Executive team

They develop policy and strategy for approval by the trustees and are responsible for ensuring the continuing success of the waterways through the management of an expert and committed team of 1,600 employees and thousands of volunteers.

Campbell Robb, chief executive

Campbell became chief executive of the Canal & River Trust in October 2025, bringing over 15 years of leadership across the charity and public sectors. He has previously led national organisations including Nacro, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, and Shelter, and held senior government roles including director general of the Office of the Third Sector and adviser to HM Treasury. Campbell is committed to preserving and enhancing the UK’s 2,000-mile network of navigable canals and rivers - seeing the waterways as “living monuments” that are also vital corridors for nature, heritage and wellbeing. He champions volunteering, local stewardship, and inclusive access to nature, ensuring these historic navigable waterways thrive for generations to come.

Stuart Mills, chief investment officer

Stuart is responsible for the Trust's principal commercial income sources including the investment portfolio of property, joint ventures and diversified assets. Stuart also looks after the utilities, commercial water and direct managed moorings businesses, as well as our business boating relationships. A chartered surveyor, Stuart joined Canal & River Trust in 1990 after working in private sector property consultancy. He has worked extensively across the country in various commercial roles, before becoming a director in 2008.

Heather Clarke, strategy & impact director

Heather is currently strategy, engagement & impact director at the Canal & River Trust. Heather has executive accountability for: developing, driving & communicating the Trust's overall strategic direction; building the Trust's strategic plans, campaigns and evidence base; growing our supporter base and our statutory and voluntary income; engaging with key policy and decision makers, partners and stakeholders at different spatial levels; as well as influencing outcome generation and placemaking through planning and design.

She oversees: strategy; marketing and supporter development; policy and public affairs; insight and evidence; strategic performance and reporting; spatial and statutory planning functions; and planning and urban design consultancy functions within the Trust. Heather joined British Waterways (the predecessor to the Trust) in 1997, after working for an urban development corporation which was charged with delivering large scale area-based urban regeneration in the Black Country. A chartered town and regional planner, with a MSC in Historic Conservation and postgraduate diploma qualification in urban design, she has gained extensive experience in strategic and statutory planning, property-based urban regeneration, place-making and partnership working with the Trust. Heather is a trustee director of the Roundhouse in Birmingham.

Steve Dainty, chief financial officer

Steve spent over twenty years in the private sector, most recently at GKN plc where he held several finance and general management positions with global responsibility. Prior to this, he was employed by KPMG as part of the UK audit and advisory team, where he qualified as a chartered accountant. Steve joined the Trust in 2019 and has responsibility for finance, procurement and IT.

Tim Hunter, interim fundraising director

Tim joins from the NSPCC, where he has been interim director of income generation since April 2025. Previously he was director of private sector partnerships and fundraising at the UN World Food Programme based in Rome. At WFP, he led the creation of a global digital individual giving programme to support humanitarian action around the world. Prior to that, Tim was director of fundraising at Oxfam GB, and before that spent five years in Geneva as international fundraising director at UNICEF.

Malcolm Horne, chief operating officer

Malcolm joined the Trust in March 2022 to oversee all asset management and engineering delivery. This includes the Trust's in-house construction teams, supply chain partners and programme management office. He is a chartered civil engineer, active in professional bodies such as CIWEM and the ICE.

Prior to joining the Trust, Malcolm spent 14 years at Severn Trent, most recently as Head of Water Quality and Environment, delivering environmental enhancements, as well as being accountable for all public health oversight and primary liaison with the EA, NRW and the DWI. Other roles included economic regulation, infrastructure delivery, asset management and cross-company transformation programmes. Malcolm started his career designing and installing small scale hydropower in Nepal before returning to the UK where the first half of his career was in consultancy, across multiple sectors and disciplines.

Susie Mather, chief policy and communications officer

Susie joined the Trust in June 2023, having held several roles in communications, strategy and government relations, including for the Crown Estate and the Atomic Weapons Establishment, part of the Ministry of Defence. Prior to that, she was a member of the Diplomatic Service and spent many years working overseas on behalf of the UK government, predominantly in central Europe and Asia. At the Trust, Susie looks after all aspects of communications and external relations. She has responsibility for shaping and delivering the communications and engagement strategy, working closely with colleagues to build and maintain the Trust's voice, and engaging with a broad range of external stakeholders.

Karen Seth, people director

Karen joined the Canal & River Trust as people director in July 2021, with executive accountability for key areas such as human resources, organisational development, internal communications and colleague reward. Prior to joining the Trust Karen spent seven years as people director at the Co-operative Group across food, funeral care and legal services. She has also led on the people aspects of the Co-operative wide operating model programme.

Karen has extensive experience, having spent seventeen years at Sainsburys as part of the human resources team covering many roles, such as employee relations, industrial relations and organisational development. Karen is a non-executive director for the NHS Business Services Authority and is a trustee director for Reubens Retreat Charity based in Glossop, as well as being a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.

Henriette Breukelaar, interim chief customer and place officer

Before joining the Canal & River Trust as the West Midlands Regional Director, Henriette was Chief Executive of the Greater Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership, driving inclusive and sustainable economic growth in the city region.

Henriette has a background in senior leadership in a variety of sectors including housing with care, advanced engineering, innovation and economic regeneration. Henriette has an MA in European Economics and languages from the University of Amsterdam, and started her career in the Netherlands in equalities and community regeneration.

Outside her day job, Henriette is Trustee at Birmingham Hospice and a Board Member of the University of Birmingham City-Regional Economic Development Institute.

Beth Hawthorn, interim chief assurance officer

Beth is interim chief assurance officer at the Canal & River Trust, with responsibility for assurance, governance, risk and legal services. She works closely with the Board, Audit & Risk Committee and Executive Team to support effective decision-making, strengthen governance and ensure the Trust maintains robust assurance and regulatory compliance.

Beth joined the Trust in 2022 and is the Head of Legal. Before joining the Trust, she spent 13 years at Shoosmiths, where she advised on complex property, commercial and governance matters. She brings extensive experience of leading legal teams, advising senior stakeholders and supporting organisations through transformation and change.