinks people everywhere should do the very best for everyone they interact with, whilst all together promoting harmony among colleagues and departments.
Dave Boyle
Governance
Dave is one of the UK's leading advisors to the social sector. Over the past 20 years he's worked with more than 150 social sector businesses, through every stage of development from startup to mature trading, including steering organisations through periods of crisis. He writes and speaks widely on the challenges facing social sector businesses, and regularly lectures at universities across the UK on the same issues.
Jessica Cordingly
Facilitator & Coach
Jessica is an experienced social change leader, coach & facilitator specialising in setting up and supporting ambitious ideas to make systems more equitable. She has experience in change management & organisational pivots and is particularly good at strategy, governance and decision making.
Julia Beart
Leadership & Governance
Julia is a leader, collaborator and consultant with many years of experience as a CEO, Non-executive Director and Trustee. She has worked on governance from numerous perspectives, with a particular passion for transitional and transformational governance.
Kate Smith
Strategy Consultant & Coach
Kate Smith is a strategist and coach with over 20 years experience working in local government and its partnerships. Early in her career, she led the regeneration of two estates in West London, engaging local people in the design and delivery of £100m worth of improvements in housing, health, education, youth, childcare and community provision.
Kate Swade
Governance & Coach
Kate is a researcher, facilitator and coach with over 17 years of experience working within the social economy. She has a particular interest in governance as a tool for social change. She has led consultancy work with communities and landowners, designing governance and business models for complex land-based assets.
Pete Burden
Leadership & Coach
Pete has worked exclusively with for-purpose teams & leaders as a team and leadership coach for nearly 30 years. He supports leaders and organisations to build truly collaborative teams, which can easily integrate differences and dissent. Over the past 18 years he has been particularly dedicated to: cultivating alternative models of leadership, including leaderful practice, based on distributed, collective, collaborative and compassionate leadership.
Sam Pettit
Digital & Technology
Sam is a digital strategist & web developer with a passion for sustainability. Sam works for Critical Productions – a media production company that champions the importance of responsible sourcing for a smoother energy transition and a more sustainable future.
Sinem Cakir
Leadership & Coach
Sinem is an experienced charity leader and Clore Social Leadership Fellow, social justice activist and coach. Sinem has a 20 year history of building, supporting or transforming initiatives for social good, Sinem draws on experience from sport, social justice and enterprise to facilitate individuals, teams and leaders to communicate their impact.
Tim Woodward
Finance
Tim is a qualified accountant and fellow of the ICAEW with over 24 years of finance experience.He uses his experience to assist development projects, financial modelling and assisting start-up organisations by setting up their finance operations and controls.
Collaborators
Dark Matter Labs
Stronger Stories
Social Change Agency
Bates Wells
Firetail
FM Associates