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Board Members
 
Board Members Chairman Emeritus
Jamie Anderson
Lorna Wendt
Ian Slome
Tim Medhurst
Kelly O'Dea
Mary Thomson
Bill Grabe
Peter Britton
Charitha Ratwatte
Dick Hubbard
Canon Michael Irving
Wang-Ha Cho
Francois Burman
Jon D'Almeida
Iain Peter
William Phillips
Peter Kyle
Executive Director
Ian Wade (ex-officio)


Jamie Anderson

Jamie Anderson - Chairman, OBI

Jamie Anderson is Deputy Chairman of RBC Capital Markets in Toronto. He previously worked with Morgan Stanley & Co in New York and Montreal after receiving an MBA with Distinction from Harvard Business School.

Jamie Anderson has served as Chairman of Outward Bound Canada and led the merger of the two schools into a national organization. He is Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health and a Continuing Senior Fellow of Massey College.


Lorna Wendt

Lorna Wendt - Vice Chairman OBI

Lorna Wendt is a personal believer in the power of Outward Bound and has been on 12 programs on 6 continents. She has been a Board member of OBI for 5-years and now serves as Vice Chairman with a special interest in Development.

Lorna Wendt founded The Institute for Equality in Marriage to try to answer these questions and, more important, to help set legal precedent that will lead to fairer divorce laws in the United States.

In addition to managing the Institute, Ms. Wendt supports the arts and education through her many philanthropic activities. She is a founding member and benefactor of the Board of the Women's Philanthropy Institute and is a founding member of the University of Wisconsin's Tri-State Women's Initiative. She is on the advisory board of both the University of Wisconsin's School of Music and the College of Letters and Sciences and the University of Wisconsin Foundation. In 1997, she was named as one of the University's distinguished alumni. Ms. Wendt has served on the Board of the Stamford Center for the Arts, is an honorary trustee of the Stamford Symphony and on the Advisory Board of Outward Bound USA.

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Ian Slome

Ian Slome - Treasurer OBI

Ian Slome is Chairman of the Slome Group of Companies, an international, industrial and financial investment group with operations in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and South Africa.

Mr. Slome, born and raised in Johannesburg, South Africa, has lived in New York since 1985. He received a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Witswatersrand (Johannesburg) and a Master of Business Administration from the Harvard Business School.

Mr. Slome's primary philanthropic activities include serving on the Board of Outward Bound USA, Outward Bound International, and supporting a variety of causes in the arts, education, health and Jewish social and religious institutions.

"Why am I involved in Outward Bound? Outward Bound has changed my life," Mr. Slome declares. "Its principles, ideals and the value it offers - is truly appreciated only through experience. You have to be involved. These ideals are not a mere abstraction. Personally I get excited by the variety of challenges available, from those presented on an expedition—the fears, adrenaline, risk, mental and physical exertions—to those surrounding the organization's growth and fulfillment of its mission."

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G. Kelly O'Dea

G. Kelly O'Dea

Kelly is Chairman/CEO of AllianceHPL Worldwide, a strategic advice and solutions firm headquartered in New York City. A well known global marketing executive, he previously served as Vice Chairman of IPG Advanced Marketing Services, President of Foote Cone & Belding Worldwide and President of Worldwide Client Service for Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide.

He has worked with top-level clients in virtually every category and has led many of the world's largest accounts including Ford, Unilever, Shell, Boeing, Kraft, PepsiCo, Microsoft, AT&T, Fujitsu, Samsung, Compaq and IBM. He also lived 10 years of his career overseas.

Educated in the USA and Europe, he received an International MBA with Distinction from the Thunderbird Graduate School of International Management and a BA (Political Science and Economics) from the University of Portland. He is a board director and trustee of both schools and has also served on several corporate and industry boards.

Kelly has been actively involved with Outward Bound for nearly 25 years as a board director, marketing advisor and host of several Outward Bound expeditions. Aside from serving on the OBI Board, Kelly has been a Board member of OB USA.

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Tim Medhurst

Tim Medhurst

Originally trained as a Licensed Surveyor, Tim has a B.Sc and Dip.Ed. After gaining a Master of Science in Glaciology from Melbourne University, Tim led scientific expeditions in the Antarctica spending 10 months in the field away from the base. He followed this with service as Operations Director of Outward Bound Australia overseeing 18 operational areas around Australia. Tim was Country Director in Fiji for CARE Australia and later became Executive Director of OB Australia. After a 30 year involvement, Tim now serves on the Board of OB Australia.

Recently Tim has been Director of Casleyville and South Developments involved with land development and real estate investment. Tim serves with a number of not for profit organizations including being Chairman of The Ethos Foundation

Tim and his family enjoy travelling, mixing and working with other cultures. He is an enthusiastic surfer and skier. He and his wife Fiona have three children.


