We’re pleased to tell you that Ben Ingber will take over as TLP’s Chief Executive Officer on a permanent basis from 1 July. Sarah Anderson, who founded TLP and has built the organisation over the past nine years into the extraordinary place it is today, will return to the board as a trustee and remain deeply involved at a strategic level (as well as a regular presence around our London sites).
Sarah founded TLP armed only with the firm conviction that regular, face-to-face appointments with a trained volunteer could be a vital form of support for people who were feeling suicidal. In our first year, TLP trained 141 new volunteers (around half of whom are still volunteering with us today), received 234 referrals and delivered 1,323 listening appointments.
For comparison, over the last financial year (April 2024-March 2025) we received around 9,000 referrals. Over 800 volunteers have delivered just under 55,000 appointments. We have recently purchased our fourth and largest site on Cobb St E1, close to Liverpool Street station in East London, due to open for appointments this summer.
Ben initially joined TLP as Chief Operating Officer in April 2023, becoming Deputy CEO in April 2024 and then stepping up to Acting CEO in December 2024, when Sarah’s health problems made it advisable for her to step away from frontline duties. Throughout his time with TLP, Ben has always shown unswerving dedication, excellent instincts and a deep understanding of our values.
As well as serving as a trustee, Sarah will remain involved with TLP as a volunteer and as a regular presence around the charity. As the founder of TLP, she will still play a critical role in ensuring that our values – caring, collaborative, courageous, resolute and respectful – remain its guiding framework and, most importantly, continue to underpin every interaction between our volunteers and the visitors who comes to us for support in their darkest hours.
Ben said: “There’s a powerful simplicity to TLP’s proposition: free, completely confidential, face-to-face support for those who feel life is no longer worth living, delivered by carefully selected and trained volunteers. Our conviction in the immense value of this single service is one of our greatest strengths as an organisation. We know that TLP saves lives, and it is my intention to continue and build on the extraordinary work of our founder Sarah Anderson as we move into a bold new chapter, with four sites across London and the capacity to support over 10,000 people a year.”
Sarah said: “I’m delighted to be handing over the reins to Ben, someone who proved within just a few months of joining us that he completely understood TLP and its values. He has two decades of diverse experience across the third sector and his ideas and expertise have been invaluable over the past couple of years, particularly as we’ve navigated the purchase of our fourth site. I believe that TLP will absolutely flourish under his leadership and I look forward to seeing all his successes, while continuing to be deeply involved myself in a different capacity.”
