Businessman Stuart Taylor has been appointed as the new chair of Carers Trust, the UK’s largest charity for unpaid carers.

Stuart has a long involvement with the charity and a unique perspective on both its history and direction of travel. He was motivated to get involved with the charity in 2005 following a personal experience which opened his eyes to the difficult issues around caring and being a carer.

He became a trustee in 2010 and was part of a team that supported the merger of The Princess Royal Trust for Carers and Crossroads Care in 2012, which then became Carers Trust. He then joined the board of the new charity.

In his new role as chair, Stuart will provide continuity to the charity, building on the legacy left by his predecessor Andrew Cozens CBE who will stay on for a further six months as part of a planned handover.

Stuart said: “Supporting carers is crucial and being a part of Carers Trust is the best way that I am able to do that. There are seven million carers in the UK and many of them are working around the clock to ensure their sick or disabled family member or friend gets the support and care they need.

“We’ve helped to make great changes for carers in every area of our work – from fundraising and service delivery to our policy work – and with the commitment I see demonstrated by the staff I meet right across the UK, I look forward to continuing to address the needs of carers.”

Outgoing chair Andrew Cozens, who became a trustee in 2004, said:

“I have thoroughly enjoyed my time with Carers Trust and formerly the Princess Royal Trust for Carers, it has been a privilege to work alongside such committed and passionate staff, with a network of high quality service providers and for such a deserving cause. I have every confidence that Carers Trust will develop and flourish and be able to continue to serve a rapidly increasing number of carers of all ages.”

Stuart, who lives in Cheshire, has many accolades to his name. In 2013, he oversaw Carers Trust’s relationship with The Cooperative Group, which selected Carers Trust as their Charity of the Year. During the year, £6.2m was raised to help transform the lives of more than 20,000 young adult carers. He was also runner-up of the Trustee of the Year 2014 from a pool of 800,000 trustees in the Charity Staff Foundation awards as a result of this work.

He has spent much of his career helping clients shape, plan and execute complex business transformation initiatives. These are skills that he brings to board meetings and discussions to ensure Carers Trust can prosper and support even more carers. In the current environment for charities where governance and transparency have become critical issues, the combination of skills and experience Stuart brings will be a major asset to Carers Trust as it continues in its mission to support the three in five people who will become carers.