Peter Wilson-Smith is the Chair of Trustees for 21st Century Trust. He is also the founder and CEO of Meritus Consultants, a strategic communications consultancy. He has worked extensively in the financial sector as well as advising individuals, companies, and educational establishments. He was awarded the 2017 Outstanding Contribution to City PR and Communications Award from the UK Public Relations and Communications Association. Before Meritus, he spent a decade at a leading public affairs consultancy. He was one of the founders and editor-in-chief of Financial News and spent five years at the BBC, working for The Money Programme and BBC News. Peter was the business editor of The Independent on Sunday and a financial and banking editor on The Independent, Daily Telegraph and The Times. He was also a member of the board of Salzburg Global Seminar between 2016 and 2023. Peter studied at St Catherine’s College, Oxford, and earned an M.A. in English literature.