Risk and compliance: Data protection

Paul Sypko
Consultancy Director

“Charities and not-for-profit organisations are demanding users of information systems and digital technology. There’s a clear sense of purpose in the sector, and that shows in how technology is used to achieve impact and obtain real value. Not-for-profits often hold massive amounts of data, much of which is highly sensitive in nature, and they engage in many different ways with a very broad range of stakeholders. Whether it’s using digital channels to support personalised ‘user journeys’ or high-impact campaigning and engagement, or diligently taking care of back-office systems to deliver an efficient and cost-effective service, it’s great to be working in a sector where technology can be used so effectively to make a tangible difference to people's lives.”

Paul is a highly experienced technology management consultant, with a senior-level CIO/CTO background and expertise in areas such as technology strategy development, digital solutions, infrastructure and systems management, function reviews, information security and data protection, and selection and management of technology partners. He has 25 years’ experience of leading high-impact consultancy engagements, the majority of which have been with clients in the not-for-profit sector. Prior to Adapta, Paul held senior roles at not-for-profit specialists Sayer Vincent, Crowe UK, and BlueSpark Consulting. He also brings to his engagements significant experience from the commercial sector, having worked for “Strategy &”, a leading firm of strategy consultants that is now part of PwC, where he was awarded their Professional Excellence Award while leading a large-scale digital transformation and innovation programme. Paul has led assignments for more than 100 organisations, including charities, membership organisations, trade unions, trade associations, royal colleges, professional institutes and other not for-profit and commercial organisations. Paul's recent clients have included ActionAid UK, ClientEarth, Cranstoun, Tate Britain, St. Peter's Hospice, the Institution of Civil Engineers, British Gymnastics, the Royal College of Ophthalmologists, Letchworth Garden City Heritage Foundation, the Education Support Partnership, National Children's Bureau, the Institute for Fiscal Studies, Lymphoma Action, SPANA, the Woodland Trust, the Trussell Trust, Volunteering Matters and Woking & Sam Beare Hospices. Paul specialises in strategic planning for information systems, function reviews and outsourcing, commercial contract negotiation, project planning, data protection, information security management, business process improvement, and procurement of business applications such as CRM. Paul holds a MA (Oxon) degree from the University of Oxford, having gained a scholarship to read Economics and Management at St. John’s College and the Saïd Business School. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Consulting and has a particular interest in helping others to achieve their potential. Following a long period of time spent on various committees in a voluntary leadership capacity, he was pivotal to the development of the ‘Chartered Management Consultant’ award which was launched in 2020, and he often provides guidance and support to people working towards their professional qualifications. Paul is also a Chartered Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute, a Fellow of the Institute of Leadership and Management, a Certified Business Advisor and a member of the British Computer Society’s IT Leaders Forum. In his spare time, he is also the chair of trustees for a local Scout group.

“Paul is enthusiastic, dedicated and a highly capable person who works with such integrity and to a high standard. I very much value Paul’s support and guidance and know I can always rely on him.”

Liz
AI Safety and Data Protection Associate

Liz Curry began her career working in theatre publicity, spending 10 years at the National Theatre in various marketing roles. She worked briefly with the UN on the first Mozambican General Election and travelled through East Africa before joining Comic Relief, where she was involved in a variety of projects. Liz became Comic Relief’s first CRM Manager in 2002 where she was responsible for the development of the role, including process analysis, design and implementation of all fulfilment processes for the Red Nose Day and Sport Relief campaigns: streamlining the process to efficiently delivery hundreds and thousands of pieces of print materials. She also redesigned the way gift aid was processed, winning Information Age’s Most Effective Use of IT in a Charitable Organisation 2007, in recognition of claiming £7.5m worth of Gift Aid from Red Nose Day donors and won the Grand Prix: Most Effective IT Project 2007. She mapped out a better way of income reporting during campaign, identified bottlenecks, redundancies and inefficiencies and engaged stakeholders to understand areas for improvement, then instituted a system of daily income reporting to SRT. She was later appointed Business Planning and Processes Manager with specific responsibility for designing new business processes around the introduction of GDPR. The programme won the Best GDPR Programme and Grand Prix winner in DataIQ’s Talent Awards in 2017. Liz is now an independent consultant and associate consultant with Adapta. Her current clients include Wood Green, The Animals Charity, The Hugs Foundation and Livewire Consultancy (as Data Protection Officer); The Mercury Theatre, Colchester (working with the Marketing team to redesign processes and hit their targets) and Be the Business. Past clients include: Barnardo’s, Marie Curie, Versus Arthritis, The Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust, and We Are Family, the adoption charity. Other awards include: Marketing Week’s Data Strategy Award for 2013; Data IQ’s Real Mail Marketer of the Year in 2013; and the 2013 IoF Insight in Fundraising Award for Innovation; and the IoF Insight in Fundraising Award for Driving Strategy in 2012. She was also named in the DataIQ Big Data 100 list for three years running. Liz became a member of the IDM/DMA’s Data Council in 2014 and is a member of both the DMA’s Governance Committee and Fundraising Forum (and occasional chair of webinars).

Beverley
Data Protection Associate

Bev has worked in the data protection arena for over 20 years, mainly employed in the charity / not-for-profit and public sectors. Until May 2023 she was the DPO for Crisis UK (the national homelessness charity) but has also worked for or supported the NSPCC, local children's and adults hospice-based charities, plus debt relief and humanitarian based organisations. A bit of a cookie evangelist, Bev is passionate about the ethical use of data and supporting organisations in developing their understanding of what really happens when they deploy third party cookies on their websites and Apps and the potential risks to both site visitors and an organisation's reputation. Known for her approachable style and pragmatism when it comes to data protection and marketing compliance, Bev embeds a risk based approach with all her clients. Bev is ISEB certified in both data protection and Information Security Management.

Mark
Data Protection and Information Security Associate

Mark began his career in stage and theatre management, working in commercial and subsidised theatre. He held a number of roles in the arts funding sector including Head of National Touring and then Director of Business Process for Arts Council England. Following the Arts Council, Mark spent nearly seven years at Comic Relief, firstly as Head of Grants Operations, then Head of Business Planning and Process and for a short period as Director of Operations. At Comic Relief Mark was the Designated Safeguarding Lead and the Data Protection Officer. The GDPR compliance programme (co-designed with colleague Liz Curry) won the Best GDPR Programme and Grand Prix winner in DataIQ’s Talent Awards in 2017. After leaving Comic Relief, Mark clients have included Barnardo’s, Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust, Be the Business, Hyphen8, Wellcome Trust and Marie Curie. Mark has been a school governor and has held directorships and trusteeships in a number of not-for profit arts organisations and is currently the Chair of trustees of We Are Family, a peer-to-peer adoption support charity, Chair of The Blue Tangerine Charity that supports a federation of SEND schools and Vice Chair of Trustees of the Mercury Theatre Colchester. Mark has more than 20 years strategic leadership and management experience in the charity sector. He has extensive experience and practical knowledge of charity regulation and governance, and of leading strategic business planning; efficiency and transformation projects; team leadership; policy and process development and implementation; grant-making; data protection; and IT system implementation.