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About CAFE

Meet the Board of Directors

David Bernstein, Chairman of Board of Directors and Trustees

As the former Chairman of Manchester City Football Club, David has vast experience in the business of stadia. Under his leadership the club enjoyed its most successful period in recent years including a move to the City of Manchester Stadium and financial stability.

As a Director of the Wembley National Stadium Board for 5 years, David played an integral role in the successful delivery and opening of the fully accessible stadium and in June 2008 he was appointed Chairman. David is also Chairman of Blacks Leisure group plc and Sports Leisure Group Limited and is a Director of Ted Baker plc and Carluccios plc. He is President of LPF (the Level Playing Field).

Lord Richard Faulkner of Worcester – Trustee

A member of the House of Lords (UK) since 1999, Lord Faulkner was a co-founder of the Football Trust, (now the Football Foundation) and is a previous Deputy Chairman of the the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff (the national stadium of Wales).

Richard is a Vice President of the Football Conference, and of the Campaign for Better Transport Ltd (formerly Transport 2000) and a Patron of The Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation. He was a minister in the previous government and is now a Deputy Speaker of the House of Lords. He was a co-author and vice-chairman of the 1998 Football Task Force Report in England which made recommendations on improvements to facilities for disabled supporters. Richard is also a Trustee of the Foundation for Sport and the Arts (UK). 

Lord Richard Rosser of Ickenham, Director and Trustee

 Lord Rosser was General Secretary of the Transport Salaried Staffs' Association from 1989 until his retirement in 2004, following which he was made a life peer later that year.

A lifelong football fan with a particular interest in the non-league game, he is also Vice President of the Ryman Isthmian Football League and a member of the All Party Parliamentary Football Group. Lord Rosser is a Non-Executive Director of the National Offender Management Service Board and has been a Justice of the Peace for more than 30 years. Lord Rosser is a LPF Vice President.

Chris Bird, Director and Trustee

 Chairman of Bird Consultancy, a PR and Media management company, with clients operating across Europe; Chris founded Bird Consultancy in 1990, after many years in commercial radio and local and regional press. His extensive experience also includes four years at Manchester City Football Club as Chief Operating Officer and Board Director. He has a wide range of other commitments within Manchester and the surrounding community and is Chief Executive of Sports Tours International, Non-Executive Director of JD Sports plc, and is Chairman of the Lord Mayor of Manchester Appeal. Chris is a LPF Vice President.

Joyce Cook OBE, Managing Director and Trustee

Chair of LPF, a UK registered charity representing disabled football supporters and providing guidance to other sports such as cricket, rugby and Olymics 2012. LPF was awarded the European Football Supporters Award for 2008 for its works for disabled supporters. Joyce is herself disabled and uses a wheelchair.

She has a good understanding of the UK Accessible Stadia Guide and Guide to Safety at Sports Grounds (Green Guide) along with current progress on access guidance and technical reports for Europe. She travels extensively to matches across Europe with a resultant hands-on understanding of the many challenges for disabled supporters. Joyce also sits on the London Olympic Delivery Authority's Built Enviroment Access Panel, established to provide expert strategic and technical advice and is also advising LOCOG the management company of London 2012; has acted as a consultant to UEFA for the 2008 and 2009 UEFA Cup and Champions League Finals and Poland 2012 providing advice on disabled supporters requirements; written an advisory briefing paper for the UK Sports Minister and given evidence to the UK All Party Parliamentary Football Group on behalf of disabled supporters and their issues. She has been a guest speaker at several disability seminars talking about access to sports stadia and the issues and challenges for disabled supporters. Joyce joined other diversity representatives as part of a panel of experts consulted on the development of sports strategy at the UK Equality and Human Rights Commission and is a member of the Inclusivity Advisory Group for the England 2018 bid team. Joyce was awarded an OBE in the 2012 New Year's honours list for her services to disabled sport.

As Managing Director, Joyce heads up the team responsible for the day to day management of CAFE and its projects.

Darren Berman, Director and Trustee

 A solicitor with extensive experience in the sports and commercial sectors, Darren has worked for a number of years in-house at both The Football Association and Wembley National Stadium Limited. As Head of Legal and Corporate Affairs for Wembley Stadium from 2002-2009, he was responsible for legal affairs through the redevelopment and opening of the new national stadium.

In his time at The FA before that he worked across the range of the governing body's commercial, regulatory and administrative operations. Darren worked originally at leading London law firm Denton Hall, in its sport, media and entertainment department which was consistently ranked as a leader in that sector, where his clients included the Premier League, England & Wales Cricket Board and broadcasters, producers and marketing agencies.