Board of Directors

Tom recently retired as the Chief Executive of the Together Housing Group, after more than 20 years’ service. Together Housing was formed by the merger of three existing housing groups, and currently has over 35,000 properties, an annual turnover of in excess of £150m and employs over 1300 staff. One scheme established was a PFI regeneration in Salford, where Tom remains Chair of the Special Purpose Vehicle, which was set up to deliver this £100m+ project.

Michael is currently the CEO and Accounting Officer of Trinity MAT (and therefore also a member of the Audit Committee), having been its founding Principal in 2009. His tenure as Principal saw two outstanding Ofsted judgements and Trinity’s designations as a National Support School, a National Teaching School and a Maths Hub of Excellence. Michael achieved National Leader of Education (NLE) status in 2013.

Previously he was the Global Head of Corporate Affairs at the £2bn consultancy and construction company, Mace Group, and worked for a NYSE listed engineering company, for former Secretary of State for Health, Rt Hon Baroness Virginia Bottomley, and the Rt Hon Michael Gove MP when he was Secretary of State for Education. He has a degree and masters in Theoretical Physics from University College London and sits as a Magistrate in Greater Manchester.

David served as the Vice Chancellor of the University of St Mark & St John, Plymouth for six years, and is currently on the Board of Governors at the Universities of Northampton and South Wales. He has significant experience of senior leadership roles in HE, as well as major project and consultancy experience globally. More recently he has specialised in developing HE and FE institutions in terms of their strategic futures and their macro level quality assurance procedures.

Elaine has worked in the accountancy profession for 40 years and is a partner in a respected accountancy firm. She is a FCCA and an ACA. Elaine has experience in both audit and general accountancy practice. Elaine has served on the trust’s audit committee as an independent member bringing her wealth of experience to the group and she will now share this further with the Board of Directors.

Gareth is the founder and current Managing Director of Frog Educational Ltd, a multinational educational business (offices in the UK and the Far East), serving over 12 million people across 1,400 schools in the UK and 10,000 schools across 27 other countries. Gareth has extensive experience of managing a multi-million-pound business that has experienced considerable growth and success in a range of educational sectors.

In total Claire brings 25 years’ experience working in the HE sector, particularly in the field of Modern Languages. She has held the position of Professor of Italian Studies at the University of Leeds since 2003, a period of time that included three years as Head of the School of Languages. Since August 2015 Claire has also held the position of Dean of Postgraduate Research Studies, a role that has given her extensive experience of budgetary responsibility and change management.

Wayne is a fully qualified chartered accountant, who is currently Head of Faculty (Professional Services) at Sheffield Hallam University, after having previously been attached to the School of Human and Health Sciences at the University of Huddersfield. Wayne also serves on the Audit Committee of the trust, and is currently undertaking a PhD in Finance.

Mike has an extensive corporate background having been the Regional Managing Director of Barclays Bank in the North of England, Scotland and Northern Ireland and a UK Board Member. Mike has also been the UK MD of a FTSE 250 Support Service business with a remit for £250m in revenue and 2000 staff. Mike brings significant commercial and leadership experience.

He has extensive knowledge and experience of dealing with multi-million pound merchants and contractors across the construction sector and is extremely competitive. Andrew also assists in the management of a local junior football club.