Trustees
Since becoming a registered charity in the United Kingdom in 2017, the legal and financial affairs of the Commonwealth Pharmacists Association have been governed by our Board of Trustees. The Trustees are responsible for making sure that CPA follows its charitable objects (CPA’s core purposes), is well governed, operates within the law and is financially healthy.
In addition to its governance responsibilities, the Board of Trustees also acts as a source of expert advice and guidance for the CPA Staff Team, complementing the membership perspective provided by the CPA Council to support the work of CPA’s teams around the world.
The exact number of Trustees can vary depending on the needs of CPA at any particular moment in time, and there are three methods of appointment to the Board:
- At least four Trustees must be chosen via direct election at CPA’s Annual General Meeting
- Up to four Trustees may be appointed by the rest of the Board of Trustees
- In the event that a vacancy leaves the Charity with fewer than four elected Trustees, an interim appointed Trustee can serve in between Annual General Meetings.
The President and Vice-President of the Association and the Immediate Past President also sit as ex officio voting members of the Board to represent the interests of the CPA Council and Regional Assembly.
Meetings of the Board are steered by a Trustee who is chosen to serve as Chair. The Chair is a primus inter pares (‘first among equals’) position and remains equal to the other members of the Board in all other respects.
Our current Board of Trustees
Prof. Downes was appointed Chair of Trustees at the Commonwealth Pharmacists Association in 2022. Until recently, he was also Chair of Trustees for a small local Citizens Advice charity. Immediately before retiring, in 2018, Prof. Downes was Provost and Chief Executive Officer of the University of Reading-Malaysia, and is a Professor of Law.
He worked at the University of Reading from 1990 and was previously Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the University, and has twice served as Acting Vice-Chancellor. As Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Downes had responsibility for planning and operational issues throughout the University. In 2008, he first initiated and then chaired the Reading-Malaysia project, and has been a regular visitor to the region since that time. Prof. Downes also oversaw the construction of new halls of residence for 2,000 students and the integration of Henley Business School into the University.
Educated at the Universities of Oxford and Aix-en-Provence, he began his career as a Lecturer in Law at the University of Durham and as Visiting Professor at the University of Iowa before joining the University of Reading as Reader in European Community Law in 1990. During that time, Prof. Downes held visiting teaching positions in France, Germany and Hungary. Subsequently, he held a number of senior posts within the University, including Dean of Faculty and Pro-Vice-Chancellor. Prof. Downes was appointed Provost and Chief Executive Officer of the University of Reading-Malaysia in 2012.
Raymond has experience working as a community pharmacist for over 40 years. He qualified as an independent pharmacist prescriber in 2007 and is currently a Director of Northern Pharmacies Ltd. Raymond was a member of the Council of the Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland (PSNI) from 1997-2012, holding the post of President from 2006-2009, and is Past President and Vice-Chair of Trustees at the Commonwealth Pharmacists Association.
He was the representative for Northern Ireland pharmacists at the Pharmaceutical Group of the European Union and is a former member of the PSNI’s Pharmacy Forum. Furthermore, Raymond was appointed to the European Medicines Agency’s Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee as a Scientific Expert in April 2016, remaining in post for six years.
He has also worked in primary care partnerships, integrated care partnerships and communities of practice, supporting collaborative engagement and service development with patients and other healthcare professionals.
Biyi is a Chartered Accountant (FCA, FCCA) and brings to the Commonwealth Pharmacists Association (CPA) over 30 years’ experience of successfully leading finance and business turnaround projects across the world. He is a Pioneer Certified SAP Finance Consultant with extensive experience in implementing finance systems and combines this with his finance expertise to support the CPA. Biyi brings to the CPA in-depth board and cabinet-level experience and is the Chairman of the Thames Valley ICAEW Berkshire Business members’ forum.
Prof. Anderson is a Professor of Social Pharmacy in the Pharmacy Practice and Policy Division at the University of Nottingham, School of Pharmacy. Since 2021, she has served as President of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society.
