Mike was appointed Chair of Governors in September 2024. He is currently the Managing Director Global Creative Network for ITV Studios and has been in the TV industry for 30 years, working for producers and broadcasters including the BBC, Hat Trick Productions and NBCUniversal. In 2001 Mike co-founded 12 Yard Productions before moving into the international TV forum. He sits on a number of boards and the advisory committees for the Format Recognition & Production Association and the Edinburgh TV Festival. Mike is a current Felsted parent and his wife is a member of staff at the Senior School. At Felsted, Mike also sits on the Education, Governance, House & Finance and Nominations Committees.
Jane has a strong background in independent education. She has served as Head of a Prep School within an all-through school, as well as Head of a stand-alone Prep School. Her previous roles include Deputy Head (Pastoral), and Head of Geography, French and Religious Studies. Currently, she is a Reporting Inspector for the Independent Schools Inspectorate and a qualified Executive Coach.
At University, Jane read French and Geography. Jane is involved in her local church, enjoys the arts and nature.
She is Chair of the Governance Committee and represents the Governors in matters of Child Protection and Safeguarding.
Jason is the Chief Executive of Aberdeen Group plc, a UK based Wealth and Investments company. Before joining Aberdeen, Jason was the Chief Financial Officer of Persimmon plc, a leading UK house builder. Prior to this, Jason worked at Aviva plc for 12 years, latterly as Group CFO with responsibility for investments, reinsurance and venture capital, making over 20 investments into high-growth companies across the world. He chaired the Aviva Operational Risk and Asset & Liability management committees, and was Board Director of Aviva Investors.
Jason started his career at Morgan Stanley where he spent 15 years working in Corporate Finance in London, New York and Singapore. At university, Jason read Chemistry, with a specific focus on atmospheric chemistry. Jason is Chair of the House and Finance Committee at Felsted and his interests include cycling, cricket and skiing. Jason’s son was a Felsted boarder, leaving in 2024.
Professor Lucilla Poston was one of the first girls to attend Felsted (Manor 1970-1972). Having graduated in Physiology from University College London, she undertook her PhD at London University.
In 1995 she was appointed to Tommy’s Charity Chair of Maternal and Fetal Health at King’s College London. She was Head of the Department of Women and Children’s Health at King’s College London, and subsequently Head of the School of Life Course and Population Sciences. She continues to lead research into the health of women and their children in the UK, and globally, with a focus on the early life origins of health and disease. She has published over 400 research articles. Professor Poston is a Fellow ad eundem of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG), a National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) Senior Investigator (emeritus) and a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences, UK. In 2017, Professor Poston was honoured by Her Majesty the Queen as a CBE (Commander of the British Empire) for services to Women’s Health.
Lucilla Chairs the Board of Governors' Education Committee and is also a member of the Nominations Committee.
Rob is an Old Felstedian and is currently the Group Chief Executive of Charles Taylor. Up to April 2019 he was the Global Chief Executive Officer of Axa Corporate Solutions. His entire working life has been spent in the Insurance industry and before joining AXA in 2016 Rob worked for Aon since 2001 in various leadership roles, the last being CEO of Aon Risk Solutions EMEA. Prior to that, Rob worked in underwriting for 17 years. Whilst predominantly based in London and Paris, during his career he has spent time working in Switzerland and in Hong Kong. Rob is also a Director of Centurion Safety Products the UK's leading above the neck safety product manufacturer. He sat on the President’s Committee of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) for 5 years until 2015, and is a Liveryman and Freeman of the City of London. Rob is a member of the Governance and House and Finance Committees and was Chair of Governors from 2019-2024.
Graham is an Old Felstedian (Junior House 1967-1972 and Stocks’ 1972-1977) where he was Head of House, Head of School and Captain of Swimming. He was a chorister during his ten years at Felsted and played the oboe in the school’s orchestras.
He then went to the University of Reading where he graduated with an honours degree in Building Construction and Management, before joining Essex-based and Cherry Family controlled local house builder Countryside Properties as a graduate Trainee. He was part of the senior management team there for nearly 40 years including 17 years as Group Chief Executive.
He retired from Countryside in 2019 before joining another Cherry Family business, Stonebond Properties, which he and his brother are building into another major house building business, specialising in the development of mixed tenure housing. He and his brother Richard (Junior House 1969-1974 and Stocks’ 1974-1979) have worked together at Countryside and Stonebond for nearly 45 years.
Graham was previously a Governor of Benenden School where he chaired the Building Committee.
Graham lives in Mashbury, near Great Waltham. He continued to sing in the Prep School Choir until he was 52 and was Chairman of the Felsted Choral Society for many years. He is married to Penelope and has three adult children all of whom attended Felsted Prep.
Andrea is the Chief People Officer at Psychiatry UK, the UK's leading provider of digital psychiatry services.
Before joining Psychiatry UK, Andrea spent the majority of her career in senior HR leadership roles at a major global investment bank. Most latterly her role there was as a Managing Director, Head of Talent Management for the EMEA region, responsible for recruitment, talent development, diversity, culture and employee relations. From 2019 to 2023, She sat on the Women in Finance Board established by HM Treasury to further senior female advancement in the Financial Services sector.
