Management Team

David Royce, Chief Executive, BSc (Hons), CQSW, MBA

David Royce has a background in engineering, the probation service and prison service.

I was raised and educated in West Bromwich, latterly at the local technical college where I benefited from the inspirational teaching that took me away from the factory and onto a degree course at Portsmouth Polytechnic: I was the first in my family to enjoy that privilege. During this time I became a volunteer, leading a play scheme in the dockyard area of Portsea. In 1976 I established an adventure playground as part of the scheme. The playground remains a valued resource for the city to this day and I count it as one of my finest achievements.

The experience of volunteering changed my life. It inspired me to return to study for the Diploma in Social Work at the University of Cardiff and then to spend ten years as a practitioner. I enrolled for an MBA, having eventually moved into management in probation, and was later seconded to the prison service.

In 1994, I was employed by trustees to establish an independent charity and limited company, SARO, so that colleagues could join from Stonham Housing Association. In 2000, SARO evolved into CRI through merger with three charities that had been saved from closure by coming under the management of CRI. The early experiences of TUPE and merger formed the management model upon which CRI was founded and remain its guiding principle today. Partnership continues to be a vital component of service delivery and ensures that the best people get to do the job.

Today, as Chief Executive, I lead a team of dedicated and passionate colleagues who work hard to improve the lives of others. I continue to be driven by the spirit of volunteering and am still impressed by what people achieve when they work together for the benefit of others.

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David Biddle MBE, Deputy Chief Executive, BA (Hons), CQSW, MSc

David has a background in the probation service and has worked in training, offender services, matrimonial work, substance misuse and community development.

Alison Levy, Director of Legal Services, CIPD, SHND, MSSP

Alison has an HR background in the private and public sectors, including the construction and dairy industries, finance, and the police, and is an experienced senior manager.

I was brought up in Hamilton just outside Glasgow, where I initially qualified as a secretary. My first post was in the public sector at the Diplomatic Service which involved relocating to London. I moved to the private sector, first joining the personnel team at Alfred McAlpine Construction in Surrey, and then in various HR roles with Colas, a road surfacing company. During eight years with Colas I was involved in two major restructures and redundancy programmes and was responsible for employment law, leadership development and systems integration. Further HR roles in the private sector followed during which time I completed my CIPD, part-time at Brighton University.

My next role was with Sussex Police, working initially as HR Manager and then as Head of Employee Relations, with responsibility for implementing a diversity strategy. During this time I developed my passion for the law, and employment law in particular, providing support and guidance to both officers and civilian staff.

I joined CRI in 2005, with responsibility for HR, learning & development, marketing communications, volunteers and legal issues (tribunals etc). At that time there were 450 staff and £15m turnover; today we have a £65m turnover and employ 1,800 staff. In recent years I have gained a paralegal qualification in advanced employment law (through a correspondence course via Strathclyde University) and qualified in 2007 as MSSP (Member of the Society of Specialist Paralegals).

I moved to the role of Legal Services Director for CRI in 2009, providing specialist advice on employment law, company and commercial law, contract law, charity law, mergers and acquisitions, legal documentation and regulatory governance relating to various operational areas. Due to the continued growth of the organisation and its changing structures there is an increasing requirement for in depth advice and guidance on legal matters, and I am currently studying for a master’s degree in employment law (through De Montfort University, Leicester), which covers company law, insolvency and tax law as well as collective labour law and mediation. 

I thoroughly enjoy my role with CRI which enables me to work closely with operational colleagues to support effective service delivery.

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Chris Hill, Director of Finance, ACA BA (Hons)

Chris is a qualified chartered accountant who has held senior financial posts in the automotive manufacturing and engineering industries.

I was raised and educated in Grimsby before moving to Brighton where I completed my education and gained a degree in Accountancy and Finance from the then Brighton Polytechnic. I qualified as a Chartered Accountant in the Brighton office of a southern based firm of accountants, where I gained an excellent broad base of experience and knowledge whilst auditing and working with a range of clients and organisations.

I then moved into the world of commerce and industry: first as Group Financial Controller of Mayflower (£600m turnover), an automotive manufacturing, engineering and design group listed on the Stock Exchange; then as Head of Finance at Dennis in Guildford, a manufacturing company making bus and fire engine chassis. Dennis was a £55m turnover division of a Scottish-based company itself turning over £155m. Reporting to the managing director and leading the finance team, I had full responsibility for the division’s financial controls and performance.

During that time I also provided accountancy services in my spare time to a small charity in Hove that works with older people and other community projects, which inspired my interest in the voluntary sector.

I joined CRI in 2006. As Director of Finance, IT and Resources I lead a team of 33 staff who provide both central, organisational support and as well as support to our regional operations across England and Wales. My role is wide-ranging and no day is the same, regardless of plans, and covers matters including daily financial issues and planning, procurement, new tender progress, health and safety, IT and facilities.
 
CRI is a fast moving environment with opportunities and challenges every day. I knew engineers at Dennis who were passionate about their chassis designs but employees at CRI are on a different level when it comes to dedication to their work! I am always impressed by their drive and commitment to succeed. The fact that we are working directly to help people improve their own lives, and the lives of those around them, is always something to think about when dealing with day to day challenges. I am also proud to work for a successful organisation which is highly regarded in our field.

