Bob Reitemeier
Chief Executive
Bob Reitemeier, 50, is Chief Executive of The Children's Society. In his six years in this role, Bob has led the transformation of the charity’s work to focus on the most marginalised children and young people in the UK. Its work is nationally recognised in the areas of children at risk on the streets, children in trouble with the law, disabled children and refugee children.
Under Bob’s leadership, The Children's Society is now significantly increasing its policy and campaigning work, allowing the charity to effectively lobby to improve the lives of all children in the UK.
Since 2006, Bob has overseen the highly successful Good Childhood Inquiry, which has strengthened The Children's Society's position as a thought-leader in the sector, dedicated to ensuring that every child, even the most marginalised, has a good childhood.
Before joining The Children’s Society, Bob built up over 20 years of experience in the voluntary sector, mostly in Africa. His career began in the early 1980s as a Secondary School Teacher in the Peace Corps in Zaire. He worked as Deputy Director and subsequently as Country Director of Volunteers in Technical Assistance (VITA), a not-for-profit small business credit programme working in Chad, Central Africa.
Bob subsequently held various posts for ActionAid, first as Country Director in Bangladesh and then relocating to London, where he had responsibility for coordinating all of the charity’s work within the African continent. Bob completed his eight years with ActionAid as their Director of Human Resources and Organisational Development, before joining The Children’s Society as Operations Director in 1998.
During his time as Chief Executive of The Children’s Society, Bob has worked closely with national government to improve the lives of children and young people; most recently he was invited by Ed Balls to be a member of the 14-19 years expert group, which advised on the development of the Government’s 10 Year Children’s Plan. Bob is a member of the Youth Justice Board (YJB), following his appointment by then Home Secretary John Reid in 2006. With many years of experience within the voluntary sector and direct experience of working with young people, Bob is able to bring a valuable perspective to the YJB.
Bob grew up in Rochester, Minnesota, USA, and graduated from the University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse with a BSc in Economics and Political Science, before completing an MA in International Relations at George Washington University, Washington DC. Bob has however lived outside the USA for most of his adult life and has been resident in the UK for 13 years. Bob lives with his wife and three children in St Albans, Hertfordshire, and outside of work enjoys hill-walking, sports and reading.
Affiliations:
- Member of the Youth Justice Board (2006 to present)
- Chair of Board of Trustees of the National Council of Voluntary Child Care Organisations (2005 to present)
- Founding Director of the Children’s Workforce Development Council (2005 to March 2008)
- Member, Chartered Management Institute (2008 to present)
