BAIML currently has a board of six directors. All of our team are volunteers. We meet mostly online about 8 times a year and face-to-face at least once a year at our annual Conference & AGM weekend. BAIML is a limited company registered in Scotland. The Directors are listed alphabetically below by surname. Each Board member has the email firstname.lastname@baiml.org.
Peter Chapman – Chair | Technical Director | UIMLA Delegate
Peter has had a passion for hill walking and the outdoors since the age of 10 and he became involved with Mountain Training back in 1996 when he trained for the Mountain Leader award. Since then he has gained a number of the NGB awards including the UIMLA IML in 2006 and also national outdoor leader and instructor qualifications in Norway and Denmark. Peter is from Lincolnshire but has been resident in Scandinavia for 25 years. During this time he has also lived and worked in Greenland. Peter is a self employed IML and his business is a registered travel agent. He has worked in many mountain regions from the Alps to the Himalayas, but his interest and focus is now on the Arctic, particularly Scandinavia, Iceland and Greenland. Peter has been running outdoor skills courses for many years including specialist CPD in avalanche awareness and transceiver training. Peter is a member of the UIMLA Technical Commission and played a large role in developing the 2024 UIMLA Standard.
His BAIML responsibilities include all technical aspects relating to the qualification and specifically CPD. He is also currently the chair of the Association and a UIMLA delegate for BAIML. Peter represents BAIML at MTUKI.
Graham Holmes – Finance Director
Graham’s passion for the outdoors began in his teenage years through the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award. After completing the award, he took on a leadership role organising and running the Gold expeditions for the local Scouts.
After initially qualifying as a doctor, Graham spent a number of years working in hospitals in the North West, before specialising as a General Practitioner. While practicing medicine, he also completed a law degree, which has proved invaluable in his professional and business ventures.
In 2022, Graham qualified as an International Mountain Leader, combining his expertise in medicine with advanced outdoor leadership skills. As the founder of an ATOL registered Tour Operator, Graham has gained extensive experience in financial management and regulatory compliance.
Graham is responsible for all things budgets and finances.
Paul McCaffrey – Mobility & Website Development Director | UIMLA Delegate
Paul is a seasoned multi-disciplined outdoor professional since 2012. A recognised face within the Scottish outdoor professional community, Paul has worked extensively throughout the Highlands and Islands. His work has transitioned from a more youth-focused instructional capacity, both freelance and within local education authority centres, towards an increased focus on high-end adventure tourism guiding work. A resident of Scotland with Irish citizenship, and an active IML since 2018. Paul is a UIMLA delegate for BAIML with a focus on mobility.
Paul is responsible for developments on the BAIML website and also for Mobility.
Ben Parker – Conference Director
Ben’s interest in the outdoors started with the scouts but really took off on a trekking expedition to the Carpathian Mountains in Romania in 2007. Today he is qualified outdoor instructor in both mountain and paddle sports.
As a qualified International Mountain Leader, paddler and passionate climber, he has wide ranging experience of the UK activity industry and international expeditions to locations across the globe including Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Vietnam, Bolivia, India and Canada taking in the High Atlas, Andes, Rockies, Himalayas, Alpine mountain ranges, and a few of the rivers in between.
Ben is the Director of Outdoor Education at The Perse School, Cambridge. He leads a multi-disciplinary team of outdoor education instructors delivering national schemes school term and focuses on extended residential trips in school holidays. He also supports wider industry practice and review processes as an IRCA Quality Management Systems, Lead Auditor.
Ben is responsible for planning of the annual conference.
Neil Perry – Aspirants Director
Neil Perry is an International Mountain Leader who came to working in the outdoors industry after a long career in medical microbiology, where he specialised in infectious diseases and genomic analysis. Alongside his scientific work he developed an existing passion for mountain leadership, progressing through the Mountain Training pathway to qualify as an IML.
As a freelance leader, Neil has worked extensively across the UK and internationally, delivering navigation training, multi-day wild-camping journeys, and overseas expeditions in the Alps, Himalaya and East Africa, as well as supporting young people on DofE and school expeditions. He enjoys helping people build confidence and find joy in mountain environments, and has guided charity teams and adult trekkers. With his background in microbiology, Neil also has a particular interest in the natural environment.
Neil is BAIML representative at MTE and has also taken on the contact for Aspirants.
Richard Phillips – Regional Director
Richard is a former geologist and university lecturer with over 20 years of expedition experience in some of the world’s most breathtaking and challenging landscapes across five continents. From high-altitude trekking in the Himalaya to exploring the mountains of East Greenland. He has led numerous expeditions, exploring deserts, mountains and rivers as both scientist and trip leader.
He has a PhD in Geology and is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society for his work on earthquakes and mountain building. Richard is an International Mountain Leader, qualified NNAS Tutor, Paddlesports Instructor and Cycle Trainer and volunteers for a mental health charity, running community events on the Scottish hills.
Richard is the BAIML representative at MTS and is also responsible for the team of Regional Representatives.
Kev Sidford – Partnerships Director
In 2011 he completed a military career spanning 22 years of which 13 years was dedicated to youth group management. He was responsible for the design, delivery and analysis of student performance in a range of advanced skills in adventurous related pursuits and military skills. He holds a Post Graduate Diploma in Professional Development (Outdoor Learning) and is Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society. His travels leading expeditions has taken him from South Africa to Iceland and from Mongolia to Canada. He is a specialist in Travel Risk Management.
At the 2015 AGM, he was awarded Life Membership of BAIML.
Kev is responsible for partnerships and the gear deals available to members.