Wolves Foundation are delighted to announce two highly respected additions to the Board of Trustees, ready to play their part in the continuing development of the club’s official charity.
During Trustees Week, the Foundation can confirm the arrivals of Sareena Bains and Jim McKinnon, whose expertise will add to the wealth of skills and experience already on the Board.
Both Jim and Sareena were born and bred in Wolverhampton and continue to be strongly motivated to support the city, helping the Foundation to create opportunities and change lives via so many different projects.
Jim attended SS Peter and Paul Primary School and St Chad’s College Secondary School – now Our Lady & St Chad’s Catholic Academy – both schools which work very closely with the Foundation.
In his working life, he started out as an intern with Goodyear GB and ended at Goodyear’s Head Office in the USA as the company’s Global Vice President and Chief Information Officer.
In between, he held many senior finance and IT roles within the organisation, and as a lifelong Wolves fan, was particularly delighted to see Goodyear become front-of-shirt sponsors of the club between 1990 and 2002.
Sareena actually attended St Luke’s School, where Wolves was founded nearly 150 years ago, and has since built a successful career in strategy and consulting.
She has spent over a decade at global professional services company Accenture, advising financial services institutions, and was recently seconded as Chief Executive of Movement to Work, an employer-led charity tackling youth unemployment across the UK.
She also sits on West Midlands Mayor Richard Parker’s Council of Experts within the Jobs Task Force, advising on initiatives to address the region’s skills and employment challenges.
Both new trustees boast extensive leadership skills and expertise and are passionate about the Foundation’s work.
“As a lifelong Wolves fan, I am truly honoured to have become a trustee of Wolves Foundation, such an important charity which delivers vital projects, creating opportunities and changing lives for people across the city,” said Jim.
“During the onboarding process, I have taken the opportunity to meet many of the staff and management team at the Foundation, and have been really impressed by what I have seen.
“I am thrilled to be joining some very skilled and experienced fellow trustees on the Board and am looking forward to playing my part and working together for the benefit of Wolves Foundation and the city.”
Sareena said: “Growing up in Wolverhampton, Wolves was always more than just a football club. I attended St Luke’s, where the club was founded, and benefited first-hand from the opportunities Wolves created in our community. To now become a trustee of the Foundation during the club’s 150th anniversary year feels like coming full circle.
“During my time at Movement to Work, I built partnerships with the Premier League and EFL in the Community to bring AI skills training to young people through football clubs, recognising their unique reach and ability to make these opportunities more accessible.
“I’m really looking forward to supporting the brilliant work of the Foundation, harnessing the power of the badge to give back to the city that has given me so much.”
Kevin Rogers, chairman of Wolves Foundation, added: “We are delighted to welcome Jim and Sareena to Wolves Foundation’s Board of Trustees.
“Their extensive experience and expertise will have such a positive impact across so many areas of the Foundation’s delivery, and further strengthen what is already a very strong Board.
“All the trustees are really looking forward to working closely with them both to the benefit of the Foundation and the city.”
Jim and Sareena have joined the Foundation board which is chaired by Kevin, former CEO of Paycare, and also includes Matt Wild, Director of Football Operations & Administration at Wolves; Richard Skirrow, former Wolves club secretary; Caren Davies, Senior Head of Communications with the BBC; Alastair Purssell, general counsel at Wolves; and Richard Welch, head of partnerships at the City of Wolverhampton Council.
