Meet the Team

Asli Guner-Paul

Asli is currently working as Associate General Counsel at Lightsource BP, a global solar company, heading up projects in the EMEA region. She holds a Bachelor of Law (with first class honours equivalent) from Galatasaray University and an LLM degree (with merit) in corporate and commercial law from the London School of Economics and Political Science. She speaks Turkish, French and German. Asli joined the Board of Trustees in May 2020 after a close family member was diagnosed with a neurological illness. She is passionate about contributing to the invaluable work of i-Neuro. Asli enjoys spending time with her family, travelling, pilates and collecting vintage crockery.

Carolyn Turner

In 2008 Carolyn was diagnosed with a spinal cord tumour. She lived with it for 5 years before having complex spinal surgery in 2013. In 2014, she reached out to the Brain and Spine Foundation for support and began fundraising in 2015. This is when she became an Ambassador for the charity.

Carolyn comes from a nursing background, having worked as a staff nurse at the Leicester Royal Infirmary NHST for 15 years, initially in the Central Operating department. She then transferred to Ophthalmology, gaining experience in theatres, on the wards and clinics before joining the hospital agency and working in the recovery suite of the Women's Hospital.

Following her surgery, she worked as support staff at a pre-school and now dedicates her time to i-Neuro. She is the Volunteer Facilitator for the charity's peer support groups: Neuro Social, Neuro Creative, Neuro Social Midlands and Neuro Writing.

Carolyn also joined i-Neuro's Equity, Diversity and Inclusion working group. She was appointed to the Board of Trustees in 2023.

Ian Basden-Smith

Ian is a chartered accountant who worked in the banking industry following a period with KPMG. He worked for Samuel Montagu, Morgan Grenfell and Deutsche Bank across finance and operational activities in the UK, Europe and the Far East. Ian joined the Board of Trustees in 2012 and is both excited by the current plans for the charity and committed to achieving our organisational aims. Ian is a keen golfer and fisherman and enjoys the outdoors and travelling as well as spending time with his children and grandchildren.

Jeroen Huysinga

Jeroen has spent 35 years working as a portfolio manager covering equity markets globally. He was a Managing Director at JPMorgan Asset Management for 20 years.

In 2020, Jeroen chose to retire from his work in the City and embark on a Master's degree in Charity Accounting and Financial Management at the Cass business school. His ambition is to combine commercial experience and rigorous learning to make a difference and to build a second career in the charities sector. Jeroen joined the Board of Trustees in April 2020 and is passionate about the potential to create positive change.

Kavita Basi

Kavita has over 25 years of experience in the fashion industry. In 2015 she suffered a subarachnoid brain haemorrhage and was told she had a 50% chance of survival and could be left with life-changing disabilities.

After four brain operations and extensive rehabilitation, Kavita made it her mission to make a positive difference in the fashion industry, be a role model to the next generation and help others that have suffered a similar illness. She has been a Brain & Spine Foundation Ambassador since 2015, is an author of two books about surviving brain haemorrhage and has shared her story through her podcast and social media. Her two ethical brands promote vegan and gender-neutral fashion. She donates 5% of profits from her brand Ration.L to i-Neuro.

Lauren Downie

After suffering a subarachnoid haemorrhage in 2004, Lauren was discharged from hospital and given a leaflet from the Brain and Spine Foundation. A few months after, she realised her recovery was taking longer than expected and as she had no follow up appointments booked with the hospital, Lauren called the Brain & Spine Foundations Helpline. The advice she received was extremely helpful, explaining what Lauren might expect in terms of recovery time.

She went to meet the team and was invited to support the Brain and Spine at the London marathon. She was asked to run a 5k to raise funds, and that was her introduction to running. After a follow up procedure in 2006, Lauren was persuaded to run the marathon to raise funds for the foundation again. This is when she met all the team and was inspired by the charity throughout her recovery.

Along the way, Lauren has contributed to a book written by Alison Wertheimer, called “A Dented Image, Journeys of Recovery from Subarachnoid Haemorrhage, and attended conferences run by the charity.

She was appointed an ambassador several years ago as she raised awareness of the charity by getting running friends to join her on fundraising runs. More recently Lauren has been working as a peer support volunteer for the Neuro Social group where survivors of neurological illnesses meet once weekly online. Support for people with neurological conditions is lacking throughout the UK and Lauren feels very grateful to i-Neuro for the support the charity has given her in the past. She is so happy to help in any small way towards improving services for others!

Mark Luce

Mark joined the Board of Trustees in July 2017, stepping up to his current role as Chair in July 2018. Mark spent the last 20 years working for global beer giant SABMiller and now runs his own marketing consultancy. Continuing his passion for change, his ambition is to transform the care provided to those living with neurological conditions and in doing so, to make a meaningful difference to many more people. He is a wine maker, avid traveller and motorsport fan.

Peter Brickley

Peter leads the Business Process & Technology organisation at Coca Cola European Partners. Peter has over 25 years' experience leading technology for global businesses including Heineken, Centrica & BAT. Before Coca Cola Peter was the Global CIO and Managing Director of Global Business Services at SABMiller. Peter is also the non-executive chairman of Newbury Building Society and a Parish Councillor.

Given his enthusiasm for the cause, Peter joined the Board of Trustees in April 2020.

Alistair Watkins

Alistair has spent the last 25 years working in the world of international sport at the highest level. He started his career working as the FIA's Formula One Press Officer 1995 - 1999, an era a great change in sport with safety becoming a primary objective. A change of direction into the commercial side of the sports world followed a year of study and an MBA from the Management School of Imperial College in London. Two year of working for leading consultancy Oliver & Ohlbaum on Premier League media rights valuations led to Alistair joining Kirch Media, who acquired Formula One, and subsequent work on the sports long term business plan.

