Jason Marsden
(Chair of the Trust Board)

By working for a range of companies and corporations based in the UK and around the world, Jason has developed significant expertise in analysing business need and delivering improvements to meet investor and stakeholder demand, in areas such as:

• Operational infrastructure
• Team building
• Team performance
• Sales strategy
• Monitoring and response

Jason has also provided long and distinguished service as Chair of Governors at Erasmus Darwin Academy until recently, stepping down to become Chair of the Trust Board. Under his tenure, Erasmus Darwin Academy enjoyed unparalleled success, becoming firmly established as one of the highest performing and most oversubscribed schools in the region.

Tracy Lewis
(Vice-Chair of the Trust Board)

Her roles and responsibilities have been varied and have involved Faculty Leadership (Leader of the largest Computer Science Faculty in the UK) and Senior Leadership (Associate Dean with responsibility for students.)  She continues to serve as a Fellow of the UK’s HE Academy.

During the course of her career, Tracy has gained extensive and wide-ranging expertise in many areas of Higher Education, at national and International level, involving:

• Curriculum design, delivery and quality assurance
• Performance monitoring and benchmarking
• Data analysis and trend monitoring
• Student experience and retention
• Graduate employment
• Performance management of staff

Tracy has also provided long and distinguished service on the governing body of Erasmus Darwin Academy, through a period of unparalleled success, before stepping down to become Vice-Chair of the Trust Board.

Francis Chiwariro

He is currently Director of Finance for an organisation that seeks to raise standards in apprenticeships and technical education. His responsibilities include:

• Planning, monitoring and evaluation, ensuring  that funding is utilised to achieve value for money in an efficient, effective and impactful way
• Overseeing strategic and operational finance
• Leading procurement teams

He also has vast experience in fulfilling Trustee roles in the not-for-profit sector and is passionate about education and equality.

Neil Jones
(Chair of Audit & Risk Committee)

He is currently a director and corporate lawyer at a large and reputable law firm, heading up and managing a team of seven corporate lawyers who advise companies and business owners on all manner of corporate and commercial activities.

In his career to date, Neil has gained specialist expertise in areas such as:

• Company and business sales, mergers, acquisitions and reorganisations
• Commercial contracts
• Shareholder agreements
• Joint ventures
• Partnership matters
• Terms and conditions of business
• Companies Act compliance

Being married to a teacher means that Neil has a real interest in the teaching profession and the challenges that schools and young people face.

Heather Phillips

She is currently Executive Headteacher over two large, urban primary schools in Birmingham, which meet the needs of over 1,200 pupils from varied ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds. Heather is passionate about her role as a school leader and is acutely aware that there is a direct link between the quality of education and the quality of leadership in any particular educational setting or organisation.

Ofsted has recognised Heather’s outstanding leadership and she now works with primary and secondary school leaders from all over the UK, using coaching to empower them to improve and develop as leaders, for the benefit of children and young people. As well as school leaders, Heather supports other private clients to achieve personal performance goals.

Heather values the importance of developing people as the most important aspect of leadership and she approaches her coaching with joy, passion and an absolute commitment to her clients.

David Townsend

Previously, David has held the role of Finance Manager at another secondary school which is part of a MAT with a different philosophy and approach to financial management. This contrasting experience has helped David gain perceptive insights into the pros and cons of different approaches to MAT financial management.

Before moving into financial management in the education sector, David worked in banking for twenty-five years, gaining experience in leading and managing diverse teams, budget and target setting, budget monitoring and management, regulatory compliance, managing HR and disciplinary issues and overseeing sales strategies.

David has a passion for education and a genuine desire to make a positive difference in society. He has demonstrated this by serving on the governing body of Highfields Primary School for twelve years and chairing the Business and Finance Committee for many of these years, before stepping down to take up the roles of Trustee and member of the Audit and Risk Committee.

Ed Parry

Ed is a passionate, creative, and child-centred educational leader who is currently serving as Principal of St. Regis CE Academy, Wolverhampton. He has recently been appointed Executive Principal of both St. Regis and St. Peter’s Collegiate Academy, in order to harness and maximise the educational impact of both schools within the community.

With a wealth of experience and a proven track record in school improvement, Ed is committed to fostering inclusive and inspiring learning environments in secondary education. He has also gained valuable experience from working in Multi Academy Trusts – currently Three Spires Trust – and has a deep understanding and appreciation of how Trusts can serve as powerful, collaborative vehicles for raising educational standards and transforming lives.