Tiku van Houtem

Tiku is a senior appointments specialist with more than three decades’ experience across the media, creative and charity sectors. She is known for her human centred, values led approach to recruitment, and for her commitment to advancing equity, championing human rights and helping organisations build more inclusive leadership.

Tiku brings a lived understanding of migration, culture, identity and belonging to her work. This perspective shapes the way she advises organisations on representation, power and inclusive leadership, helping them build senior teams and boards that better reflect the communities they serve.

At Charity People, Tiku specialises in Board, Chair, Trustee and CEO and Senior Leadership appointments, partnering with charities and non profit organisations to identify exceptional leaders whose values, vision and lived experience align with the communities they serve. She is particularly committed to opening up leadership opportunities for people from underrepresented backgrounds and is known for the care, insight and challenge she brings to her work with both clients and candidates. Her approach combines honest advice, deep sector knowledge and a strong belief that inclusive recruitment leads to stronger, more relevant and more effective organisations.

Alongside her work in senior appointments, Tiku is a trustee of Mind in Enfield and Barnet, supporting mental health initiatives in her local community. She also sits on the Board of the Charity People Trust and is actively involved in Charity People’s EDI initiatives, helping to strengthen inclusive practice both within the organisation and in the advice shared with clients.

Outside work, Tiku continues to be guided by the same values that shape her professional life: compassion, justice, community and care. She is passionate about human rights, loves cooking for others, especially curries, and shares her home with her husband and their two beloved cats, Rani and Shiva.