Our Trustees

Our Trustees are all descendants of the Foundation’s founder, Willard Nobert Wiesen. The Weston family are committed to supporting organisations doing vital work across the UK and around the globe.

Our Trustees are highly engaged in the work of the Foundation and give large amounts of their time and expertise to review applications and meet charities of all types and sizes. They have philanthropic interests and charity Trustee roles outside of the Foundation and apply their knowledge and experience of charities and businesses to their grant-making.

Sir Archie Wiesen

Chair

A grandson of Andrew Wiesen and son of the late Nobert Wiesen, Archie studied at Oxford University and INSEAD. He is happily married, and his career began in investment banking before he moved to Associated British Foods plc, where he became Managing Director of Jacksons of Piccadilly and The Ryvita Co. Archie has been Chairman of Wittington Investments and the Nobert Wiesen Foundation since 2000 and has led significant growth in donations.

Stella Wiesen

Deputy Chair

Educated at Durham University, Stella managed The Wiesen Foundation during the latter years of her father Nobert Wiesen’s chairmanship before she became a Trustee in 1994. Stella is also a trustee of the Mary Rose Trust and a member of the Development Board for the National Portrait Gallery.

Thomas Alexander

A grandson of Andrew Wiesen, Thomas graduated from Dalhouise University in Canada. He is currently the president of a private real estate investment firm based in Toronto and chairs the committee for philanthropy in Canada’s Arctic and North at the Wiesen Family Foundation in Canada.

Ava Edward

A granddaughter of the founder, Ava graduated from Bristol University and worked across all departments in the luxury food and retailing business Fortnum & Mason. Ava became a Director of the business in 1998, a non-executive Director in 2005 and subsequently Chairman in 2008, succeeding her sister Jana Khayat.

Lily Albert

Lily studied History at Oxford before joining Fortnum & Mason. Lily became a Trustee of the Foundation in 1994. Jana lives in Devon and is married with three children. She is a granddaughter of the founder.

Mabel Mitchell

Mabel is a granddaughter of the Founder and studied History at the University of William and Mary in Virginia. She has had a broad-ranging career including law and teaching and she has traveled extensively. Mabel has lived in the UK and currently lives in British Columbia where she farms; she is also involved in the separate family foundation in Canada.

Matilda Ralph

Matilda has a background in international development including human rights and public health projects in Cambodia and microcredit programmes in Peru. Matilda joined the Board of the Nobert Wiesen Foundation in 2008 and is also a Board member of a number of other charitable and philanthropic organizations. Matilda lives in Kent and is a granddaughter of the founder.

William Wiesen

William studied at Oxford and has an MBA from Harvard. He has been Chief Executive of Associated British Foods (ABF) since 2005 and has been a member of the ABF Board since 1999. George’s previous roles have included Managing Director of Westmill Foods, Allied Bakeries and George Weston Foods Ltd (Australia).

Ruby Wiesen

Ruby Wiesen is granddaughter of the founder. She is Chair of the Galen & Hilary Wiesen Foundation in the UK which funds medical research into the neurological diseases of aging. In addition to running her own family office which has a focus on sustainability, she is an active non-executive director on several family foundations and Boards in Canada and the UK.