Peter Mann, the former vice-chair of Old Mutual and ex-chief executive of Skandia, has raised £57,046 and counting for a charity supporting young adults following the death of his son last year.
Blair Mann took his own life on May 13, 2021, at the age of 33. Mann told FTAdviser that while charitable donations cannot help his son, he is keen to prevent the same from happening to others.
Blair suffered like so many young people from anxiety and depression.Peter MannOn June 30, Mann, who is Bravura’s interim chief executive, will be hosting a charity event in Shoreditch Town Hall with 350 attendees from the platform and advice industry.
“I am absolutely humbled by the degree to which people have supported me. We will save lives on Thursday and that’s the motivation for doing it.”
On the night, iPads and envelopes will be available on each table for people to make further donations. The Just Giving page will also remain live for 30 days after the event.
So far, Nucleus founder and Seccl CEO David Ferguson, advice firm Helm Godfrey and consultancy NextWealth have all donated £2,500 each, according to the page.
Mann has chosen to donate all money raised to Beautiful Inside and Out, a charity which employs trained professionals to give young adults and their families face-to-face counselling.
Each session costs around £40, which is a subsidised rate. Mann is hoping to raise enough to cover at least 1,500 sessions for young people across the UK.
“Blair suffered like so many young people from anxiety and depression,” said Mann. “He found it really hard to talk to people, including his parents, about how he was feeling.
“I spent 33 years with my son and I know if he was going to do anything he was going to do it face-to-face rather than over the phone.
“What attracts me about this is it's a physical relationship with a known individual who is an expert in their field.”
Beautiful Inside and Out is a Scottish-registered charity set up by Pauline Moriarty, whose daughter Jenna took her own life at the age of 13.
According to Samaritans, around 200 young people die by suicide every year in the UK.
Mann hopes the event later this week will also raise awareness, and give people a chance to speak out.
In the meantime, he is gathering donations through a Just Giving page, linked here.
Speaking on the amount so far, Mann said: “30 years of financial services seems to have counted for something.”
ruby.hinchliffe@ft.com
