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Members and Directors
The Trust Board has strategic oversight and ultimate responsibility for all of the management decisions within the Trust. The Board consists of up to nine Directors, three of whom are appointed by the Members. The Directors are appointed purely on a skills basis. The Board’s key responsibilities are to ensure, through their governance structure and leadership teams, that the Trust is making proper and effective use of public funds and for the quality of provision. The Trust Board will meet as often as is necessary to carry out their duties, but at least five times per year with Board Committees meeting in addition to this.
We currently have vacancies on our Trust Board. If you are interested in becoming a Director or would like further information please contact our Governance Manager via trustoffice@affinitylp.co.uk
Members
| Kevin Gaunt | Appointed: 31 October 2017 Declarations: Proprietor of NJ&W |
| James Tye | Appointed: 05 January 2021 Declarations: Founder of Hammersbach Consulting. |
| Fee Stagg | Appointed as: Chair of the Trust Board Appointed: 16 January 2023 Declarations: Associate Consultant and |
| John Clark | Appointed: 11 June 2024 Declarations: Vice Chair of Academy Transformation Trust; Ambassador for the Foundation for The Education Development; Special Advisor to Board of Association |
| The Diocese of Lichfield Educational Trust Ltd | Corporate Member |
Directors
| Fiona Stagg
| First Appointed: 16 July 2020 Declarations: Associate Consultant and Bio: Fee runs her own Governance consultancy and has been a Governor and Trustee since 2004 in a number of schools and academies. Fee is also a Governance Professional and clerks for a range of schools across the country. Fee is a blogger on governance, conference speaker, and former Chartered Town Planner. |
| John Fitchett
| First Appointed: 08 September 2020 Declarations: Director of Manor Hall Bio: John retired from Rolls Royce at the end of 2019 after 34 years. He has worked in their Civil Aerospace, Defence and Submarine sectors. During that time he held a number of senior management and executive positions, primarily in Strategic Procurement and Supply Chain Management. Since leaving Rolls Royce, John has been appointed as a Director of the Manor Hall Academy Trust and is Chair of the Trust Board of Home-Start Staffordshire Moorlands. John is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply. |
| Keerthi Devendra
| First Appointed: 18 January 2022 Declarations: Trustee of Sri Lankan Engineers and Scientists in the UK. Bio: Keerthi has worked in an academic environment as a Lecturer and Research Fellow. Following his academic career, Keerthi joined Rolls Royce and spent nearly 34 years at the forefront of developing and implementing aero engine technology. He had the opportunity to develop skills in scientific research, manufacturing technology, engineering design and development, leadership, project management, financial management and change management. Keerthi is committed to using his skills, experience and knowledge and has previously served as a School Governor, taking the Vice Chair position, and has been a member of the Finance, Performance, Premises and Discipline Committees. |
| Peter Jenkins
| First Appointed: 18 January 2022 Declarations: Director of RPR Ventures Ltd, Chairman at Long Mynd Adventure Camp, Treasurer of Hope Bowdler Village Hall, Parish Councillor for Hope Bowdler, Family link to Trust employee Brenda Parker, Governor at Arboretum Academy, Governor at Ashby Willesley Primary School. Bio: Peter is a retired Chartered Accountant with experience in the professional accounting, commercial and local government sectors. The majority of Peter’s working life has been in finance and general management roles working in the UK, Africa and Europe. |
| Richard Mayfield
| First Appointed: 08 October 2021 Declarations: Deputy CEO at Three Spires Trust Bio: Richard is the Deputy CEO for a Multi Academy Trust. Previously Richard was the Finance & Operations Director of a Staffordshire school where he was responsible for the strategic and operational financial management of the school, as well as leadership and management of all support functions over the last 12 years. In addition to being a Chartered Management Accountant, Richard has a degree in Economics from Loughborough University. Richard has vast experience in operational and strategic business analysis, accountancy, management and leadership, gained over the last 23 years working for companies with multi-site operations in the manufacturing, retail, engineering and healthcare sectors. Outside of work Richard volunteers as the administrator for the junior section of his local cricket club where he also manages an under 13 and an under 11 side. |
| Sarah Meader | First Appointed: 09 December 2019 Declarations: HR Director at Greenwood Bio: Sarah is the Senior Director of Human Resources for a Multi Academy Trust and is a Chartered Member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (MCIPD), with over 20 years’ experience of working in Human Resources within the public sector, private sector and not for profit organisations. Sarah is passionate about people and has experience in all HR disciplines. Through operating at an Executive level in large organisations, Sarah has a strong strategic understanding of HR and significant experience of working with Elected Members, Chief Executives and Trade Unions. Sarah’s areas of work include: Strategic HR and Policy Development; Organisational Development (including managing large and small restructures and redundancy programmes); Staff Engagement; Managing Absence; Employee Relations; Recruitment and Selection; Talent Management; Learning, Development and Coaching. |
| Ahsan Ashraf | First Appointed: 12 December 2023 Declarations: Employed by a partner school within the John Taylor MAT and an elected staff governor. Bio: With a passion for education and over a decade-long commitment to teaching, Ahsan proudly considers himself a perpetual student, always seeking new ways to inspire, innovate and learn. He currently serves as the Strategic IT Lead, Creative Technologist and is Head of Business & Computing. His influence extends beyond the confines of a single school as he leads computing across the Trust, where he strives to instil a love for computing, technology and its creative applications in the minds of students. He has previously served as the progress and achievement co-coordinator, leading parts of the Pupil Premium strategy, dedicated to narrowing the educational attainment gap for students from deprived backgrounds. This experience fuelled his commitment to raising aspirations and fostering an inclusive learning environment. |
| Sarah Evans | First Appointed: 12 December 2023 Declarations: Employed by Burton and South Derbyshire College, Known personally to CEO. Bio: Sarah has worked in job roles based around pastoral support for young people and their educational aspirations since leaving university. As a trained careers advisor she is passionate about ensuring all young people are shown their potential and opportunity. Sarah has worked across early years, youth offending, careers, alternative education and now further education. Her current role is a exciting new challenge at Burton and South Derbyshire College as Customer and Learner Services support manager ensuring all learners are given a fair start at the college and a quality journey. This role also sees Sarah as part of the Safeguarding team which is an area she is very passionate about. |
Finance, Audit and Risk (FAR) Committee
| Name | Appointed as |
| John Fitchett | Chair of Committee (2023/24) |
| Keerthi Devendra | Director |
| Peter Jenkins | Director |
| Fee Stagg | Non-voting Member |
Standards Committee
| Name | Appointed as |
| Richard Mayfield | Chair of Committee |
| Keerthi Devendra | Director |
| Sarah Meader | Director |
| Fee Stagg | Director |
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Resources Committee
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| Name | Appointed as |
| John Fitchett | Chair of Committee |
| Richard Mayfield | Director |
| Sarah Meader | Director |
| Peter Jenkins | Director |