Ian Wade

Ian Wade

Ian has a varied background in Outward Bound as an instructor for Colorado OBS, program manager for Pacific Crest OBS and Vice President of Outward Bound USA responsible for risk management and program development. He was a founder and President of the American Mountain Guides Association, establishing accreditation and certification programs. Ian spent a year at Columbia University Business School in New York getting a graduate qualification in Not For Profit Management.

A passion for mountaineering and the profound impact it can have on people is what initially attracted Ian to Outward Bound. His mountaineering activities include numerous "big wall" climbs in Yosemite, the North Face of the Eiger, a first ascent in the Karakorum and being climbing leader of the Mt. Everest Peace Climb. He reached the summit, by the north ridge, along with 20 climbers from America, the Soviet Union and China- a world record number to reach the summit from one expedition.

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William E. Phillips

William E. Phillips - Chairman Emeritus

Bill Phillips is a native of Chicago. He graduated from Cornell in 1951 and then served as a naval officer at sea during the Korean Conflict. After an M.B.A. at Northwestern, he worked for Procter & Gamble as a brand manager. In 1959, he joined Ogilvy & Mather, which grew from one office to the fourth largest agency in the world, and served as chief executive officer from 1981 to 1988.

Mr. Phillips became involved with Outward Bound in 1975 on a rafting trip on Cataract Canyon with Bill Coors, Josh Miner, Joe Nold, and Steve Truitt, among others. He has since been on 16 Outward Bound adventures from the streets of New York City to high altitudes on six continents.

As an OBUSA trustee, Mr. Phillips initiated a PSA recruitment advertising campaign. He then became the founding chairman of the New York City Outward Bound Center. In 1988, he led the establishment of an international board, which he chaired for nine years. In 1997, Mr. Phillips stepped down to become chairman emeritus. He remains active in fund raising for Outward Bound everywhere.

Mr. Phillips also serves on four for-profit Boards and four non-profit Boards. Mr. Phillips is married to Barbara Smith, who is a professional fundraiser. He says he has always been luckier than he deserves to be, except on the golf course.

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Peter Kyle

Peter Kyle - Chairman Emeritus

Peter is a lawyer and hails from New Zealand. He was educated at Victoria University of Wellington gaining a BA (Economics) and a Bachelor of Laws (Honors). He worked as a Barrister and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of New Zealand he worked as a Clerk to the Chief Justice of New Zealand. He was then awarded a Rotary International Graduate Fellowship to complete a Master of Laws degree at the University of Virginia in 1974. Upon returning to New Zealand he was made a partner in the leading New Zealand commercial law firm of Watts and Patherson. In 1979, he took leave from his firm to serve as a Senior Counsel with the Asian Development Bank in Manila, Philippines. In 1992 Peter accepted an offer of a senior position within the Legal Department of the World Bank based in Washington, D.C.

Peter completed his first Outward Bound course at Anakiwa, New Zealand, in February 1966. He became an active leader in the Alumni Association of and the Council. He served on all major Board committees and chaired most of them. He became actively involved in the international activities of Outward Bound and in 1988 was instrumental in drafting all the legal documentation which led to the establishment of the International Advisory Board. In 1993 he was appointed to that Board and in 1997 he was made Chairman. He stepped down in 2003 but remains active in legal and licensing matters as Chairman Emeritus.

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Bill Grabe

Mr. Bill Grabe (Americas)

Bill has been a Partner at General Atlantic Partners, LLC, a worldwide private equity firm with over $5 billion in capital under management. Prior to joining General Atlantic Partners, Bill held numerous leadership positions at IBM. Bill holds an Engineering degree (NYU) and MBA (UCLA)

Bill is an enthusiast for Outward Bound expeditions and heads the OBUSA Expedition committee. He recently climbed Kilimanjaro, with his family, and trekked in Tibet to Everest. He also serves on the Boards of the Cancer Research Institute and the Nature Conservancy.

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Dick Hubbard

Mr. Dick Hubbard (Asia-Pacific)

Dick is Chairman of Hubbard Foods in New Zealand. He has a degree in Food Technology. From an early experience building a tropical fruit processing Company from scratch, a project had social as well as financial aims, he continues to be an advocate for Social Responsibility in Business.

He is heavily involved in community and professional organizations. Hubbard Foods has setup a cause marketing program for Outward Bound and supported many other charities.

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Charitha Ratwatte

Mr. Charitha Ratwatte (Asia-Pacific)

Charitha is Managing Director, Sri Lanka Business Development Centre an NGO concerned with enterprise development. He was previously Secretary to the Treasury, and Secretary Ministry of Finance in Sri Lanka.

