Governance

My name is Mark Billsborough and I live in Stockton. I have a 10 year old daughter who attends Stockton Primary and I was previously a Parent Governor at her school.

I’m originally from Northern Ireland but after studying in Wales I remained on the “Mainland”. I have a science background but moved into the commercial and finance sectors. For the last 18 years I’ve worked in the Energy industry, in senior roles ranging from wholesale energy trading, risk management and renewable investment. I’ve worked extensively across Europe and have led teams in Sweden, Germany and Italy. I’m therefore familiar with governance of large commercial businesses, financial and investment modelling, management of professional multi-discipline teams and of course, the energy sector.
I currently work for a company which builds large scale offshore wind farms. As a Member of the Trust I use my skills and experience to enhance our growing community of schools.

I have been involved in School Governance for the past 14 years, at Pre- school, Primary and Secondary levels. I became a Trustee for Stowe Valley MAT in November 2016, having been involved with its development as Chair of Governors at Southam Primary School.

Prior to having children I worked for many years as a Children and Families Social Worker, Service Manager and Service Commissioner. I have an MBA in Public Services Management . I have particular interests and experience in the following areas:

Adoption and Children in public care
Children and Young People with Special Education Needs and Disabilities Safeguarding and child protection
Child and adolescent mental health
Staff development and performance management
Governance

As a former Chartered Secretary I have nearly thirty years experience in corporate governance  which started in the commercial aviation sector and was then followed in charity and non-incorporated organisations within the  agriculture and education sectors both nationally and locally.  With the ever increasing regulatory environment that the Trust is required to operate in, this spectrum of expertise is a useful dimension in the oversight role of the Members of the Trust.

I have always taken a keen interest in education and training and fully support the Vision, Aims and Ethos of the Trust to provide the best possible outcomes for all pupils, present and future.  I am delighted to offer my commitment to this role. 

I am a retired Public Sector Chartered Accountant.  I worked over 3 decades in Local Government: National Health Service: and latterly - Social Housing. I achieved Board level responsibility for all Operational and Strategic Finance. I have a very clear understanding of operational issues within the context of the overall organisational vision and strategy.

I was an active School Governor for Bilton School from 2011. I became Chairman of the Full Governing Board in September 2014 to April 2017. I continued as a governor with Stowe Valley MAT until July 2022.

My last working role was as Teasurer in a large local Social Housing Company with a critical duty to report Company compliance with loan covenants required by the Banks and other lenders. This was to ensure ongoing financial viability. This role is a perfect match to the duties of a Member of the MAT.

My belief is that all students should be given the best opportunity to achieve whatever their future ambition may be. Education is the doorway to that success.

I have been involved in School Governance for the past 14 years, at Pre- school, Primary and Secondary levels. I became a Trustee for Stowe Valley MAT in November 2016, having been involved with its development as Chair of Governors at Southam Primary School.

Prior to having children I worked for many years as a Children and Families Social Worker, Service Manager and Service Commissioner. I have an MBA in Public Services Management . I have particular interests and experience in the following areas:

Adoption and Children in public care
Children and Young People with Special Education Needs and Disabilities Safeguarding and child protection
Child and adolescent mental health
Staff development and performance management
Governance

I have a background in engineering and first became a governor when my children started school; I now have over 20 years’ experience in the education sector, specialising in governance.

I have been a governor in both Primary and Secondary schools, was Chair of Governors for 9 years and worked as a Chair mentor for Warwickshire County Council. I have written and delivered bespoke governor training courses nationwide, have been an accredited Governor Mark assessor and undertaken External Reviews of Governance. Since 2013, I have worked nationally with multi-academy trusts advising on governance from board level down to local academy level.

I recognise the vital role that Trustees, and governors play in the education sector, and the responsibilities they have towards enabling students, and staff, to have access to the best teaching, resources, training, facilities and pastoral care possible in order that they can fulfil their individual potentials.

Both my children have benefitted from their outstanding education at Southam College and I am pleased to be able to bring my skills and experience to contribute to improving outcomes for all within the MAT.

I started my teaching career as a History teacher in 1993 at Foxford School in Coventry. I moved to Alderman Callow in 1998 to take on the role of Head of History. I remained at Alderman Callow until 2004 and was promoted to the position of Assistant Headteacher responsible for Teaching and Learning. In 2004 I moved to Aston Manor School in Birmingham to take on the role of Deputy Headteacher responsible for Teaching and Learning/Standards/Achievement. In 2009 I took on the role of Headteacher at Southam College. Since this time the school has achieved two outstanding Ofsted reports and is consistently one of the top performing schools nationally. I am currently Executive Principal of the Stowe Valley MAT, whilst continuing to work as the Head of Southam College. I am also National Leader of Education.

Throughout my career I have had the pleasure of working with hugely talented and dedicated students and staff. They have helped me to formulate a belief that all children have massive potential, and with appropriate support can achieve absolutely anything. I live by this belief on a daily basis and remain grateful for having the privilege of working with such talented students, staff and Governors.

