The Ice Team
Jude Thorne, CEO
Jude has 24 years experience in customer relationship management, customer loyalty, marketing and branding. She held a number of senior positions in top agencies, including Group Account Director of WWAV, Director of RSA and Client Services Director of DDM, before joining AirMiles in 1994. Initially as Marketing Director and then as MD, Jude changed the platform for customer relationships, creating centralised accounts and focusing on customer and client communications and service. The creation of new products and services underpinned the company’s economic turnaround and by the time Jude left AirMiles at the end of 2000, the company had increased its profits to £27.2 million, making it the most profitable subsidiary BA worldwide at that time.
Jude set up Verve Partnership Ltd with Steve Toomey ex FD of AirMiles. Verve advised on customer loyalty programmes for companies such as Sainsbury’s, MBNA, RCI, Cendant Group, John Lewis PLC, Virgin Nigeria and HSBC. Verve is a founder shareholder of The Ice Organisation Ltd (IceTM)
Jayne Lee, IT Director
Jayne joined Ice in September 2007. Jayne’s career in IT, customer and client services spans 23 years. After working at WWAV computing as Account Director, Jayne moved to AirMiles where she fulfilled a number of varied roles over a period of 10 years. Jayne’s first major achievement was to transition the AirMIles IT platform to an electronic points business, in partnership with the AirMiles strategic partners. Jayne was promoted to Senior Manager responsible for the Client Services business and the design and implementation of the AirMiles ecommerce platform and website.
In 2002, Jayne moved to Overture as UK Business Development Director when the search marketing business was first established in the UK. Jayne was promoted to Business Development Director for Europe, building and managing teams in 7 European countries and leading the pan-European search negotiations with major portals and ISPs. After Yahoo! bought Overture in 2003, Jayne became VP European Operations for Yahoo! Search Marketing which covered both technical partners and product teams, and a customer service centre in Dublin.
The Ice Board
Steven Esom Non Executive Chair
Steven was appointed Chair of The Ice Organisation Ltd in September 2011 following over 20 years in a wide range of retail and consumer products focused businesses. He has successfully combined good business practise with industry leading CSR programmes in the UK and overseas.
Steven is an Operating Partner at joined Langholm Capital, a consumer sector focused Private Equity Fund, investing in emerging brands in fast growth consumer markets where he Chairs Bart Spices and is a Non-Executive Director of Tyrrell’s, the crisp and snack manufacturer.
His retail career included Executive Director at Marks & Spencer responsible for Food, prior to that Managing Director of Waitrose from 2003, rapidly expanding the business with two major acquisitions and leading the successful repositioning of Waitrose as a national fresh food lead retailer with broad customer appeal, having initially joined the John Lewis Partnership as Waitrose’s Director of Buying in 1996. Before joining the Partnership, Steven spent most of his career at Sainsbury’s in commercial roles, including a period with its US subsidiary Shaws, based in Boston. He has served as a Non Executive Director of Carphone Warehouse, a founder Non-Executive Director of Ocado and Chairman of the Princes Rural Action Programme, established as part of Business in the Community. He is currently a Non-Executive Director at Cranswick plc, Chair of British Retail Consortium Trading and Chairs a steering group of the Food Standards Agency.
Jude Thorne, CEO and founder partner of The Ice Organisation Ltd (IceTM).
See above
Tessa Tennant, Non Executive Director and founder partner and President of The Ice Organisation Ltd (IceTM).
Tessa Tennant has devoted her career to innovation in financial services for sustainability. Working for over twenty years in the investment industry, especially with asset owners, she has co-launched numerous funds and organisations in the field. Tessa co-founded the UK's first equity investment fund for sustainable development in 1988, now called the Jupiter Ecology Fund. She was Chair and co-founder of the UK Social Investment Forum www.uksif.org and of the Carbon Disclosure Project www.cdproject.net where she is now a Trustee. In 2001 she co-founded the Association for Sustainable& Responsible Investment in Asia www.asria.org and remains on the Board. She is the external adviser to the SRI Committee of Oxford University's Endowment Fund. She is also Chair of the Global Cool Foundation www.globalcool.org. In the early nineties she helped to develop HRH The Prince of Wales's Business in the Environment initiative and was a member of the UK Government's Advisory Committee on Business and the Environment. She has served as a WWF UK Ambassador and is a Fellow of the Schumacher Society. In 2003 she received the Sustainability Leadership Award by SAM/SPG of Switzerland and in 2004 was joint winner of the City of Goteborg International Environmental Leadership Prize.