Her research has led and informed the development of pharmacy and pharmacy education in areas including public health, influenza vaccination, prescribing, and pharmacists in general practice, both in the UK and globally. As an internationally renowned social pharmacy researcher, Prof. Anderson has shaped the future of global research in this area and, through her work with the International Pharmaceutical Federation, she has also helped to set the agenda in pharmacy education research and development.
Bronwyn is the Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Pharmacy Council, the accreditation authority for pharmacy education in Australia. Having initially trained as a pharmacist in New Zealand, she has had a varied career in pharmacy practice, education, and regulation in Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom.
A graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, Bronwyn is passionate about advancing pharmacy through governance and education. She is the Chair of the International Pharmaceutical Federation Consortium for quality assurance of international continuing professional development programmes, a member of the International Committee for the Life Long Learning in Pharmacy conferences, and has also been recognised as a Fellow of the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia, Pharmaceutical Society of New Zealand, and the Royal Pharmaceutical Society.
Dr Davies graduated in Pharmacy at the University of Bath and worked as a hospital pharmacist before joining the UCL School of Pharmacy, where his research and PhD thesis focused on the future role of community pharmacy, and how future business and professional models of community pharmacy practice are likely to be structured.
Dr Davies’s later research covered areas such as cardiovascular risk testing in pharmacies, the role of tele-pharmacy in delivering patient care, and the effects of automation and electronic transfer of prescriptions on the safety of medicines.Â
He left academia to help develop a digital online doctor startup that operates across Europe, acting as the Pharmacy Superintendent, Company Director and Registered Manager. Dr Davies pursued further research in health policy and was recently the Director for England at the Royal Pharmaceutical Society, leading work on medicines shortages. He currently provides health policy consultancy for pharmacy organisations with research-based public affairs.
Hope is a public health pharmacist currently serving as Chief Pharmacist under Zambia’s Ministry of Health, with over 11 years of experience working to strengthen pharmaceutical systems and improve access to essential medicines. His work focuses on antimicrobial stewardship (AMS), supply chain management, and epidemic preparedness, all aimed at ensuring patients receive safe, effective, and timely treatment.
As an alumnus of the Africa Leadership Fellowship in AMS, he has contributed to national efforts in malaria, HIV, and broader public health programmes. Hope is passionate about supporting healthcare workers, improving systems that deliver care, and driving practical, sustainable solutions that make a real difference on the ground. Through his work, he continues to advocate for strong pharmacy leadership and more resilient health systems across the Commonwealth.
Dr Mattila is a Ghanaian national with a PhD in Pharmaceutical Policy from the University of Huddersfield, a master’s degree in Public Health from the University of Ghana, and a Pharmacy degree from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi.
She is an experienced public health pharmacist, supply chain logistics management specialist and procurement services specialist who has accumulated 22 years of development and international expertise working with the United Nations, governments and the private sector.
Dr Mattila specialises in logistics and supply chain strengthening, pharmaceutical and public health policy development, procurement services, complex project management, strategic sustainable procurement, and programmatic strategies in support of development and humanitarian programmes.
William is a pharmacist with a wide range of experience. He has worked in several different fields – namely, community pharmacy, hospital pharmacy, clinical trials, and global health. William is passionate about antimicrobial stewardship (AMS), rational use of medicines, medicine safety, and quality of medicines and medical supplies. He is also an advocate of health equity and health system strengthening, having led four projects focused on capacity building of healthcare workers, health systems strengthening, and community engagement. William holds a Masters in Business Administration and is a graduate of the Africa Leadership Fellowship in AMS.
David is a solicitor who retired as a partner in Charles Russell Speechlys in 2018 after 40 years with the firm. During that time, he specialised in pharmacy law and professional conduct cases. David is Honorary Professor of Pharmacy and Medicines Law in the School of Pharmacy at the University of Nottingham. He is co-author of Dale and Appelbe’s Pharmacy & Medicines Law. David is the chair of the Pharmacy Law & Ethics Association and is a part-time County Court judge.
