The Company of Entrepreneurs Trust is delighted to announce that Founder Freeman Entrepreneur Bernard Howard has become its sixth Patron.
 
After a successful corporate career in Consulting and Banking Bernard decided to become an entrepreneur during the relatively early stages of the digital revolution. While recruiting for his own team in July 1999 he discovered online recruitment and decided to leave the corporate world to set up an online recruitment company. By January 2000 he had self-funded and created totallylegal.com which quickly became the UK's leading legal recruitment website. totallyfinancial.com and a further two websites based in Australia followed. The business was subsequently successfully sold to Trinity Mirror, (now Reach PLC).
 
Since then, he has been involved in a variety of businesses in various capacities.  However, his interest in the job market and helping small and medium sized companies (SMEs) grow continues to this day.  He is currently Founder of the Executive Search and Recruitment Company, Portman Scott,  that  specialises in the hiring of senior talent for SMEs with particular emphasis on ensuring candidate and company cultural fit.
 
He has had a long interest in philanthropy and is currently a Trustee of the Anne Frank Trust UK, an education charity that empowers young people aged 10 to 15 to challenge antisemitism and other forms of prejudice, inspired by the life and work of Anne Frank. The charity is the UK partner of the Anne Frank House Amsterdam and in 2021 the charity reached 41,000 young people. 
 
Bernard has been a guest lecturer at London Business School and Cranfield School of Management. He was educated at Oxford University and Stanford University.
 
By supporting the Company of Entrepreneurs Trust’s permanent endowment, Bernard has created a living legacy - to improve enterprise skills and business education in perpetuity. Thanks to the significant generosity of its Patrons the Trust has now almost reached its second fundraising target. As soon as this target is reached, the Trust can make even more impactful awards and supporting bigger projects. It will make an even greater difference to the lives and opportunities of others.

NOTES: As well as supporting the Trust financially, Patrons are invited to take on additional responsibilities. Patrons join the final meeting of the Trust’s annual Grants Cycle and their inquiry and reflections on the applicants are invaluable to the Trustee Board in drawing its final conclusions. The Trust’s beneficiaries are presented formally at the Election Court Banquet in the Summer, and the Patrons are encouraged to attend and be recognised for their support.
 
Bernard was admitted as a Founder Freeman of the Company of Entrepreneurs in 2014 and encourages Freemen and friends to give back as much as possible to the work of the Company and the Trust. Bernard joins the Trust’s existing five Patrons: Judith Donovan CBE, The Drapers’ Company, Adèle Thorpe, Rita W. Bologna, and Jat Wasu.