• Home
• 
• Corporation Structure
• 
• Corporation Information
• 
• Governors
• 
• Becoming a Governor
• 
• Weblinks
• 

Governors

David Rood - Chair Sue Fowler - Vice Chair Rob Allen Lesley Baker John Callaghan - Principal Jean Chamberlain Louise Gresty

Klaudia Kargol Denis Miles Antonia Payne Jane Potter Krissy Rawal Peter Redfern Geraldine Swanton

John Callaghan - Principal

John Callaghan has been the Principal of North East Worcestershire College since April 2010, moving on from the role of Deputy Principal at Derby College where he spent 7 years. John left school at 16 and studied part-time at College and University to gain qualifications including a HNC, a BA (hons), a post-graduate Diploma in management and a MBA. John is a passionate advocate of the FE system, which has enabled him to develop his career and qualification.

His first jobs were with the Birmingham City Council, within the Environmental Department, the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery as well as local FE Colleges. John trained on main frame computers writing programmes and reports and joined Tamworth College to set up the financial, HR and IT infrastructure. John taught on a wide variety of business and IT courses for all age groups and levels and was present at the time of the home pc and internet revolution when there was a boom in demand for IT courses.

John is married with three children, his two sons have attended local FE Colleges and work in construction, and his daughter graduated from University and works as an Occupational Therapist. His hobbies include motorbikes, football and travel.

• Back to Top

Rob Allen

Rob Allen is the Chairman of the College Audit Committee and a Member of the Remuneration Committee. He is currently Group Financial Controller of GKN plc, a global technology-driven manufacturing group. Having obtained a degree in Commerce and Accounting from Birmingham University he joined Price Waterhouse’s Assurance and Audit practice in Birmingham eventually focussing on public company auditing and financial reporting.

His spell with Price Waterhouse included a brief secondment to the US and responsibility for staff training and development. After leaving Price Waterhouse he became Director of Financial Planning & Analysis for TI Group plc; a global specialised engineering company. Subsequent to his TI role he worked for Smiths Group plc being based in Cheltenham and London. Prior to his current GKN role Rob was the Controller of the AutoComponents division; covering operations in the UK, US, and China as well as being the Group Chief Accountant.

"My continuing exposure to the management aspects of the world of Further Education is fascinating and my knowledge and experience of the fundamentals of management control and accountability in the private sector is hopefully making a positive contribution to the on-going development of NEW College. I enjoy being a part of an organisation that continues to strive to make itself better in delivering its educational promise in a constantly evolving and challenging environment."

Rob and his wife live in Droitwich, with their two sons and daughter. Most of his leisure time is spent helping out at Worcester Swimming Club.

• Back to Top

Jane Potter

Jane Potter is the Chair of the Search Committee and began her career as a bi-lingual secretary in London, followed by time spent working in Switzerland and South Africa. She moved into the cosmetics industry and trained in marketing, spending the majority of her career in marketing management in the pharmaceutical and education sectors. For the last four years Jane has been teaching English as a foreign language.

She is a County Councillor for the Arrow Valley West Division of Redditch and Cabinet Member for Education and Skills on Worcestershire County Council. She enjoys gardening, walking and water colour painting.

Jane says: “Having led a very hectic professional life for many years I decided to change direction in order to have a better work-life balance. This has meant that I now have more time to do a wider variety of activities. However, I wanted to use the skills which I had developed over my working life and becoming involved with NEW College was something which I very much wanted to do. The College has seen incredible changes over the last few years and is a model of what a further education college should be in today’s demanding FE world. I thoroughly enjoy working with a committed team of governors from different walks of life and also with a very professional and forward-thinking management team.”

• Back to Top

Peter Redfern

Peter has extensive Financial and Operations management experiences gained through careers in Professional Football, Retail and Local Government. He enjoyed 13 years with Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club during which time he acted as Assistant Secretary and Club Secretary. He then went on to spend 21 years with Marks and Spencer during which time he completed appointments in ten different locations across the Country. Peter has now returned to his Midlands grass roots where he is employed as a Facilities Manager in the education sector.

Peter is originally from and educated in Wolverhampton. After leaving school, he studied for 5 years at Wulfrun College of FE. He describes this as ‘the most encouraging and productive educational period of my life’. Ever since, he has held strong beliefs in the purpose and benefits offered by FE Colleges to their local community.

Peter lives with his wife and 2 children in Bromsgrove. He is also a member of the Western Front Association and on those rare occasions the family grant him any spare time, he can be found researching and developing his knowledge of ‘ the war to end all wars’.

