Daniel Hannan, President (president@ybf.org)

Daniel Hannan is the President of the Young Britons’ Foundation and has recently been ranked tenth by The Daily Telegraph in its annual poll of most influential centre-right figures in Britain. Having attended Marlborough College and Oriel College, Oxford, Dan first became director of the European Research Group before subsequently becoming a leader writer for The Daily Telegraph. In 1999, Dan was elected to the European Parliament and has represented the South-East since that time.

Dan has risen to prominence thanks to his excoriating attack on Gordon Brown in the European Parliament which became a YouTube sensation. He is now a regular guest on Fox News. The co-author with Douglas Carswell of The Plan: Twelve Months to Renew Britain, Dan has appeared in the pages of The Wall Street Journal, Die Welt, Weltwoche, The Sunday Telegraph, The Catholic Herald, Freedom Today, The Brussels Journal and The Spectator.

Dan is fluent in French and Spanish and was born in Lima, Peru.

Donal Blaney, Chief Executive (donal@ybf.org.uk)

Donal is the co-founder and Chief Executive of The Young Britons’ Foundation. He is a law graduate of Southampton University, a solicitor and owner of his own law firm and consultancy business which has offices in England, the United States, Ireland and the British Virgin Islands. Donal is a former Chairman of Southampton University Conservative Association (1993-4) and Wessex Area Conservative Students (1993-5). He is also a former Students’ Union Officer and NUS delegate.

After graduating, Donal became involved in the National Association of Conservative Graduates, of which he became Chairman in 1997. In 1998, he was asked by then Leader William Hague to unite the Conservative Students, Young Conservatives and the Conservative Graduates into one new youth organisation – Conservative Future – of which he became the first National Chairman (1998-9).

Donal served a four year term as a local councillor in Hammersmith & Fulham, and is the Chief Executive of Conservative Way Forward. He blogs for The Daily Mail. His non-political interests include Liverpool Football Club, choral music and the cinema. Donal is married to Marci, a former US Army reserve soldier who served in Iraq. He has homes in Kent & Florida.

Matthew Richardson, Executive Director (matthew@ybf.org.uk)

Matthew is a Barrister and former Conservative Future National Deputy Chairman. A graduate of the University of Oxford, Matthew practices at Henderson Chambers. Matthew successfully completed his pupillage at 7 New Square, part of which was spent working in the legal department of Imperial Innovations, the company responsible for spinning out the intellectual property of Imperial College, where he gained commercial experience in a legal setting.

Matthew has gained experience in various different aspects of contentious and non-contentious areas from advising on and drafting contracts, to interlocutory, appellate and trial advocacy, particularly in commercial and chancery, intellectual property and computer law, employment and civil matters. As Director of the Legal Advice & Support Unit, Matthew honed his interest in education and election law. Now as Executive Director of the Young Britons’ Foundation, Matthew also focuses his efforts on YBF’s job and internship programme.

In 2009, Matthew was elected as a Common Councilman in the City of London and, in 2012, as an Alderman.

Cllr Paul Osborn, Director of Strategy (paul@ybf.org.uk)

Cllr Paul Osborn is Director of Strategy for the Young Britons’ Foundation and Executive Director of Conservative Way Forward. He is councillor for Pinner Ward in the London Borough of Harrow where until May 2010 he was the Cabinet Member for Strategy and Business Support Services. After attending school in Ealing, Paul attended Southampton University where hestudied Politics & International Relations. As well as co-founding Empower Students, Paul was the President of the Debating Union. He won three inter-varsity debating championships and representing Southampton at the World Debating Championships at Oxford & Princeton.

After editing Ocean Blue (the monthly journal of the National Association of Conservative Graduates), Paul sat on the Executive of Conservative Way Forward. In 2005, Paul followed G Gordon Liddy in addressing the pro-war Rally to Honor Military Families on the Mall in Washington, DC. He is a member of the Heritage Foundation Young President’s Club, the National Rifle Association of America and is a founder supporter of the Young Britons’ Foundation.

Greg Smith, Director of Campaigns (greg@ybf.org.uk)

Greg Smith is a Co-Founder and former Executive Director of the Young Britons’ Foundation. Educated at Bromsgrove School and Birmingham University, Greg is a successful political consultant, having ran the campaigns of Greg Hands MP in 2005 and Conor Burns MP in 2010 and masterminding the Conservative victories in 2006 and 2010 in the borough council elections in Hammersmith & Fulham.

Greg is the Cabinet Member for Crime & Anti-Social Behaviour, in which capacity he frequently appears in the print and broadcast media. He is also a former member of the Executive of Conservative Way Forward.

Mark Clarke, Director of Outreach, (mark@ybf.org.uk)

Mark Clarke was the National Chairman of Conservative Future 2006-2008, and was the Conservative Parliamentary Candidate for Tooting at the 2010 general election.

Mark attended Durham University, graduating in 1999 with a degree in Ancient and Modern History. Prior to Durham, he was a pupil at Dulwich College. He has been the serving Chairman of Conservative Future since 2006. Clarke has made it his goal to increase the number of Conservative Future branches in marginal constituencies. In his capacity as Chairman of Conservative Future, Mark appeared in the Channel 4 documentary Make Me a Tory, attempting to persuade the documentary’s director and author to become a Conservative.

He was selected in February 2007 as the Conservative Party Parliamentary Candidate for Tooting. Previously, he had been the Young Conservatives Chairman for Mitcham & Morden and Wimbledon, the Conservative Future Chairman for Durham University Conservatives and the CF regional chairman for North East England. He is the great-nephew of the late Dominican Prime Minister, Dame Eugenia Charles, whom he is reported as saying he considers the Conservative politician that he most admires.

His career has included a five year stint in marketing with Procter & Gamble, two years in strategy consultancy with the Boston Consulting Group and more recently he has worked for Mars.

Sarkis Zeronian, Director of Communications (sarkis@ybf.org.uk)

Sarkis Zeronian is Director of Communications for the Young Britons’ Foundation. He is Chairman of Fairfield Ward Conservatives in Battersea. After reading law at Southampton University, where he was Chairman of the University Conservative Association, Sarkis attended the College of Law, Guildford. Sarkis is a former committee member of the National Association of Conservative Graduates.

Sarkis is now a solicitor specialising in litigation working in the City of London.

Claire Guyton, Events Director (claire@ybf.org.uk)

Claire Guyton is the Events Director for the Young Britons’ Foundation.  A graduate from Portsmouth University where she read politics, Claire was co-founder of the University Conservative Association and became secretary to the group.

After graduation, Claire has worked for a number of MPs as a researcher and Personal Assistant.  Her career has also included 7 years in marketing and advertising with Saatchi and Saatchi Advertising, Macmillan Publishing and Reed Elsevier.

Nick Hallett, Research Fellow (nick.hallett@ybf.org.uk)

Nick Hallett is Research Fellow for YBF, joining in September 2011. He was originally educated at a failing comprehensive school before going to the University of Durham, where he graduated in Modern Languages and Philosophy. As part of his course, he spent a year teaching English at a secondary school in the Spanish countryside.

He was an active member of his university’s Conservative Association, and has served as Chairman of Bulford & Durrington Conservatives in Wiltshire. He also stood as a councillor in County Durham.

Nick is also a YBF graduate, having been trained in Social Network Campaigning and Public Speaking, as well as attending the YBF Conference, Parliamentary Rally and Washington Trip.