Felsted Governors

Rob was appointed Chair of Governors in November 2019. He 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 also Chair of the Nominations Committee at Felsted.

Julia read History of Art and has had a career in the world of conservation and heritage. She worked for many years for The Landmark Trust, and has produced inventories of paintings in Essex and at the University of Cambridge for Art UK. In 2013 she was High Sheriff of Essex. Her three children attended Felsted Preparatory School. Julia sits on the Nominations Committee at Felsted.

Mike is currently the Managing Director Global Creative Network for ITV Studios. He has been in the TV industry for 30 years working for producers and broadcasters including the BBC, Hat Trick Productions and NBCUniversal. In 2001 he co-founded 12 Yard Productions before moving into the international TV forum. Mike 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 sits on the House & Finance and Nominations Committees.

Geoffrey had a long career in HMC schools, including Canford, Geelong Grammar School, Cranleigh (Head of Geography) and St Edward's Oxford (Housemaster). He was Head of Giggleswick for 13 years, and was Chairman of the Boarding Schools Association and HMC (North East), while there. He has been a governor of three schools in the north. He is currently working part time as an education consultant for Secure Training Centres. He is a member of the Education Committee. His interests are sports, walking, family, Southwold and Christian outreach. Geoffrey is currently the Chair of the Education Committee.

Ann is a Solicitor who began her career with a large city law firm in London, then worked as a Senior Litigation Solicitor within the Lloyds Banking Group before returning to private practice as a Partner, specialising in banking litigation, in the London office of a global law firm. Ann is currently a Magistrate on the North Essex Bench. She also sits as a tribunal member of The Nursing & Midwifery Council's Fitness To Practise and Registration Appeals committees. Ann has had four children at the school and her eldest daughter was Head Girl in 2013/2014. Ann sits on the Governance Committee and Education Committee.

Jane is Head of Headington Preparatory School. She has been Head of a junior section of an all-girls 3 to 18 school and Deputy Head and Head of a co-ed prep school. Jane has taught pupils from Key Stage 1 to Key Stage 3 inclusive, has been a leader for several subjects and has taken responsibility for charities, residential trips and leading school initiatives. Jane is an experienced school inspector for the Independent Schools Inspectorate. She is Chair of the Governance Committee and represents the Governors in matters of Child Protection and Safeguarding.

John has extensive experience of both private and public sectors, having been HR Director for Barclays UK, following a career in the retail bank. He became a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Bankers and of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. In the public sector, he chaired the Civil Service Appeal Board between 1999 and 2011 and has been a member of the Armed Forces Pay Review Body and the Prison Service Pay Review Body. He is a Freeman of the City of London and a Liveryman in the Worshipful Company of Curriers. His three sons were all educated at Felsted. He sits on the Nominations Committees. John was Chairman of Governors from 2007-2019.

Having been to Arts Educational Schools in London and Tring, Bobbi went on to qualify in business administration. She runs a communications consultancy and is experienced in marketing and public relations. Her particular areas of focus at Felsted are marketing and boarding. Her two sons are both Felstedians and boarded from the Prep school, and her younger son was Head Boy. Her wider interests include music, drama and sport. She is a member of the House and Finance 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 Governance Committee.

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 now leads KCL’s School of Life Course Sciences. Her research aims to improve the health of women and their children in the UK, and globally, by better understanding of the processes which lead to complications in pregnancy. She has published over 350 research articles. Professor Poston’s 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.

Alison is Head at Norwich High School for Girls. She started her teaching career at Felsted in 2008 as a chemistry teacher after a 10 year career in financial services and the Territorial Army.  While at Felsted Alison was at various times AHM in Mont’s House, Head of Science, the first Housemistress of Thorne House, a DofE supervisor and a CCF officer. After Felsted she worked at Welbeck Defence Sixth Form College before going to Oswestry School where she became Deputy Head Academic. Alison is passionate about supporting all students to have the confidence and resilience to set and reach aspirational goals. Alison is a member of the Education Committee.

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.

Nic joined the Governing Body in 2013. Nic had a 30 year career in the City including various Barclays entities and most recently the London Stock Exchange, retiring in 2008. His main career specialisms were risk management and corporate strategy. He now spends much of his time on voluntary activity, chairing a national charity called Make Jesus Known. He was, until 2013, founder Chairman of Braintree Youth Project Charity. Nic was Ordained in the Church of England in 2017 and serves as Curate in the Benefice of Saxmundham, close to his Suffolk home. Nic's three children were all educated at Felsted. He currently sits on the House and Finance Committee.

William is a Chartered Accountant who qualified with Peat Marwick Mitchell (now KPMG) and continued his career with Shell. After two years at the London Business School he spent the next twenty years as finance director of four large companies in the property, banking and transport sectors. He had a daughter at the School until 2017. 

James and his three brothers are Old Felstedians and he was Head of School. After a career in industry running legal, treasury and secretarial departments for Granada and ITV, his knowledge of governance issues and his business experience add value to the School’s financial planning and to reviewing the School’s policies and procedures. He is Chair of the House and Finance Committee and a member of the Governance Committee.

Patricia is currently Deputy Head of an inner city Pupil Referral Unit in Newham, working with vulnerable and disadvantaged young people. She is also responsible for designing the curriculum and leading formative assessment across the school.

Throughout her career Patricia has worked in a number of mainstream state schools in east London in a variety of roles: Physical Education teacher, Director of Sport, Head of House, Teacher Governor and Senior Leader for Student Enrichment, a role in which she co-authored a book of activities to help young people deal with choices and decisions. Patricia was also a member of the East London Building Alliance (ELBA), working in partnership with a number of businesses at Canary Wharf to offer transitional work experience for disadvantaged 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. Maintaining her keen interest in sport, she has also worked with the London Youth Games in various roles over the past 30 years and has served on the Board’s strategic committee. Patricia is a member of the Education and the Governance Committee.

Jason is currently the Chief Financial Officer of Persimmon plc, the UK's leading house builder.  Previously he worked at Aviva plc for 12 years, most recently as Group CFO with additional 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.  Jason started his career at Morgan Stanley where he spent 15 years working in Corporate Finance in London, New York and Singapore. Jason read Chemistry, with a specific focus on atmospheric chemistry.  Jason's interests include cycling, cricket and skiing and he has a son at Felsted.

Stephen is an Old Felstedian and current 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 now sits on the merged business’ UK Board with responsibility for its Occupier Solutions and Valuation teams. 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. He is a member of the House and Finance Committee.