Mrs Lynn Fordham, Chair of the Board of Trustees of RMA – The Royal Marines Charity, has announced that Chief Executive Jonathan Ball OBE is to leave the Charity in June.
Jonathan joined the Royal Marines charitable sector in October 2012 as Operations Manager of the Royal Marines Charitable Trust Fund (RMCTF). He became CEO in May 2013, and following the commitment of a number of Royal Marines charity boards to merge in order to better serve the Corps Family’s beneficiaries, he led RMCTF’s successful mergers with The C Group in 2016 and with the Royal Marines Association (RMA) in 2019. Over his time with us, Jonathan has built the whole service delivery, one stop shop charity serving the Corps Family today. We can truly say that, under his leadership, we have grown to be a charity that offers lifelong support to serving and veteran Royal Marines and their dependants. In particular, he has focused on developing proactive, preventative care through growth of the Royal Marines Association which now has some 21,000 members.
In 2022, he also founded the Single Cap badge Associations Network (SCAN), a grouping of 28 triservice associations numbering over 200,000 members, to share best practice, work together on common challenges, and provide a single voice for the military associations to Government, particularly the Office for Veterans’ Affairs.
Made OBE in His Majesty’s New Year’s Honours for his services to the Royal Marines, Jonathan comes from an Army background, having served as a Chaplain from 1996-2008, including service alongside the Royal Marines in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Jonathan is leaving us to become Director of Grants at Greenwich Hospital, the Royal Navy’s oldest charity, where he will be responsible for providing funding raised from Greenwich’s historic endowment and property portfolio to the Naval charity sector.
Jonathan said,
“It has been a deep privilege to serve the Royal Marines, its Association and Charity for over a decade, and I am delighted that I have been able to play a part in building the vibrant and ever supportive Charity that the Corps Family deserves. I thank the Commandants General and all the Royal Marines who have supported me, my Chair and our fantastic Board of Trustees, and the fabulous staff team who have worked with me over the years.
“I will be very sorry to leave due to my moving up to Yorkshire with my wife Jane’s work, which would have made my continuing in my current role very challenging for me and the team. My new role is partly London-based, partly at home. I will do my very best to ensure the transition is as smooth as possible and that the Charity remains positioned for continued success.”
Lynn said
“We are sad to see Jonathan go but fully understand why. Throughout his tenure he has never offered anything less than 110% commitment and that often has come with personal sacrifice. Jonathan has been instrumental in listening to the whole Royal Marines family and shaping a Charity that we are all very proud to be part of. He leaves a legacy in many enduring relationships and a strong team in the Charity that speaks to the quality of his leadership. We will miss him and wish both Jonathan and Jane well in their new careers.”
An executive search and recruitment process will begin shortly, led by the Board’s People Committee.
