Board Racial Diversity UK (BRDuk) is delighted to announce the appointment of Benaifer (“ben-eye-fur”) Bhandari as its new Chief Executive, succeeding the organisation’s visionary founder, Malcolm John. Benaifer takes up the role on 10 November 2025.
With more than 25 years of leadership and advocacy for racial and gender equity across the UK charity sector and beyond, Benaifer brings a wealth of experience and a deep commitment to justice. Her transformative tenure as CEO of Hopscotch Women’s Centre stands out, where she led strategic growth, expanded services, and secured long-term financial sustainability.
Under her leadership, Hopscotch became a rare example of a trans-inclusive women’s space, reaching more vulnerable women than ever before and fostering a workplace culture rooted in safety, support, and empowerment.
Reflecting on her new role, Benaifer said, “I am excited to bring both professional and lived experience to Board Racial Diversity UK. I look forward to working closely with the Board and with Malcolm to firmly establish BRDuk as the leading organisation and voice in advancing racial justice in decision-making spaces.”
Founder, Malcolm John, commented, “I’m delighted and excited by our appointment of Benaifer. I’m hugely looking forward to working with her in the immediate future to realise Board Racial Diversity’s vision. I’ve been honoured to bring the organisation to where it is now, but after six years as founder, I believe that it’s important to bring in new thinking and fresh perspectives.”
This appointment marks a bold new chapter for BRDuk as it pursues its goal to champion racial justice, increase representation of Black and Asian Trustees on not-for-profit Boards, and embed diversity and inclusion at the heart of leadership and governance.
Co-Chairs, Dalton Leong and Lena Bheeroo, added, “We are delighted to have found someone of Benaifer’s calibre to lead the next stage of our journey to proportionate representation of Black and Asian Trustees in charities, education and the public sector. We are also thrilled to announce that Malcolm John will be staying on as an Associate Consultant ensuring we carry forward his vision and commitment, while supporting Benaifer to implement our forthcoming new strategy.”
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Note to Editors:
About Board Racial Diversity UK (BRDuk): The charity (registration number 1210841) was registered in November 2024 and builds on the work undertaken since 2019 by Action for Trustee Racial Diversity UK, an organisation founded by Malcolm John.
BRDuk aims to increase the number of Black and Asian Trustees on not-for-profit Boards (Charities, education and public sector). Today, 8% of Trustees are from Black and Asian backgrounds against the UK population of 17%.**
To achieve proportionate representation, we need to recruit and retain an additional 60,000 Black and Asian trustees.
BRDuk works by advising and supporting non-profit organisations to take practical steps to increase the racial diversity of their Boards and embed racial equity in governance.
For further information, please visit www.boardracialdiversity.org.uk or contact Malcolm John at malcolm@boardracialdiversity.org.uk