Andrea read Modern History and Politics at University. She is a member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, a qualified Executive Coach and has trained both as an Adult and Youth Mental Health First Aider. She has three children, two of whom were weekly boarders at Felsted, leaving in 2018 and 2022 respectively. In her spare time, Andrea enjoys travelling and the arts. Andrea is a member of the Nominations Committee.
James has been a Consultant Paediatrician at Addenbrookes Hospital in Cambridge since 2000, having graduated from Cambridge University and held subsequent positions in various hospitals in the UK and Australia. He has held leadership roles in Children’s Services in Cambridge, in the Cancer Network in the East of England, in the national professional body for children’s cancer and in international research collaborations with European and North American colleagues. He is a keen musician and a Felsted parent with four children all having attended the School. He takes a specific interest in Health and Safety at the School and sits on the Education and the Governance Committee.
Zoë attended Methodist College Belfast before studying Law at Newcastle University and undertaking her Legal Practice Course in Bristol. She worked for many years as a Family Law Solicitor specialising in high net worth separation, divorce and ancillary relief together with complex Childrens Act proceedings. She also drafted Pre-Nuptial agreements, Separation Agreements and dealt with Trusts of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act (TOLATA) applications. As such, she has considerable experience in relation to pensions, assets, investments and all matters arising with regards to children’s needs and arrangements. She is also a trained Collaborative Lawyer (a process to help people reach agreement more quickly without attending Court and with the support of a multi disciplinary team) so has a constructive and practical approach. Zoë sat on the Essex Resolution Committee for a number of years, a community of family justice professionals who work with families and individuals to resolve issues in a constructive way.
Zoë has always been a keen sportsperson having achieved Full College Honours for sport at School. She competed for Ulster, Northern Ireland and Ireland in Swimming and Biathlon (swimming and running). She enjoys playing tennis, skiing and is an enthusiastic Irish Rugby fan! Zoë has four children who attend Felsted.
Oliver is Chairman of the Marylebone Cricket Club, Stanhope plc and CARE International UK. He is also a trustee of Chichester Theatre. He was the finance director at Barclays plc from 1993 to 1999. He is an Old Felstedian and his father was at Elwyn's from 1916-1919.
Patricia Andrews-Wardell has been teaching for over 37 years. In her career she has carried out many roles from being a Physical Education Teacher; Director of Sport, Head of House, Senior Leader for Enrichment, supervising Mentors, Therapeutic Educational Practitioners, Social workers, leading on Careers Advice Guidance, Developing Student Leadership, overseeing Behaviour management systems within a school setting. Patricia led as a Deputy Head of an Alternative Education Provision facility, leading on Curriculum, Assessment and Inclusion.
As a Governor at Felsted, Patricia is responsible for Safeguarding; Welfare; Wellbeing, Support for Learning and Health & Safety. Patricia also volunteers in schools as a Motivational Speaker for Inner Spark that aims to unlock the potential in all young people. Patricia is an ex-international athlete who competed for England in javelin from 1987 to 1992, and has been a representative on the Essex County and Middlesex County Athletics Boards. Patricia also created a Youth programme in Athletics, Netball, Gymnastics, Trampoline for young people in East London. Maintaining her keen interest in sport, she has also worked with the London Youth Games in various roles over the past 40 years and has served on the Board’s strategic committee. Patricia has been honoured with being inducted into the London Youth Games Hall of Fame for her service to the games. Patricia is a member of the Governance, Education and Nominations Committee.
Patricia is a member of the Nominations, Education and the Governance Committee.
Lee is an experienced primary headteacher having taught in schools across Essex and Hertfordshire over the last 10 years. He is currently the headteacher of Fawbert and Barnard Infants’ and Nursery School, judged Outstanding, April 2024 by Ofsted. Across his career Lee has championed and empowered an inclusive school based curriculum striving for all pupils irrespective of need or ability to thrive.
Stephen is an Old Felstedian and former parent at the school. He was a Partner of Strutt & Parker for many years having joined the firm in the late 1980’s. Following its merger with BNP Paribas Real Estate, he sat on the merged business’ UK Board and was Head of Commercial until 2025. He is currently a Partner at Newmark Gerald Eve. His principal areas of expertise are in advising corporate occupiers on real estate matters and banks on their property lending books. He spent 5 years seconded to UBM (now part of Informa plc) as Group Property Director with responsibility for its global property portfolio. He has a keen interest in helping young people into the workplace, having worked closely with the Social Mobility Foundation, the Reading Real Estate Foundation and his business' apprenticeship and graduate programmes.
Stephen is a member of the House and Finance Committee.
Join Felsted's Board of Governors
Are you keen and have an interest in supporting Felsted School and helping it on its journey to the 500th anniversary joining our vibrant and professional Board of Governors?
Our Governors come from many walks of life and hold ultimate control and responsibility for our centuries-old School. They ensure that Felsted acts in accordance with its mission regarding safeguarding, education, wellbeing and compliance.
We are keen to find new members for the board from our Old Felstedian, parental or local communities, who want to support the school as it navigates the new world of the Independent Education sector.
To join Felsted’s Board of Governors, you’ll need to be a good communicator, able to work constructively, have time to give and an interest in education. You’ll bring your knowledge and expertise and will be willing to participate in training and to learn from others.
We are particularly interested in engaging with new Governors who have expertise in Finance and Business Development, Legal, PR and Marketing or Technology.
To learn more about the impact you could have as a Felsted Governor, please contact us at compliance@felsted.org.
