Meet the Board of Trustees

Professor Kamil Omoteso

Chair of the Board of Trustees

Professor Kamil Omoteso was appointed chair of the board of trustees in 2017. He is a professor of Accounting and Governance, and the Pro Vice-Chancellor and Dean of the College of Business, Law, and Social Sciences at the University of Derby. He was also the founding Chair of the Educational Support Initiative for Africa (ESIfA), which has donated over 75,000 books and academic journals to universities across Africa.

Professor Omoteso is an experienced educator and has held roles at De Montfort and Coventry universities. In 2015 he was the recipient of the Outstanding Author Contribution at the Emerald Literati Network Awards for Excellence.

Originally from Lagos, Nigeria, Professor Omoteso has spent his career educating, and counselling others to better understand accountancy, and he joined Human Appeal’s Board of Trustees to give back to vulnerable communities.

Mr Omar Mashjari

Member of the Board of Trustees

Dr. Omar Mashjari is a dynamic force at the intersection of law, academia, and leadership, dedicated to serving humanity. He currently holds the position of Associate Director in the College of Business and Law at the University of the West of England (UWE Bristol), having previously served as the Associate Head of Department at Bristol Law School.

Dr. Mashjari has a PhD in Law from the University of Leeds, a Master of Laws (Distinction) from the University of Law and a Bachelor of Laws with Honours (First Class) from the University of Liverpool. He was the recipient of the prestigious Leeds Research Scholarship and is a Fellow of the Royal Society for Arts, Manufactures and Commerce.

Dr. Mashjari is also a qualified Solicitor of the Senior Courts of England and Wales as well as an accredited Civil and Commercial Mediator. His strategic leadership skills have earned him the distinguished status of Chartered Manager (CMgr FCMI) and Fellow from the Chartered Management Institute.

He was appointed Human Appeal's youngest-ever trustee and is currently the President of Human Appeal France. He has made other significant contributions, such as serving as Associate Non-Executive Director at North Bristol NHS Trust, where he helps shape the future of healthcare services. The Liverpool City Region Combined Authority appointed him to the Development Board of the Race Equality Hub in 2021, where he led on the UK's first investment bank for minority-ethnic businesses.

As an experienced educator, Dr. Mashjari was previously the Director of Global Engagement at the University of Westminster and an International Director at another university. He has shaped the academic landscape and garnered recognition for his teaching excellence, including being awarded the Competition Law Higher Education Lecturer of the Year by the Legal Awards 2022. He also holds a PG certificate in Teaching and Learning from the University of Westminster and is a Fellow of AdvanceHE.

Dr. Mashjari’s multidimensional skill set positions him as a thought leader, strategic advisor, and impactful contributor to both the legal and humanitarian sectors.

Dr. Ken Baldwin

Member of the Board of Trustees

Dr. Ken Baldwin graduated from the University of Oxford with a first in Physics, and completed a PhD at Loughborough University focused on risk-sharing in Islamic contracts. He is also qualified as a chartered accountant and previously worked in investment banking.

A revert to Islam, Dr. Baldwin moved to the Middle East in 2000, where he worked for a number of Islamic banks, including the Islamic Development Bank in Jeddah.

Since 2015, he has worked as an assistant professor teaching finance at Coventry University, where he’s pursuing research into the theoretical reinforcement of Islamic banking.

Dr. Baldwin joined Human Appeal’s Board of Trustees in December 2020.