• Back to Top

Lesley Baker

Lesley joined NEW College in 1997 as a part time hairdressing lecturer. She gained a full time post in 2001 and progressed to the position of Senior Teacher in 2003. More recently, Lesley was appointed as Programme Area Manager of Hair, Beauty and Holistic Therapies. All of these roles have been varied and challenging, providing opportunities to work with a variety of people across college curriculums and campuses.

Lesley is able to relate to the day-to-day demands of being a teacher and member of a thriving, highly successful organisation; she hopes to share her knowledge and experiences with other members of the corporation and provide a 'staff voice' as governor.

Prior to working for NEW College Lesley worked for a private training provider and FE college in Kidderminster. Lesley ran a successful hairdressing business for six years before deciding to pursue a long-term ambition to become hairdressing teacher.

• Back to Top

Jean Chamberlain

Jean was born in Scotland. She attended NEW College when it was known as Redditch College, and obtained a HND in Business Studies. She went on to train as a nurse, and has worked extensively in hospitals throughout Oxfordshire. She has gone on to achieve a Masters in Interprofessional Studies at UWIC, and a PGCE attending Herefordshire College of Technology.

Over the last 10 years, Jean has specialised in Risk Management, and has accumulated an advanced level of expertise through analysing risk in both small and multi complex organisations, and subsequently assisting them to draw up systems to manage gaps both in their governance and risk arrangements. This has included the NHS, the police, further and higher education, charities and public services.

Jean is a member of the International Institute of Risk and Safety Management, and a Chartered Member of the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health.

• Back to Top

David Rood

David Rood is a member of the College Search and Remuneration Committees. He became Chair of the Corporation in December 2010. He is a Chartered Accountant and after training in Cardiff joined GKN plc, the global engineering group which has its headquarters in Redditch. In his thirty eight year career with them, he held a variety of financial positions both in subsidiary operations and at Group Headquarters. These included Group Budget Controller, Group Chief Accountant and director of holding companies in the USA and Germany. From 2001 until his retirement in December 2008 he was GKN’s Head of Investor Relations and External Reporting.

Appointed a governor in December 2009, David says "It is a privilege to be part of such a successful and well regarded college and to be helping the team here to build on that success."

Currently studying for a degree with the Open University, his other interests include walking, music, rugby and cricket.

• Back to Top

Geraldine Swanton

Geraldine qualified as a lawyer in September 1999 at Martineau, where she still works. She is a member of the firm's Education Team and advises on all aspects of the student contract and on regulatory, equality and constitutional issues relating to FE and HE institutions.

She has broad experience of advising colleges and universities, but specialising in student matters as well as information law.

Before she became a lawyer, she lived and worked as a teacher/lecturer in Ireland, Canada and the US. Geraldine became a member of the College's governing body in October 2010 and is also a school governor.

• Back to Top

Sue Fowler

Sue joined the Corporation in November 2011, having previously served as a Governor at secondary schools in Wolverhampton and in Hagley. She is a Human Resources professional, with over thirty years experience across all aspects of employment from recruitment to retirement, at company, group, national and international level. Now operating independently, Sue is involved with a range of different businesses, helping to plan and implement strategic change programmes, or to address specific people based issues in the workplace.

Sue has been a Trustee of the Engineering Development Trust, which provides opportunities for students to gain experience in engineering and manufacturing through a number of employer linked programmes, and has also contributed to the national board of Young Enterprise, which supports students in experiencing the highs and lows of running a small business or community enterprise.

She has represented engineering and manufacturing interests on national (UK) employment working parties, served a term of office as President of the West Midlands EEF, and has contributed at European level on information and consultation issues.

Sue moved to Worcestershire more than twenty years ago, and has very much enjoyed life in the small semi-rural community of Blakedown.

She has two sons, now both beginning their own independent lives, one as a student and the other as a business analyst.

• Back to Top

Louise Gresty

Louise joined the Corporation in May 2011 and is a member of the Audit Committee. She is a Senior Manager in the Assurance & Advisory division at Deloitte, where she qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 2002. She has experience across a wide range of industries and in recent years has been responsible for a portfolio of audit clients in the construction and manufacturing sectors.

Her experience ranges from large multinational listed businesses to local family run groups and pension schemes. Louise has also been involved in a number of refinancing projects during the recent recessionary years.

"I am delighted to have joined the Corporation - it's critical that we encourage people to participate in education no matter what their background is. I get a real buzz out of seeing people achieve their true potential."

Louise is a Brownie leader in Solihull and a keen gardener.

• Back to Top

Krishma (Krissy) Rawal

Krissy has been a student at the College for two years, having first studied her AS Levels in Sociology, Health and Social Care and English Literature, before embarking on a two-year Level 3 course in Business, which she is now in the first year of. Once finishing her course at the College, Krissy would like to go into Marketing and Management, citing her enjoyment in leadership for this decision.

