After two decades as Chair of Trustees, David Kerr reflects on Halcrow Foundation’s journey from its creation in the wake of the Asian Tsunami, to becoming an independent charity that sustainably improves lives in Africa, Asia and the UK. As David steps down, he celebrates the trustees’ commitment to maintaining Halcrow’s engineering legacy, and welcomes Anna Mann as the new Chair to lead the foundation into its next chapter.
While I am deeply proud of Halcrow Foundation’s achievements over the past 20 years, charity management was never part of my original plan. In 2004, as Group Board Director at Halcrow, I witnessed the devastation caused by the Asian Tsunami across Indonesia, Thailand and Sri Lanka where we had projects and offices.
Afterwards staff – often led by Anna Mann – approached management to support the relief efforts. A fundraising campaign was launched and Halcrow matched donations. I was asked to ensure funds reached appropriate recovery projects, and this marked the beginning of my charitable journey.
The early days
In the early days our team, including Anna, Malcolm Wallace and Andrew Yeoward, who are still trustees today, had much to learn about selecting worthy recipients. We soon realised that our engineering principles transferred well: assessing value, managing projects for best outcomes, and appraising results to ensure objectives were met. In 2005, we established the Halcrow Foundation as a registered charity. I was elected Chair of Trustees and we were joined by Jim Billinghurst to strengthen fund management.
We also secured a pledge that 1% of Halcrow’s annual profits would support the foundation. When Halcrow was sold in 2011, the foundation remained independent. It was gifted £5.3m from the proceeds of the sale after Halcrow trustees were confident the foundation was managed well and continued the engineering legacy of Halcrow, which was once one of the top engineering consultancies in the UK.
Building strong partnerships
I am immensely proud that our trustees have worked harmoniously for 20 years, with communications support from Clare Dorey and now Lucy Mason. Our focus has always remained firmly on directing funds to meaningful projects rather than unnecessary bureaucracy.
As I step down as Chair but remain a trustee, I reflect with satisfaction on what we have achieved with modest investment returns. In our early years, we relied on Halcrow staff contacts to identify worthy projects overseas, and as time passed we built strong partnerships with trusted charities across the UK, Africa and Asia. This approach has allowed us to maximise our impact, ensuring funds are well managed locally while remaining accountable. We have always avoided large, multi-donor charities where transparency is lost, and I am confident we will uphold this principle into the future.
A new chapter
I am delighted Anna Mann will become the new Chair in January 2026. From the start, she encouraged me and my fellow Halcrow board members to work with staff to alleviate suffering and poverty arising from the Tsunami. Alongside myself, Malcolm, Andrew, Jim and new trustee Mark Carless, Anna is very much a core spirit of the foundation and will ensure that Halcrow’s legacy remains protected and strengthened into the future.