He was an Attorney with the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka and taught at University of Colombo. He has extensive experience with international organizations such as Red Cross and Red Crescent, World Bank, UNDP, UNHCR, Commonwealth Youth Affairs Council, etc. He has been a driving force behind development of Outward Bound in Sri Lanka

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Canon Michael Irving

Canon Michael Irving (Europe)

Michael has been involved in outdoor pursuits since school days, served with VSO and as an instructor for OB UK in 1970's. He is a Member of Management Committee of Outward Bound Trust UK.

Since being ordained in 1981 he has held various ministries and is currently Rector of Minchinhampton with Box in Gloucestershire. He is married with 3 children.

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Mary Thomson

Mary Thomson

Mary M. Thomson, BA (Hons.), MA, LLB, is a senior partner in Gowlings’ Advocacy Group in Toronto. She is one of Canada’s pre-eminent practitioners in the areas of class actions, mass tort litigation, products liability, pharma litigation, health law and consent law, and is recognized in the Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory as a leading lawyer in the area of medical negligence. She brings extensive experience in representing clients before the courts, Commissions of Inquiry, professional regulatory bodies and other administrative tribunals, and served as amicus curiae in Goodis v. The Children’s Lawyers at the request of the court. Ms. Thomson is also expert in privacy issues in the health care field.

Ms. Thomson is currently an adjunct professor in the Graduate Department of Health Administration, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, instructing Ethical and Legal Issues in the Health Law Field. Ms. Thomson has taught Trial Advocacy throughout her career at both the University of Toronto and the Intensive Trial Advocacy Workshop at Osgoode Hall Law School. In addition, she has taught and developed curriculum for negotiation theory and skills following her completion of the Basic and Advanced Negotiation Program at Harvard Law School.

Ms. Thomson is a past board chair of Canadian Outward Bound Wilderness School, a past director of Outward Bound Canada, and a founding trustee of the Outward Bound Canada Foundation. She currently serves on the Risk Management Committee of Outward Bound International.

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Peter Britton

Peter Britton

Peter P. Britton is owner and manager of Brick Ends Farm, Inc. a biorecycling company specializing in the composting of organic wastes and the production of enhanced soil products. He is a founding partner of Agresource, Inc., a regional cost-avoidance company that has pioneered in on-farm use of organic wastes and new composting techniques.

Mr. Britton, with his wife Beatrice, has been a participant in OBI Guest Expeditions to: Kilimanjaro, The Scottish Highlands, England Coast-To-Coast, the Silk Road, the Camino De Santiago, and Bhutan in 2008.

Although now a practicing agricultural engineer, Mr. Britton pursued a B.A. degree in American Studies at Yale University from 1962-66. He served as an officer in the U.S. Navy from 1966-70 as a salvage diver before returning to teach English, American History, and Anthropology at Belmont Hill School, Belmont, MA from 1970-75. At this time he adopted farming as his passion and career path, joined by his wife and children, Nathan and Willoughby moving to Hamilton, MA - home of Brick Ends Farm.

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Wang-Ha Cho

Wang-Ha Cho

After 8 years of both graduate studies and law practice in the U.S., Mr. Cho returned to Korea in 1989 and has since held various senior executive positions with the member companies of Tong Yang Group and Kolon Group.

With his experience as a business lawyer and turnaround specialist, Mr. Cho has taken a leading role in the successful negotiations of various M&A deals and joint venture projects. He also was in charge of the assets management operation of the Korea Investment Fund, a NY corporation established with Alliance Capital of the US.

Mr. Cho has also been privileged to serve on two prestigious “Presidential Commissions” as a representative of the Korean financial industry.

Born in Seoul, Korea on September 18, 1953, Mr. Cho is married to Kyung-Hee Hahn and together they have one son, Joon-Il. Mr. Cho’s interests include marathon, rock climbing, skiing, kayaking, and dog breeding.

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Jon D'Almeida

Jon D'Almeida

Jon is a New Zealander who has roamed the world in the service of Outward Bound. After working as School Director in New Zealand he left to take up the challenge of starting Outward Bound in post-apartheid South Africa. With that school well established Jon moved to Hong Kong where he is now the Executive Director. Jon has had many years of involvement in Outward Bound around the world.

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Iain Peter

Iain Peter

Iain has held many prestigious jobs in the outdoor education field in the UK and served as Chief Executive, Mountain Training Trust, Plas y Brenin for a decade. An internationally recognized mountain guide Iain has climbed major peaks like Everest, Cerro Torre in Patagonia and the Eiger North Face. Iain serves as Chairman of the Risk Management Committee of Outward Bound Trust UK and has been involved in the setting of standards, training and assessment of candidates for all UK mountaineering qualifications.

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Francois Burman

Francois Burman

Born in South Africa, Francois is a Professional Engineer who has held senior positions in the nuclear energy field. An entrepreneur with many interests Francois is active in hyperbaric medicine and serves on the board of the international Divers Alert network and is Chairman of Outward Bound South Africa.

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