Social reformer called into action

Sir Tony Hawkhead is at the start of just his fifth day leading Action for Children, as we meet at the organisation's offices in Holborn, London. If the first few days in the hot seat of a major children's charity were not tiring enough, Hawkhead has just spent the night sleeping rough in the capital alongside a dozen other chief executives in a bid to highlight the issue of youth homelessness. A chilly night of sporadic sleep may have left his energy levels sapped, but the combined endeavours raised a total of more than £100,000.

Besides, Hawkhead is a polished operator, and the effort underlines his social action credentials, which have been gained over the past 25 years. It was in the late 1980s that he worked for the inner cities unit at the then Department of Trade and Industry, helping to regenerate urban areas through developing fresh approaches. Inspired by this work, he applied to become the unit's task force leader in North Peckham.