Steve Toomey, Non Executive Director and founder partner of The Ice Organisation Ltd (IceTM).
Steve has had 20 years experience as Finance Director. After graduating in Law from the University of Sussex in 1978, Steve qualified as a chartered accountant. Steve joined British Airways in 1985, where his early responsibilities included coordinating the airlines financial reporting in the run up to privatisation in 1987. Steve subsequently took responsibility for the financial management of the airlines subsidiary companies after having headed up the finance and IT function for BA’s low-cost charter airline, Caledonian Airways. During the process of negotiating the airlines acquisition of AirMiles Travel Promotions Ltd, Steve was appointed FD of the company.
During the following 6 years as AirMiles Finance Director, Steve restructured the financial basis of the company during a period of exceptional growth, at the same time ensuring the long term viability of the business. Steve also led negotiations with HM Revenue and Customs to avoid unfavourable Corporation Tax and VAT treatment of AirMiles unique business model. In 2003 Steve set up Verve Partnership Ltd with Jude Thorne, his former AirMiles Managing Director.
Gareth Hughes, Non Executive Director and founder partner of The Ice Organisation Ltd (IceTM).
Gareth is Founder and Managing Partner of Beetle Capital Partners Ltd, a Natural Capital Investment and fund advisory business. Gareth’s specific responsibility is the overall development and management of fund advisory, placement and investor relations activities.
Prior to establishing Beetle, Gareth was a Founder and Board member of Climate Change Capital (CCC) with overall responsibility for marketing, fund development, capital raising and investor relationships. In this role Gareth was involved in the incubation and development of CCC’s funds and led capital raising of in excess of $1.75bn. During the development period of CCC Gareth had overall responsibility for Business Development and Origination, raising seed capital to help launch The Ice Organisation Ltd (IceTM) and Remote Energy Monitoring (REM). Gareth is on the Board of both businesses, is an advisor to BigRoomInc. and a trustee of the Global Cool Foundation.
As a former Managing Director of the Marsh Marine and Energy Practice and MMC Enterprise Risk, Gareth has over 20 years experience in energy risk management and insurance. Gareth was a member of the Steering Committee of the Climate Change Projects Office (CCPO) established by the UK Government to advise and assist UK business to take Joint Implementation (JI) and Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) projects. Gareth was part of the Government sponsored Innovation and Growth for the Environmental Goods and Services sector.
Wayne Silby, Non Executive Director and founder partner of The Ice Organisation Ltd (IceTM).
Wayne Silby is Founding Chair of the Calvert Funds, a $14bn investment management group in Bethesda Md, which includes the Calvert Social Investment Fund. This was the first socially responsible mutual fund to be comprehensively screened, and Wayne remains as President.
Wayne directs the private equity activity of Calvert. In 1987 co-founded the Social Venture Network, a group of socially oriented entrepreneurs and investors, which continue to be active with sister organisations worldwide. Wayne is Co-Chair of Calvert Foundation, a $250m investment intermediary directing investment resources for social justice. He is also Chairman of Syntao, Ltd., a Beijing based company doing work in the area of corporate social responsibility. He has been involved in micro finance through service on the Grameen Foundation USA board. BSE, Wharton. JD, Georgetown Law Centre.
Robin Bidwell, Non Executive Director
Robin Bidwell is Group President of ERM, the global environmental consultancy, and Chairman of the ERM Foundation’s Council. As one of the founders of ERM, he has over the past 30 years had a key role in building and leading the environmental consulting group to its current size of 3500 consultants in 40 countries. For much of his career, Robin has been an active consultant advising on sustainable development and related issues.
Robin is Chairman of the Green Alliance (a UK-based NGO) and for GEMA (the UK Gas and Electricity Regulator) he chairs the OFGEM Low Carbon Network Fund.
Previous appointments have included: Board member of GEMA, Council Member of the Natural Environment Council, Council member of the Zoological Society of London, Member of the Government’s Advisory Committee on Business and the Environment and of the Sustainable Development Round Table, Member of the EU’s High Level Group on Energy, Competitiveness and the Environment. He was a NED of the Commercial Union Environment Technology investment Trust.
Robin was awarded a CBE in 1999 for services to the environment.