MARK is the Chief Executive (or Director) of The British Forces Foundation and its trading company, Forces Events Ltd.

Before that he was a Queen’s Royal Lancer for 12 years. His service took him on operations to Belize, Mozambique, Bosnia, and Cyprus. He also served in India, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Canada and UK. He retired a Major declining his place at Staff College.

As Chief Executive of The British Forces Foundation Mark specialises in putting on large events. Many of these projects have been televised and produced by Mark. They include the BBC 1 2000 Variety Christmas Show, BBC1 2002 Falklands Bound and BBC1 2003 Basra Bound, ITV 1 Katherine Jenkins in Basra, Christmas Eve 2005, general release film and US Television 2007 James Blunt in Kosovo and 2006 ITV1 Philip Schofield’s Night Before Christmas.

Mark is a Director of CU2 Ltd (his own successful ‘Events, Consultancy and PR’ company), The Armed Forces Charities Advisory Company (which overseas investments of £220 million with Black Rock on behalf of Forces Charities), The Combined Services Polo Association and Administrator of the Erach and Roshan Sadri Foundation (a grant giving Foundation). He is a respected adviser on Charity, Foreign Affairs and Defence and founding member of the think tank, First Defence. In September 2008 Mark was the winner of the Charity Times ‘Charity Principal of the Year’, award.

Educated at Repton School, and Loughborough University (BA (Hon) in Politics and History), Mark is passionate about sport and regularly enjoys skiing, polo and tennis all of which he represented the Army at. He is an enthusiastic but awful golfer. His other passions are watching football (supporting Arsenal and Pompey), and collecting first edition political autobiographies, portrait photographs and first edition early twentieth century novels.

Mark is married to Emma a very talented equestrian and has a daughter Emily (born 20/11/01) and twin boys, Frederick and Barnaby (01/08/04). They live in Patney, Wiltshire.

Date of Birth 28th November 1965

BFF Director Mark Cann