Case study: Chief Executive recruitment | Ygam

Ygam is the UK’s leading charity dedicated to preventing gaming and gambling harms among children and young people. Founded in 2014 from lived experience and grounded in evidence, education and safeguarding, Ygam has now trained more than 28,000 delegates and reached nearly five million young people through its City & Guilds-assured programmes. Its work is shaped by psychologists, academics, health professionals and people with lived experience, and is increasingly extending into wider online harms.

Peridot’s relationship with Ygam spans over a decade, starting with an original pro bono governance review. With recruitment spanning both board and senior leadership positions over the years, our partnership has seen the charity grow, develop and flourish.

Context

In 2025, we partnered again on the key appointment of a new CEO that came at a defining moment.

Ygam had just navigated a year of transition, drawing on reserves while awaiting confirmation of the new statutory levy that would bring £100m a year into the sector, with £30m specifically for prevention. With GamCare closing its young people services, Ygam became the sole national provider of preventative education for young people, placing the charity in a uniquely strong position as the lead organisation in this field.

Relationships with government, DCMS and the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities were positive, evaluations were strong and a new Patron, Dame Rosie Winterton, was about to join.

Brief

The outgoing Chief Executive, Jane Rigbye, had strengthened governance, data and insight gathering, championed evaluation, launched an impressive new strategic plan and coached the senior leadership team to work confidently and collaboratively.

As Ygam was moving into a new era, the Board sought a modern leader who could match the moment with fresh energy and visible, outward-facing leadership. The next CEO needed to inspire and reconnect the team after a challenging year waiting for clarification of the new grant funding model from OHID, increase presence representing the charity confidently in Whitehall and guide Ygam into a new strategic cycle with clarity and ambition.

The brief required strategic authority, political fluency and the ability to work in partnership with government and commissioners. Experience in the gaming or gambling sector was not essential. What mattered most was deep commitment to prevention, safeguarding and young people, strong values and the ability to build trust quickly with staff, partners and policy-makers.

Process

Led by James Hunt, we worked closely with the Chair, Board and leadership team to design a process that reflected Ygam’s preventative ethos and collaborative culture. As the charity entered a major funding shift, they needed someone to bring confidence, stability and strategic foresight, while also nurturing the human side of leadership after a year of uncertainty.

Our search cast the net deliberately wide. We engaged senior leaders with a mix of public service, safeguarding, digital, education and cross-sector experience as well as traditional charity pathways. We prioritised leaders who could influence policy, build credibility with ministers and commissioners, and hold their nerve in a period of rapid sector change. The process focused on values, authenticity and people leadership, exploring candidates’ ability to re-energise a dispersed team, strengthen culture and support long-term organisational sustainability.

Outcome

We were delighted to support the appointment of Emily Tofield as Chief Executive. Emily brings over two decades of senior leadership experience across government, higher education, local authorities, financial services and the charity sector. Her career includes roles such as Executive Director at the City of London Corporation, Group Director at the Ministry of Justice and senior roles at the University of Sussex and DEFRA. She has advised ministers, boards and complex public institutions, shaping strategy, influencing policy, managing crises and leading major organisational transformations.

Her leadership has consistently focused on public value, cross-system collaboration and strengthening outcomes for people in vulnerable circumstances. Emily’s supporting statement demonstrated her deep personal connection to Ygam’s mission, shaped both by her work with teenagers and young adults and her lived experience as a parent witnessing the pressures of gaming and digital exposure. She brings a strong belief in evidence-based prevention and the need for cross-system partnerships to safeguard young people’s digital lives.

Candidate reflection

Emily Tofield said:

“Ygam has reached record numbers of young people as part of its critical mission to protect children and young people from gaming and gambling harms and to help safeguard their digital futures. As a passionate advocate for the benefits of prevention, it is a huge privilege to take on the role of Chief Executive of such a respected national education and prevention charity whose work already makes a difference to so many. High-quality, inclusive, evidence-based, preventative education around gaming and gambling harms remains as important today as when Ygam was founded, and I’m looking forward to working with the impressive Ygam team to further grow its reach, partnerships and impact in the years ahead.”

On her experience of working with Peridot:

“Peridot properly understands the mission and purpose of the organisations they are recruiting for, but also what skills they might need to ensure their future success. You get the impression that Peridot has really done the work on their briefs and know what skills, breadth and ideas the organisations they are supporting might need for future success. This allows Peridot to cast its net wider than the usual suspects, speaking to candidates with deep, senior cross-sectoral experience who might not have thought of some of these roles before. Peridot’s consultants are open and accessible, and properly guide candidates through the process, so by the time you reach the later stages you feel extremely well briefed.

What sets Peridot apart is their deep understanding of mission-driven organisations – their hopes, challenges, and the leadership capabilities they’ll need next. Their rigorous approach broadens the field beyond the obvious candidates, bringing fresh senior perspectives into play. The consultants are accessible and exceptionally well briefed, making the whole process both thorough and supportive. I can’t recommend them highly enough.”

Client reflections

Mike Wojcik, Chair of Ygam, said:

“I’m delighted to welcome Emily to Ygam following a highly competitive recruitment process. Her depth of experience and proven leadership across stakeholder and political engagement, and social impact, will be instrumental as we enter our next strategic cycle. Emily joins an exceptionally strong leadership team, and this appointment marks an important new chapter for Ygam as we continue to strengthen our position as a trusted expert voice and sector leader dedicated to preventing gaming, gambling, and digital harms among young people.”

On partnering with Peridot again, Mike commented:

“Yet another impressive appointment, care of Peridot team from start to finish. They understand the culture of the charity, distinctive elements to it, where is now, where it’s come from, and how to support us growing and developing. We had a record-breaking level of applicants, the calibre of the long list was impressive, and left the panel with a difficult but rewarding task. The level of interest speaks volumes of our Peridot’s reach and how they presented our role.”