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Kevin Crowley, Director of Operations, LLM, Postgraduate Dip Drug Dependency, Postgraduate Dip Dual Diagnosis

Kevin has a background in the criminal justice system and in community service management.

Mark Moody, Director of Operations, BSc (Hons)

Mark has been working in the social care field for 10 years with a particular focus on Tier 2 and 3 substance misuse treatment services and the criminal justice system.

Mike Pattinson, Director of Operations, BA (Hons), MA Social Work, MBA

Mike has a background in the probation service and in residential services for offenders and substance misusers.

My family are Geordies and after a nomadic early childhood, moving with my father’s work to Manchester, South and West London, I spent most of my school days living and studying in Staines. My interest in social care, justice and policy was aroused during the early 1980s and I was fortunate to be the first member of my family to get into higher education – moving to Brighton in 1985 to study a Humanities degree at what was then the Polytechnic. During my studies in Brighton I became active in student politics and served on the Student Union in both executive and non-executive capacities.

After a prolonged period of travel I returned to Brighton in 1991 where I began managing a local pub. After two years of pub management I decided to re-engage in the world of ‘social care’ and began working in a voluntary capacity for a local homeless project and the probation service. After 8-9 months I was fortunate enough to secure a full-time position as a residential worker in a Bail Hostel and after a further two years returned to education gaining a Master’s in Social Work at the University of Sussex, supporting my studies through part-time residential rehabilitation work with families experiencing substance misuse addictions. My studies included placements within the probation service, Lewes prison and a neighbourhood community development organisation, where I worked closely with local community volunteers.

I spent three years as a probation officer in East and West Sussex where, in addition to the usual assessment, report writing and case-management duties, I also delivered intensive group work programmes and was the substance misuse liaison lead officer.

This experience was both enjoyable and invaluable but I knew that I wanted to try and make a bigger and more tangible difference to service users and our community than I felt able to do within the confines of a statutory service, so I joined SARO in February 1999 as a team leader within ‘Get It While You Can’.

The period since 1999 has been an amazing journey as we have grown the organisation from a small Sussex-based charity into one of the most successful organisations in the UK. I count myself lucky that I continue to be surrounded by colleagues, staff and service users who both challenge and inspire me. During my time with CRI, I have attained an MBA through the Open University.

My passion remains as strong today as it did when I first joined SARO. My determination is to keep CRI’s focus on broad areas of delivery ensuring that we retain an emphasis on young people, offenders, families, homeless people and the victims of domestic violence.

As a member of the Central Management Team my interests include organisational structures and development, quality and effectiveness.

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Oscar D'Agnone, Director of Clinical Services, MD, MRCPsych

Oscar is a consultant psychiatrist with more than 25 years' experience working with substance misusers in the public and private sector.

I was raised and educated in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and obtained my bachelor degree and medical diploma from the University of Buenos Aires in 1979. After graduation I spent six years training as a consultant psychiatrist and after a further four years was appointed Associate Professor of Psychiatry. I then practiced and taught Psychiatry on undergraduate and postgraduate courses for several years at the University Hospital in Buenos Aires.

During the 80s and early 90s I continued working in and teaching Psychiatry, mostly focused on young people, borderline personalities and addictions. In 1994 I wrote my first book “Cocaine Addiction”. This was the result of many years’ of experience treating cocaine addicts, writing scientific papers, making many international presentations and chairing conferences on drug related problems.

In the early 90s I was appointed specialist adviser to the National Secretary of Drug Dependency and Drug Traffic reporting to the President. My role was to advise the government on policy and strategic issues related to drug treatment and to produce material on drug prevention.

In the 90s I also chaired an International Joint Programme for continuing medical education with Harvard Medical International, the International Branch of the Medical School, Harvard University.

I then moved to the UK, working first as medical director for a charity providing drug treatment in high security prisons in England and Wales and then as lead consultant in addictions for Buckinghamshire PCT, later merged with Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Mental Health Trust.

In 2006 I met with David Royce and David Biddle from CRI to discuss our vision of the present and the future of drug treatment in the UK. From the beginning we felt we shared the same vision and aspirations and I am proud to say that five years down the line we have achieved our most important target, providing clinical services of the highest quality wherever CRI is involved, particularly to the most isolated and deprived communities across England and Wales.

We have developed very consistent and integrated clinical governance policies and we have set up a senior clinical management structure incorporating consultants, GPs, mental health nurses and former NTA senior officers, all of them with many years’ experience in senior roles in the field.

I have the honour to lead CRI’s senior clinical management team, whose role is to ensure clinical excellence and ensure all our clinical governance policies and guidelines are implemented in every service.

Today CRI is a leading provider of drug treatment in UK and has a very good reputation for the quality of the interventions provided and its first-rate management team.

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Debbie McKeown, Director of Human Resources, BSc, MA, FCIPD

Debbie has over 20 years' experience of human resource management in both the private and public sector. Debbie also spent two years as an independent HR consultant providing advice and guidance to a diverse portfolio of clients.

Kevin Perlmutter, Director of Communications, BA (Hons), MCIPR

Kevin has over 20 years' senior level Communications experience in the IT, IT services, automotive and telecommunications sectors.