Trustees

Mike was appointed as the British Ambassador to Yemen in July 2004. An Arabic speaker, he has worked in the Middle East for much of his career, including most recently in the British embassies in Saudi Arabia and Egypt.  When he is not involved in Yemen Smile and promoting British interests in Yemen, Mike enjoys reading, travel and painting (badly)

Trish was born in Kenya and met Mike on his first diplomatic posting in Abu Dhabi in 1983, since when she has accompanied him on diplomatic postings in the Middle East and Europe.  She is a qualified swimming instructor, and swam for the Kenya national team as a child.  From 2004 - 2006 Trish was Chairwoman of the International Women`s Association (IWA), a body of expatriate and Yemeni women, based in Sana ́a, which undertakes charitable work for a variety of causes.

Colin has been the resident General Manager of DNO Yemen AS since 2001.  He was one of the original supporters of the Yemen Smile project.  DNO Yemen AS is a subsidiary of DNO ASA, a Norwegian oil and gas company which is registered on the Oslo stock exchange.  Colin has a wealth of international experience, having lived and worked in many developed and developing countries during his 20 year career with Shell International and six years in the Royal Norwegian Navy.  He graduated from the Royal Norwegian Navy Academy in 1968 and from the University of Trondheim, Norway with a Masters Degree in Petroleum Engineering in 1975.  He is married and has two grown up children.

André is a mining engineer who graduated in 1974 from Ecoles des Mines d`Ales in France. From 1976 - 1982 he worked as a civil servant in France before joining Elf Aquitaine. He was Safety and Environment Manager in France from 1982 to 1990, Environment Manager in Gabon, Africa from 1991 to 1995 before, in 1996, moving to Paris as Oil Spill Preparedness and Response Manager at the company headquarters. In 2001 after the company merged with Total he moved to Damascus as Health, Safety, Environment, and Security Manager for Total EP, Syria. In 2005 he became Health, Safety, Environmental, Security and Sustainable Development Manager for Total EP, Yemen based in Sana ́a. He and his wife Elisabeth have two children and two grand daughters.