In 2016 I worked with a core group of Governors to set up the Stowe Valley Multi Academy Trust. The Trust has now grown to include three secondary schools and six primary schools (Feb 2020). I am passionate about the Trust supporting schools and communities to make a positive impact on the life of every child.

Peter is a recently retired primary school headteacher. He is very pleased to be appointed as a Trustee and hopes to use his experience to enhance the development of the quality education the Trust provides.

He has worked extensively in school leadership, also having a spell working at the Department for Education and the National College for School Leadership. He has had experience of school inspection and has supported school development in the UK, Australia and Scandinavia.

He is a great believer in offering children all the opportunities possible during their time at school and building a close partnership with parents. It is essential that the schools within the Trust continue to enable the children to fulfil their potential and become life-long learners.

With 4 grown up children Peter has had experience of all stages of education from Nursery school to University.

My name is Iain Geddes, I am the Head of Regulatory Development for HSBC UK. I have worked for HSBC for 22 years and have undertaken a number of senior roles in the UK and the United States, managing teams of regulatory compliance professionals across 55 countries. I have significant governance, risk and regulatory experience spanning multiple lines of business.

I studied Law and Computer Science at DeMontfort University and have an MBA from Birmingham University. I am committed to continuous learning and am currently studying for an MSc in Financial Regulation and Compliance.

I am a proud father of two girls who are/have attended both Southam Primary and Southam College. The quality and variety of their education, and the education of all young people, has never been more important and I believe that the skills that I can bring will make a significant contribution to the strategic direction and governance of the MAT.

I retired from BT Openreach as a Major Programmes Manager with responsibility for all infrastructure build across Leicestershire, having held senior management posts across BT Group including Regional Partnerships Director, Innovation Director, and Principal Consultant. I previously worked in the Ministry of Defence, Logica and Syntegra.

I have degrees in Mathematics (Thames Polytechnic) and Engineering (Durham University).

Before joining the board of the Stowe Valley MAT I was a Director of the Midlands Academies Trust for 8 years where I had chaired the board performance committee, and been a member of the Finance & General Purpose, Audit and Risk committees. I have also served on a number of other boards including Coventry Refugee and Migrant Centre, Carriers of Hope Coventry, and London First.

Having left school at 16 with very few qualifications, I am passionate about the difference that education can make to life chances and I am delighted to be part of an organisation that wants to help our pupils be the best that they can be.

I currently work as a Director at the Gambling Commission, which licenses and regulates the people and businesses that provide gambling in Great Britain, including the National Lottery. My core focus is understanding markets and the public’s engagement in those markets, including children and young people.

I arrived at the Commission through the merger with the National Lottery Commission. I worked in a variety of senior roles within the NLC across Insight, Corporate Affairs and Operations, including Head of Evaluation during the third National Lottery licence competition process.

I have two children currently in education and reflect constantly on the changing, challenging environment they are growing up in. This includes in particular how the digital world blurs experiences and sectors, which I see in my own work. I’m keen to help use my experience to help the MAT achieve its aims.
 

I have been a governor for 11 years, four of which as Chair. During this time, I have been involved in Special measures, Head teacher dismissal/removal and recruitment, multiple Ofsted inspections and have Primary and Secondary experience.

I am now semi-retired after 32 years service from an Executive position at Jaguar Land Rover where I had leadership responsibility for a large department of engineers and have extensive experience of running complex projects and the development of organisations and individuals to achieve their full potential. I now act as a consultant delivering national Automotive standards and small projects.

I am also a consultant for the National Governance Association, carrying out external reviews of governance, mentoring and coaching senior leaders and facilitating NGA Leading Governance development programmes.

I am the proud father of twin sons who both attended Southam College and left with great results to study at university. I believe it is important to use your skills to ensure that the next generation get the opportunities that you enjoyed and hopefully surpass your own achievements.

Having graduated from Southampton University with a first-class Economics degree, I joined EY as part of their audit department, working on a wide range of businesses from large multinational public companies to owner managed clients. After a brief spell working for Grant Thornton I moved into industry in 2015 to work for DS Smith plc as part of their financial governance and compliance team. I now look after global treasury and cash management as well as governance and compliance for Liquibox Inc.

I am from a family of educators with my parents both being former secondary school teachers and my wife previously being a teaching assistant. As a result, I understand many of the challenges schools face and hope to be able to use my financial experience to help the Trust provide both the employees and students with the highest quality support possible.
 

I have a degree in Geology and worked in agriculture before completing a PGCE and starting a career in teaching. Having taught for over 20 years I recently retired from my role of Assistant Head where I had responsibilities for staffing, timetabling, curriculum and assessment and attended Governors Meetings. I am now working with one of my sons in our farming business.

I have 3 children who have all benefited from the opportunities they were given at school and am committed to giving all students the opportunity to gain the best possible education. I am delighted to have the opportunity to use my experience from education and business to help the Trust maintain this provision. 

In my free time I enjoy keeping fit which includes rowing and running.