Meet our Trustees
As trustees, we are deeply committed to the Buying Time Foundation. We bring a blend of expertise, dedication and a shared passion for our mission, alongside a clear responsibility for the charity’s governance and oversight. We are brought together through our connection to Michael, and through shared links to the watch industry that underpins the Foundation’s work. Together, we ensure the charity operates with integrity, transparency and care, and that grant applications are considered thoughtfully and responsibly.
We honour Michael’s legacy by directing the funds raised to provide meaningful support for young people and their families facing serious challenges. Through this work, we seek to help create lasting memories at a time when they matter most.
Simon Jeffs - Trustee
Simon Jeffs is an aerospace engineer. He founded Orange Aero Limited in 1994 and later founded Brooklands Watch Company with the help of his son Michael in 2017.
Corporate Social Responsibility is central to Simon’s work, with charitable giving forming a significant part of it. The Buying Time Foundation honours Michael’s memory by harnessing the goodwill of the watch community, to support young people with terminal illness in creating lasting memories with those they love.
Sandra Jeffs - Trustee
Sandra Jeffs is Michael’s mum and a dedicated charity campaigner. A former Trustee of the Childhood Eye Cancer Trust, she is currently an Ambassador for Thames Hospice.
She founded the 30 for 30 campaign in 2024, raising over £132,000, and was honoured with two BBC Make a Difference Awards in 2025. Sandra brings lived experience, strategic fundraising expertise and a strong commitment to supporting families and young people facing terminal illness, inspired by Michael’s life and legacy.
Stephen Harlow - Trustee
Stephen grew up in Norfolk and graduated from the University of Birmingham in 2016, where he formed a close friendship with Michael rooted in a shared passion for Formula 1 and motorsport.
He is currently studying medicine at Barts and The London, and divides his time between London and the Norfolk countryside. Stephen cherishes the memories he shared with Michael and is honoured, as a trustee, to support Buying Time. He brings a thoughtful, first-hand perspective to the charity’s mission of creating meaningful opportunities for young people in Michael’s memory.
Alistair Audsley - Trustee
Over 30 years Alistair has built an international reputation for crafting brand strategies for blue chip corporates and government. Since 2008, his work has focused on the British watchmaking sector and, in 2020, he co-founded the first trade body for the sector, the Alliance of British Watch and Clock Makers, which he has grown to represent 115 trading brands.
As co-founding CEO, Alistair is responsible for the strategic direction of the sector and has devised its major activations such as British Watchmakers Day and its Careers Hub, encouraging new talent into the sector. He contributes to related panels such as the Allied Trades group for jewellery and the Department for Business and Trade’s economic sector panel for consumer goods.
Alistair was appointed as an Ambassador for the GREAT Britain campaign in 2019 in recognition of his long-term contribution to the campaign, run from the Prime Minister’s office and his continued work for major British trade export initiatives.
Alistair has always been a keen competitive sportsperson. He was the 1995/1997 athletics gold medallist for the 100m in the World Island Games. He is the current British record holder for his age group for indoor rowing (500m).
