Appointment of Council trustees

Council trustees take on a really important role at Which?, being both charity trustees and company directors. Trustees are responsible for setting the strategy of the group to enable the charity to deliver its charitable purpose; providing scrutiny, support and stretch to the commercial Which? Limited Board and the leadership team to drive progress and deliver impact. They also steward the charity to make best use of its resources, thereby also protecting and conserving its assets for tomorrow's consumers as well as those of today.

You can read about our governance structure here, and find out more about the role of Council and its trustees by clicking below.

You can also meet our Council of Trustees here.

Who can apply to become a trustee?

Our Trustee applications are open to everyone. If you aren't an ordinary member already, you'll need to become an ordinary member if you are successful in your application.

How long can a trustee serve?

A trustee can serve up to three terms of three years, so a total of nine years. Only in exceptional circumstances can a trustee be reappointed after nine years.

How will we seek applications for vacant trustee positions?

All trustees are appointed by Council following a search-and-selection process led by the Nominations Committee, with two independent members who ensure transparency and fairness of the processes used to find and appoint new trustees.

Having considered the skills, expertise and diversity, as well as the number of trustees needed on the Council to enable it to best govern and support the charity, the Council concluded that its optimum size is between 10 - 12 trustees. There are currently 12 trustees, three of whom were recommended for reappointment this year, so we haven't recruited new trustees. As and when vacancies arise they'll be widely advertised.

How and when are members invited to vote on trustee appointments?

Members vote for trustees over a three-year cycle. Trustees are recommended by the Council of Trustees and new trustees appointed by the Council need to be approved by members within a year of their appointment. Our members also need to approve the reappointment of each trustee recommended for reappointment after three years of service. If the majority of member votes cast for a trustee do not support their appointment or reappointment then that individual will cease to be a trustee. All members who are eligible to vote* should expect to receive their personal copy of a voting pack towards the end of October.

This year three trustees were recommended for reappointment. Click below to view the 2024 voting booklet, which explains the voting process and summarises the skills and experience that those recommended for reappointment bring. 

*Members who are eligible to vote are ordinary members and subscribers/members who have subscribed to Which? goods or services for 12 months or more.

Voting results for 2024 trustee reappointments

The results of the 2024 trustee reappointment voting process were announced at our AGM on 7 December 2024. All three trustees who were recommended for reappointment received a majority vote from members and were reappointed until the 2027 AGM. The voting results can be viewed below.

If you have any questions, please get in touch by emailing council.appointments@which.co.uk