Having been a student representative since she started at the College, it was a natural progression for her to want to become a Student Governor, as she really enjoys being able to represent the 'student voice.' Krissy was also keen to get more of an insight into how the College works and is structured. The best part of the experience so far for her has been having the opportunity to have her say on issues that matter, and influence the way the College she is proud to be a student of is run.

• Back to Top

Antonia Payne

Prof Antonia Payne is Head of the University of Worcester’s Institute of Humanities & Creative Arts. She came to Worcester from Dartington College of Arts in Devon, where she was Dean of Research. Beginning life as a curator of contemporary art, she was Director of Ikon Gallery, Birmingham throughout the 1980s. In the ’90s, as a freelance consultant, curator and writer, she worked for clients including Arts Council England, the Scottish Arts Council, English Heritage, Tate and many others.

She was also Tutor in Fine Art at the Ruskin School of Drawing & Fine Art, University of Oxford, working mainly on research projects. From 2001-2005, she was Associate Dean (Research & Academic Development) in the School of Art & Design at the University of Wolverhampton. Antonia has served on the Boards of various arts organisations over the years and been a member of national Arts Council committees, including a period as Chair of ACE’s Live Art Advisory Group from 1989 to 1996. She also chaired the Visual Arts & Galleries Association (VAGA) from 1991 to 1995. From 2006-2009, Antonia was a member of the Arts & Humanities Research Council’s Peer Review Panel 2: Visual Arts & Media; she chaired the Panel from 2007 to 2009, when she was also a member of the AHRC’s Research Committee. She is the proud mother of two sons and lives with her family in Warwickshire.

• Back to Top

Denis Miles

Denis Miles became a Governor and a Member of the College Audit Committee in October 2012. He was born and brought up in London and, five years after leaving school, went to the University of Wales in Cardiff where he obtained a degree in Economics, was elected President of the Students’ Union and became the first ever student governor of the University of Wales as a Member of its Council.

He spent 25 years in manufacturing industry, the first 17 years with British Aluminium / British Alcan, first as a trainee accountant at its London head office, followed by spells at large production sites in Wales, Cumbria and Birmingham, the latter two being as their Financial Director and Company Secretary. He then spent eight years as UK Finance Director of a UK-US manufacturing group making machinery for the metal manufacturing industries. He has been a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) since 1986.

Denis moved from industry to government from 2000 to 2011. He held senior financial positions in the Learning and Skills Council and then the Skills Funding Agency, both of which provided public funds for Further Education Colleges. He was Financial Director for the LSC’s South West Region before becoming National Director of Provider Financial Management. In both roles he worked closely with colleges and their representative bodies and was heavily involved with all major capital project applications from colleges, the financial aspects of merger proposals and also working with colleges in financial difficulty.

Denis retired in October 2011 and was delighted when asked to become a Governor of the College. He believes his experience in financial management and working in many senior management teams in both industry and that part of government responsible for the funding of Further Education will enable him to add value to the College Corporation. He wants to help to enhance the College’s reputation for excellence in meeting the needs of the local community and businesses.

Denis and his wife (a lecturer at Solihull College for over 20 years) have lived in Redditch since 1987. They have two daughters who now live in Sussex and Edinburgh. Denis is a qualified tennis umpire and Wimbledon line judge; has run over 50 marathons and half marathons; is currently just 10 short of climbing all 214 mountains in the Lake District; and is a lifelong Blackpool football supporter and season ticket holder. He is also proud to say that, in his youth, he saw the Beatles in concert and was at the World Cup Final in 1966!

• Back to Top

Klaudia Kargol

New Student Governor Klaudia is a past Trinity High School student. Last year she began to study for A Levels in Law, Business Studies and Sociology at the college and Triple Science at Trinity High School. She has now decided to take a more specific route studying Business Level 3 at NEW College. Klaudia says "I love the college, and I love getting involved in everything that I can, gaining more and more experience. It is amazing what college can offer"

Last year Klaudia was one of the main speakers at the Big Debate, which was held in South Bromsgrove competing against schools and colleges from around the area. Klaudia went though to the semi-finals and enjoyed the experience immensely.

Outside of college Klaudia takes ESOL classes, and volunteers as a teaching assistant for foreign languages. She speaks three languages, Polish, her mother tongue, English as her second language, and German.

Klaudia works in a retailers, which provides her with management experience and links well with the course she is studying.

Klaudia concludes: "I wanted to become a Student Governor as I am concerned about the college students and the matters around the college, I have strong personality and I thought I can contribute to the college with my experience and strong will"

• Back to Top