Board of Trustees (ID 1289)

• Andrew Hill
  Chair of the Board of Trustees
  Andrew Hill

  I have been a Trustee of Solent Academies Trust since 2018 and its Chair since 2022. I have huge pride in the work that is done in our Academies and never fail to be in awe of the dedication and commitment that our staff have in support of providing the best possible help for children with Special Educational Needs. Having a son with severe learning difficulties, I have a first-hand understanding of how important it is to focus on the needs of each individual child.

  My background is in Finance and Project Management where I held a number of Board level appointments in some large organisations, mainly in the Transport sector. During my career I learned much about the importance of strong governance and this knowledge guides me in how we endeavour to provide support and oversight for Solent Academies Trust. I am very lucky that this task is made easier by having a very talented Executive Team and fellow Trustees with a huge portfolio of experience. They also demonstrate immense commitment to their roles.

  We have an ambitious Trust which has expanded substantially since I have been involved. We are always looking to do more but making sure that our ambition is never to the detriment of our existing Academies. There are many challenges to be faced in realising our ambitions, but I know that we will continue to meet them with confidence and competence.

  My other interests include being a keen amateur musician, an enthusiastic but not very talented golfer, and having a love for travel

• Gordon Duff
  Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees
  Gordon Duff

  I have been a member of the school governance community for over 18 years, and I have chaired and supported many governing boards, across the primary and secondary phases of education (EYFS – KS5). I have also chaired many Interim Executive Boards (IEBs) in Hampshire and the surrounding area.

  This has included being a member of and supporting boards in LA maintained schools, academy schools and Multi Academy Trusts in a National Leader of Governance role.

  I also have extensive experience of working with schools and boards that specialise in alternative provision (AP) and special educational needs provision (SEND) and recently gained accreditation through the Chartered Governance Institute, with respect to Academy Governance.

  I am currently employed by Isle of Wight County Council and in my role as Governor Services & Clerking Manager, I provide advice, support and training to governance boards in many different settings. I firmly believe that strong governance impacts positively on the outcomes for children and I have been fortunate over the years, to have worked alongside many very committed education professionals and governors/trustees, to ensure that children locally, receive the very best provision we can offer.

  I am proud to be the Vice-Chair of Trustees for Solent Academies Trust and I will continue to work with leaders, staff, governors/trustees, and all of our stakeholders, to ensure that the children in our schools are afforded the very best opportunities.

• Ray Mead
  Trustee
  Ray Mead

  Ray is founder and director of p3m global, a specialist Portfolio, Programme and Project management (P3M) consultancy. In this role he has led a diverse team and worked with a wide range of clients, both domestically and internationally, across various sectors from FTSE 100 to central government.

  Ray brings together the change management specialisations he has developed in his field with his experience serving as a City Councillor for Southampton City Council, as well as the outreach work, he does for the PMI Educational Foundation which brings project management expertise to organisations around the World that would otherwise not be able to acquire it.

• Philip Slaughter
  Trustee
  Philip Slaughter

  Philip joined the Solent Academies Trust Board as a trustee in 2019 and has chaired the Finance and General Purposes committee since 2022.

  Philip brings extensive experience in commercial strategy and asset transformation. His expertise has been gathered in the United Kingdom, Singapore, Australia, and the United States. Philip is currently the CEO of a start-up focused on addressing climate change. Philip is a Sloan Fellow of the London Business School and holds two engineering degrees from Imperial College London and the University of Birmingham.

• Sue Banger
  Trustee
  Sue Banger

  I worked within Retail Finance for over 23 years through various roles from Casher to Divisional Director, within Personal and Commercial Management and Leadership roles, managing from 4 to a team of over 4000. I have worked with growing businesses as well as international organisations.

  I have also worked within Further and Higher Education initially at Chichester College Group as a Lecturer and then as Director of Higher Education building curriculum to support local and national skills gaps for the incumbent students and those who did not wish or have the capacity to attend University in a standard format.

  I currently work as Senior Lecturer at Solent and Winchester Universities specialising on Management and Leadership Strategy which has given me the opportunity to teach utilising me experience within operations, strategy. management and leadership

• Gareth Morgan
  Trustee
  Gareth Morgan

  Originally, I spent the first part of my career working on original research into Protein Biochemistry. After that I spent ~35 years in the pharmaceutical industry in major global, multinational organisations. In that time, I have held many senior positions within the manufacturing, supply, and distribution functions. I operated at Director/Board level and completed my career with Pfizer UK.

  I have guided many small company start-ups by helping them obtain Government and private sector loans to finance their business. This also included a significant element of mentoring.

  I have also had close links with Portsmouth University Business school and was an active member of their Advisory Board (past Chair) and Chaired their Employability Committee. I am/have been giving my time to other charitable organisations in Trustee /Non-executive director roles. This keeps me busy and learning all the time.

  I have been a Trustee at the Solent Academy Trust for 4 years and Chair the Standards Committee together with being a member of the Risk and Audit committee. I also chair the Standards committee.

• David Hunt
  Trustee
  David Hunt

  David is currently the Managing Director of a lighting design and manufacturing company based in Basingstoke, UK. Previously he worked for 16 years in the food manufacturing industry, leading the European and Middle East businesses for a US based parent company. He has also worked within the defence and telecoms industry in a variety of commercial, project management and financial roles.

  He brings an overall experience of leading complex organisations, strategy and planning and change management. David is a qualified Chartered Accountant and holds an MBA from the University of Bath. He has a keen interest in special needs education based on personal family experience. In his spare time David enjoys spending time with his family, keeping fit, travelling, and supporting his favourite football team, Preston North End.

• Ruth Sturdy
  Trustee
  Ruth Sturdy

  Ruth is an experienced school and system leader who has always had a passion for ensuring that young people with SEND have the best education we can provide for them. Ruth's experience includes senior leadership in mainstream secondary schools, leading specialist provisions, as the lead school improvement partner for inclusion in a large local authority and currently as CEO of a Multi Academy Trust. The Trust she works with is a partnership of five special schools who am to meet the needs of young people with a range of needs including speech, language and communication, autism, moderate learning difficulties and social, emotional and mental health needs.

  Ruth lives in Essex and is married with two children who attended their local mainstream schools, one of whom had special educational needs relating to sight loss and had an EHCP throughout his school career. She brings her personal as well as professional knowledge to this role and is honoured to part of the Solent Academies Trust

• Murray Campbell
  Trustee
  Murray Campbell

  Murray joined the Solent Academy Trust Board in the Autumn of 2023, having previously been a Trustee at Dove House Academy School and chair of its Audit and Risk Committee. His grandson is also a pupil at Dove House.

  He is the Vice Chair of Old Basing & Lychpit Parish Council and chair of its Planning and Development Committee. Murray's past experience includes being a director of a statutory Tribunal and, more recently, as Deputy CEO of the oldest and largest of the Inns of Court.