Caudwell Children has appointed Claire Marshall as its next chief.

Marshall, who has been chief executive of the domestic abuse charity FearFree since March 2021, will take up the reins at the children’s charity on Thursday (7 November).

She succeeds the long-serving Trudi Beswick, who left the post in August last year after more than 23 years at the charity’s helm. When asked why Beswick left the job, the charity refused to comment.

But in a LinkedIn post in November last year, Beswick said: “I decided my skills were best used connecting business, public and third sector organisations together to support change.”

According to her LinkedIn profile, Beswick is now working as chief innovation officer for the recruitment platform Myn and as a non-executive director for Hallmark Electronics.

Marshall has more than 30 years’ experience in the charity sector, having been chief executive of the palliative care charity Compton Care between 2016 and 2021.

She was deputy chief executive and commercial director at Birmingham St Mary’s Hospice between 2012 and 2016, as well as having held posts at Air Ambulance and Cancer Research UK.

Marshall has also been a trustee for the environmental charity Groundwork UK for the past eight years.

Caudwell Children, which supports disabled and autistic children, said Marshall had a personal connection to neurodivergence which has “fuelled her passion for inclusive services, making her an ideal fit for Caudwell Children’s mission”. 

Marshall said: “I have a personal connection to neurodivergence, both as a neurodivergent individual and through the experiences of my family. I’m excited to work alongside the incredible team at Caudwell Children to build a more inclusive world.”

She added that with the charity’s 25th anniversary coming up next year, she sees “immense potential in expanding our services, increasing the number of children we support year on year”.

Marshall said: “Together, we will unlock new opportunities to empower even more children and families.”