Hanneke Smits, CEO of BNY Mellon Investment Management, will step down as Chair of Impetus after six years in the position. Bill Benjamin, Partner and Co-Head of Ares Real Estate and Chair of Impetus’ Resources and Audit Committee, will take over as Chair of the Board in mid-October.  

Over the last six years, Impetus has made great strides in supporting the leaders of the most promising organisations, becoming the leading impact funder, and transforming the lives of hundreds of thousands of young people from disadvantaged backgrounds.  

Under Hanneke’s leadership, Impetus has defined how to deliver a transformative model of philanthropy - working alongside other funders to give our portfolio partners long term unrestricted funding for sustainability and growth, years of hands on, intensive support to focus their mission, and a policy platform to build the case for large scale government intervention. 

Over Hanneke’s time as Chair, Impetus has: 

• Grown its income from £9m in 2018 to £11.5m in 2023/24, directly reached 98,000 young people in 2023 with an average charity growth rate of 34% (CAGR). 

• Supported its portfolio partners to build programmes that achieve the highest standard of evidence of impact, including Resurgo in employment and The Access Project in widening participation to higher education, who are both respectively the best evidenced programmes in their sectors.  

• Established the Youth Endowment Fund with a £200 million grant from the Home Office and a ten-year mandate to prevent children and young people becoming involved in violence. 

• Launched new funds focused on school exclusions and race equity in youth employment.  

• Supported talent from ethnic minority backgrounds in the UK youth sector to progress into senior leadership roles through our Leadership Academy – including welcoming one of those graduates to our Board. 

Today, Impetus works with 22 partners across the country and produces evidence-based policy to transform the lives of young people from disadvantaged backgrounds.  

Reflecting on her tenure, Smits said: 

I leave Impetus in a strong position, financially secure and with a clear strategy for the future, ready to rise to the challenges ahead. A big thank you to all our partners and supporters, and the wonderful Impetus team for your tireless commitment. I am excited to see where Impetus goes next.

Our Interim CEO Sebastian Ergas commented,

Hanneke’s guidance at significant inflection points in our journey and generous support during her six years with us as Chair of the Board alongside her leadership and passion for our work have made a lasting impact on Impetus, and we wish her all the best for the future.

Bill Benjamin takes on the role of Chair after seven years of supporting Impetus as a Trustee. Bill said:

I’m incredibly proud to be taking on the role of Chair. The Impetus team is so impressive in its professionalism and its dedication to supporting people from disadvantaged backgrounds, in a way that has impact.

I’m looking forward to helping the team deliver on its bold ambition to be the leading impact funder and strategic partner for charity leaders, and the go-to organisation for decision makers who want to deliver real impact in the policy choices that can change young people’s lives.