Charles is an independent property consultant (realtor) working with Beaux Villages Immobilier, a pioneer in selling homes in South-West France to international purchasers as well as French buyers. An Irish national, he is also a successful gîte owner and local councillor in the Tarn département after a high-powered career in global television. For many years he was active in governance in education and in pension management. He was one of the best-known faces in international business television news, presenting 'World Business Today', the flagship daily programme on CNN International, for 15 years. He combined a deep understanding of economics and finance with an ability to open up complex issues to a general audience. His interviews with leading figures in politics and business were incisive and engaging. In his parallel career in governance, he worked first in corporate pensions: for 17 years he was a trustee director of Turner Broadcasting's UK pension scheme, overseeing the fund's growth from half a million pounds to 40 million. He also sat on governance committees for the Mercers’ Company, a major London-based donor, serving as governor of a leading private secondary school and as Vice Chair of Governors of an 'outstanding' secondary school.Charles is also qualified to teach French and German at secondary school level. He earned his PGCE at Exeter University, teaching in academies in Somerset and Cornwall and gaining Qualified Teacher Status in 2015.He brings a blue-chip academic track record, a strong personal presence, seasoned life skills, emotional intelligence and a wealth of achievement to his work. He had a long career in broadcast journalism (1978-2014), working as a reporter, correspondent or presenter at the BBC, ITN, Channel 4, and Deutsche Welle TV in Berlin before moving to CNN. He has spent a total of ten years working in France, Germany and Belgium, and has also lived in Ireland, Australia, Japan and the United States. He speaks and writes fluent French and German, he speaks reasonable Italian and has a basic working knowledge of Dutch and Spanish.Charles first worked as a hospital volunteer in the 1960s and more recently has volunteered in a leading US hospital and at a café for homeless people. He served as churchwarden in a rural parish before briefly entering ordained ministry as a voluntary trainee deacon in the Church of England.Charles has many interests: media, business, economics, finance, culture and religion. He has run a marathon in less than 3 hours and is an active walker, cyclist and gardener.
Listed skills include Broadcast, Broadcast Journalism, Journalism, International Relations, and 26 others.