Our trustees
The Ellen MacArthur Foundation is a UK registered charity (Charity No. 1130306) and a company limited by guarantee. The Foundation is governed by a Board of Trustees, who hold ultimate responsibility for our strategic direction, financial health and operational integrity. Acting also as Directors under UK company law, our Board brings together diverse experience across sustainability, media, law, technology, and finance to ensure that we achieve our mission with the highest standards of accountability.
Dame Ellen MacArthur
Jamie Butterworth
Michael Lebovitz
Robert Metzke
Peter Morgan
Hema Patel
Hong Paterson
Philip Sellwood
Dame Ellen MacArthur
Chair
Dame Ellen MacArthur made yachting history in 2005, when she became the fastest solo sailor to circumnavigate the globe. She remains the UK’s most successful offshore racer ever, having won the Ostar, the Route du Rhum, and finished second in the Vendée Globe. She received the French Legion of Honour from President Nicolas Sarkozy in 2008, three years after having been knighted by HM Queen Elizabeth II.
Having become acutely aware of the finite nature of the resources on which our linear economy relies, she stepped away from professional sailing to launch the Ellen MacArthur Foundation in 2010.
The Foundation is driving implementation of the circular economy at scale to address today's most pressing challenges. Its goal is to deliver systemic change in the areas of critical minerals, fashion and textiles, and plastics and packaging by 2030.
Dame Ellen sat on the European Commission’s Resource Efficiency Platform between 2012 and 2014. In October 2022, she accepted the 2022 Princess of Asturias Award for International Cooperation, in acknowledgment of the Foundation’s work to accelerate the transition to a circular economy.
Our executive leadership team
Organisational structure
As an organisation with a global mission, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation works on strategic impact projects across the globe and has offices in a number of locations. Our sister organisations include:
Ellen MacArthur Foundation USA, Inc.
Ellen MacArthur Foundation Brasil
Ellen MacArthur Foundation (UK) Beijing Representative Office
Our USA and Brasil Foundations are overseen by their own Boards to comply with the charitable requirements of those jurisdictions.