Alistair re-joined the sport of Formula One in 2002 as Marketing Director of Lucky Strike BAR Honda's Formula One team, which saw Alistair leading the team's global marketing operations for five years. He was then head hunted to be Marketing Director of Swiss America's Cup sailing team, Alinghi. Created by Swiss biotech billionaire, Ernesto Bertarelli, Alinghi was the first European team to win the America's Cup and defend it successfully in Valencia in 2007.

Alistair founded Influence Associates in 2008 with two other directors, which saw the marketing and PR agency offer corporate clients PR, investor relations, marketing and sponsorship services. Since then he has created Influence Sports & Media for sports clients.

Alistair stepped down as Trustee of i-Neuro after six years and was elected as Vice President in 2022. He will be working on projects with our Founder and President, Peter Hamlyn.

David Richards

David is Chairman of Motorsport UK, the governing body for motorsport in the UK - a role he assumed in January 2018. He also represents the UK on the FIA World Motorsport Council and later this year will take on the role of Chairman of the FIA Foundation. He is Chairman of Prodrive, the world leading motorsport and engineering business, that he established 40 years ago and a former Chairman of the Aston Martin Lagonda car company.

David initially trained as an Accountant following which he spent eight years as a professional rally co-driver. He concluded his competition career in 1981 by winning the World Rally Championship as co-driver to Ari Vatanen.

David then devoted his time to developing his business interests which led to the creation of Prodrive in 1983. Over the last four decades Prodrive has become one of the largest multi-disciplined motorsport businesses in the world, winning numerous championships in almost every category of the sport. David also spent five years in Formula One as Team Principal of the BAR F1 Team finishing runners up in the 2004 F1 World Championship.

In the 2005 Queen's New Year's honours, David was made a Commander of the British Empire (CBE) for his services to motorsport and has honorary doctorates and fellowships from the Universities of Wales, Coventry, Warwick and Cranfield. In 2017 he was inducted into the Motor Sport Hall of Fame and presented with the Spirt of Le Mans award by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO). In 2019 Autocar presented him with their Outstanding Leader Award and in May 2022 the Sturmey Award for Leadership for his role in reshaping Motorsport UK.

Justin McLaren

Justin is the CEO of 8hwe, a campaigns and reputation management consultancy based in London.

Justin opened 8hwe in 2002 having begun his career in the Cabinet Office. Over the past 20 years he has developed and led successful campaigns in the health, sport, transport, education, faith, criminal justice, energy and arts sectors.

Educated in Scotland, he has degrees from Lady Margaret Hall, University of Oxford and Imperial College Management School. Justin is Chair of Trustees of the charity Missing People.

Nicole Bearne

Nicole Bearne is a distinguished motorsports specialist, celebrated for her pivotal role in the Brawn Grand Prix and Mercedes-AMG Formula 1 teams. Her career highlights include winning nine Constructors' World Championships and eight Drivers' titles, showcasing her expertise and dedication to the sport. With over 25 years in the industry, Nicole is recognised for her knowledge in executive and technical operations, employee experience, internal communications, and Corporate Social Responsibility. As a passionate and engaging speaker, Nicole captivates audiences with her wealth of experience and inspiring journey in motorsports.

Nicole began her illustrious F1 career in the late 1990s as a founding member of the British American Racing team. She played a crucial role in establishing the team alongside notable figures like Jacques Villeneuve, Craig Pollock, and Adrian Reynard. Her hard work and determination saw her rise to the position of Executive Assistant to the Team Principal during the team's transition to BAR-Honda and later Honda. Working closely with Ross Brawn from 2007 to 2013, Nicole was integral to the Brawn Grand Prix story, which was famously depicted in the award-winning documentary 'Brawn: The Impossible Formula 1 Story'.

Peter Hamlyn

In a medical career that has spanned 40 years, Peter has led change at the elite level of both neurosurgery and sports medicine. He has headed neurosurgical teams at leading hospitals such as St Bartholomew's Hospital and The Royal London Hospital, as well as academic units in leading universities such as Queen Mary University London and University College London.

He has worked at the elite level in multiple sports medicine, including motor sports, equine sport, combat and collision sports as well as the performing arts - everything from the NFL to the Royal Ballet. He has chaired Ministerial Working Groups and was pivotal to the creation of Sport and Exercise Medicine as a recognised specialty.

He has been medical advisor to the Society of British Neurological Surgeons (first Safe Neurosurgery working group), General Medical Council, Trigeminal Neuralgia Association, British Olympic Association, British Boxing Board of Control, The Jockey Club, UK Sport. Royal Ballet, GB Rowing, England Rugby, plus numerous premier league football and rugby clubs.

Peter was a member of the 2012 Olympic Bid Advisory Panel and a correspondent for the sports section of The Daily Telegraph. In 1996, he was awarded Fellowship of the Institute of Sport Medicine for work in the field of head injury in sport. As well as being the Founder and President of the Brain & Spine Foundation, his voluntary work includes: Chair of the Football Association's Expert Medical Panel, Trustee of the Grand Prix Trust, Medical Director and Trustee of Podium Analytics. He was a founder and serves as a non-executive director on the board of Persica Pharmaceuticals Limited, an R&D company engaged in an international trial of a novel and potentially curative treatment for back pain.

Ross Brawn

Ross Brawn OBE is a renowned British motorsport engineer and former Formula One team principal. With a career at top teams like Benetton, Ferrari, Honda, and his own Brawn GP, he has been instrumental in securing eight constructors' and eight drivers' championships. Known as the mastermind behind several F1 world titles, Ross's expertise in technical innovation and team leadership brings valuable insights to the development board of I-Neuro.