Andi is a pharmacist who has worked across community pharmacy, primary healthcare, residential care and psychogeriatric/dementia care, where her entire clinical career has been spent serving populations with high and complex health needs. Most recently, she has served as the Clinical Chief Advisor for Pharmacy and Allied Health at the New Zealand Ministry of Health, as well as Clinical Chief Advisor to New Zealand’s National Immunisation Programme.Â
Andi has recently completed a Fulbright Scholarship at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, where she studied public health, health behaviour change and implementation policy. Andi has extensive governance experience in private, not-for-profit and government organisations, including serving as Deputy Chair of the New Zealand Pharmacy Council and as a member of the Global Pharmacy Regulators’ Advisory Group.Â
She has also served as Chair of the New Zealand Medicines Classification Committee and has over twenty years of experience in medicines reclassification and regulation with a focus on increasing safe consumer access to medicines. Andi holds honorary academic positions at both the University of Auckland and the University of Otago, New Zealand.
Annagrace is a pharmacist registered with the Pharmacy Council of Tanzania and a communications specialist experienced in graphic design, branding, and digital communication management within corporate environments.
She is an active member of the Pharmaceutical Society of Tanzania, currently serving as a Public Relations & Communication Officer. Annagrace also serves as the Brand and Social Media Lead at the Tanzania AI Community and the Events & Programs Team Co-Lead at the Tanzania Human Genetics Organization. Additionally, she is a beneficiary of the UN Women’s initiative, AGCCI – Binti Dijitali, which trains and empowers girls with digital skills.
Annagrace is dedicated to using her expertise to support the Commonwealth Pharmacists Association’s development initiatives, which aim to build a strong and diverse collaborative network among pharmacists, enhance community well-being, and promote sustainable growth across the Commonwealth.
Kwabena is the Vice President of the Pharmaceutical Society of Ghana (PSGH) and the chairman of the Ethics and Disciplinary Committee of PSGH. In 2022, he chaired the national committee that developed and implemented Ghana’s electronic pharmacy policy and is currently a member of a three-member committee reviewing Ghana’s pharmacy education policy. In addition to being a pharmacist, Kwabena is also a lawyer and has a master’s degree in Economic Policy Management.
He started his career as a community pharmacist and transitioned to become the Executive Secretary for the Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association of Ghana, and later the Executive Secretary for the West African Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association. In these two roles, Kwabena spearheaded reforms that led to tax exemptions for pharmaceutical raw and packaging materials, contributed to regulatory reforms for pharmaceutical manufacturing, and contributed to the initial execution of the pharmaceutical manufacturing plan for Africa.
He has subsequently worked with Johnson & Johnson as Head of Government Affairs and Policy for West and East Africa, focusing on access to mental health and prostate cancer care, as well as access to COVID-19 vaccines, and currently works as West Africa Head of Partnerships and Business Development for Medtronic Labs, with a focus on digital health.
Mary Anne has been actively involved with the Commonwealth Pharmacists Association (CPA) since 1988, when she formed part of the Maltese delegation at the CPA regional workshop on Pharmacy Education and Practice in the UK. Mary Anne has been a Council Member of the Malta Chamber of Pharmacists since 1980, holding the post of Secretary from 1985-89 and Vice-President from 1991-92 and again from 1996-2005.
Annagrace is a pharmacist registered with the Pharmacy Council of Tanzania and a communications specialist experienced in graphic design, branding, and digital communication management within corporate environments.
She is an active member of the Pharmaceutical Society of Tanzania, currently serving as a Public Relations & Communication Officer. Annagrace also serves as the Brand and Social Media Lead at the Tanzania AI Community and the Events & Programs Team Co-Lead at the Tanzania Human Genetics Organization. Additionally, she is a beneficiary of the UN Women’s initiative, AGCCI – Binti Dijitali, which trains and empowers girls with digital skills.
Annagrace is dedicated to using her expertise to support the Commonwealth Pharmacists Association’s development initiatives, which aim to build a strong and diverse collaborative network among pharmacists, enhance community well-being, and promote sustainable growth across the Commonwealth.