Speakers

Amanda started her career working for a number of commercial organisations including Marks and Spencer and United Utilities initially in HR but later across finance, IT, business process and shared services. In 2006, she fulfilled a lifelong ambition, retraining as a teacher of science and then joining the Future Leaders programme in 2008. Amanda worked in several schools cross the north west as a senior school leader.

Since 2012, Amanda has combined her skills and experience to lead on operations and finance within the academy movement initially for Bright Futures Educational Trust and most recently for Star Academies before joining Dixons in 2021.

Since November 2023, Amanda has taken on a part time role working on the business transformation project at Dixons.

Andrew Robinson is a CIMA qualified accountant with a BA in Accounting and Management Control. He has over 25 years’ experience of working with fast-growing entrepreneurial businesses in senior finance roles. Following his last role as finance and risk director for a financial services company in York, he joined Ebor in April 2017.

Ben has worked at senior positions with the public sector for many years and was part of a pilot programme for aspiring business managers run by the National College, achieving an Advanced Diploma in 2013. Ben joined STEP in 2014, and since that time has embedded a business strategy which has facilitated STEP’s growth from four schools in Croydon to 20 across London and the Southeast, as well as ensuring consistently strong outcomes for pupils. Currently, Ben’s remit includes oversight of the STEP Ahead Teaching School Hub, as well as all functions that support the education offer of the trust. 
 
As part of Ben’s commitment to the education sector, he has been involved in shaping various pilots organised by the department, including the SRMA and mentoring CFO programmes. This is in addition to supporting the department on bespoke projects and undertaking trust reviews on behalf of regional directors as well as at the request of trust boards. Keen to support the sector in other ways, Ben also speaks at national conferences and has been commissioned by Ambition Institute and Fig Tree International to present on their executive programmes. 
 
Ben is a qualified accountant and recently completed his NPQH. Ben is a Fellow of the Institute of School Business Leaders and past Trustee of the Institute. 

Benedicte is CFO at the River Learning Trust, a 28 school multi academy trust, operating largely in Oxfordshire. Benedicte has over 30 years’ experience in audit and finance. She spent the first part of her career in audit practice with KPMG in Paris and London before working as director of international affairs for the French Asset Management Association. In 2010, she developed a passion for international education and became actively involved in setting up a multi-lingual free school near Oxford. She was awarded CFO of the year at the 2023 MAT excellence awards for her contribution to system leadership and innovation.

Catherine is Community Chair for CST's Finance professional community and is excited to help trust colleagues benefit from the collaboration and support provided by the community. 
 
Catherine is passionate about providing an excellent education for children and developing strong teams to deliver a high-quality financial service for schools. An experienced chartered accountant and member of the executive team, Catherine is Chief Financial Officer for Creative Education Trust. 

Chris has over 35 years’ experience in management and consulting across sectors as varied as manufacturing, financial services, utilities, healthcare, education and entertainment.

He learned world class manufacturing techniques with specialist materials multinational Morgan Crucible before moving into management consulting in 1999. Having been part of the leadership team that grew a boutique consulting firm from £4 million to more than £30 million turnover, he semi-retired in 2023 and now devotes his time largely to support for the charity and education sectors. He supports Pilotlight, a charity that provides consultancy to other charities, and is a trustee of East Midlands Academy Trust.

Chris has led the design and delivery of operations excellence (OpEx) programmes for over 20 years, helping clients to deliver major steps forward in customer experience, productivity, quality, risk management and cost reduction. He supported the development of one of the UK’s leading operations excellence academies and has trained, coached and implemented operations excellence in a wide range of companies, large and small, with a very strong track record of success and client advocacy.

His education sector experience includes a study of operational efficiency in a secondary school for the Institute of School Business Leaders. In 2024, he led the ISBL research study into the opportunity for operational excellence in schools and multi-academy trusts and was the lead author of the published report and OpEx framework.

As Chief Financial and Operations Officer at the Lion Academy Trust, David oversees the financial stability and efficient operations of 11 state-funded primary schools, including six nurseries. He is passionate about ensuring every penny is spent wisely to give children the best possible start in life, particularly in their early years.

David’s career began in finance, where he developed a deep understanding of strong financial management. His commitment to sustainability and positive social impact earned him a fellowship with the Institute of Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability. Through volunteering, he became involved in education, serving as chair of a federation of schools in east London before transitioning professionally into school operations and leadership.

David’s dedication to making a difference has been recognised through his fellowship with the Institute of School Business Leadership and his recently completed master’s degree in education leadership and management, which has further deepened his understanding and impact in the education sector.

Coming from a working-class background in Plymouth, Devon, David understands the transformative power of education in creating opportunities. This perspective drives him to ensure that nurseries and schools are well-resourced, well-managed, and focused on giving children the foundation they need to thrive. His goal is to create environments where staff can concentrate on teaching, and children can achieve their full potential.

David created Value Match over 10 years ago as a specialist procurement services and consultancy company. Previously, David has held senior positions in the cabinet office, HM treasury and recently as director of procurement, sustainability and social impact at NHS SBS. Through extensive experience in ensuring procurement aligns to an organisations strategy and purpose, David believes that procurement can play a pivotal role in mitigating climate change while delivery positive social vale impact and improving broader organisational outcomes.

Donna Bedford is Headteacher at Robert Wilkinson Primary Academy.

Martina joined Ruislip High School in September 2011 as the school’s second headteacher.  Prior to taking up this position, she was deputy headteacher of The Grey Coat Hospital, an all-girls school in central London. She worked at the school for 18 years, from 1993, which included a Fulbright exchange year to America between 2002 and 2003.   

 Her Doctorate in Education, awarded by King’s College, London, in December 2012, was on teachers’ professional development in the context of the Cognitive Acceleration through Science Education (CASE) project. She has been a member of the Let’s Think Council and one of the Let’s Think Forum’s trustees.  

 Martina is passionate about neuroscience and is keen to promote the discourse of educational neuroscience in schools, how this multidisciplinary approach can inform policy and practice. This led Martina to embark on a master's in educational neuroscience, which she has been completing on a part-time basis at Birkbeck University and University College London. She is on the advisory council for Learnus, which is a community that brings educators together with those who specialise in the study of the brain.  

 Martina’s current role is the CEO of Vanguard Learning Trust (initially taking on the executive headteacher position in September 2018, on a part-time basis). The trust currently consists of Field End Junior School and Hermitage Primary School, Ruislip High School, Ryefield Primary School and Vyners School. Oak Farm Primary School became an associate member of the trust in the summer term 2023 with a view to joining in 2025. The trust’s vision of outstanding, inclusive education resonates strongly with Martina’s values in relation to high standards and inclusivity. 

With 35 years'  experience in Banking, Ian has focused on the academy sector since 2010. He offers complimentary support to all academies for banking efficiency, investment policy creation and deposit strategies. The academies he works with will generate more than £20 million interest during 2024.

Iona runs the insights team at Edurio, responsible for the creation of new surveys and analysis of the national datasets on staff, pupil and parent experience. Since joining Edurio in 2021, Iona has worked on national reports focused on topics such as equality, diversity and inclusion and staff retention. Iona brings 10+ years of research experience, previously working in fields from technology, to food waste, to finance.

Jeremy Pilgrim is the Managing Director of School Property Matters Limited, a company dedicated to the creation and enhancement of data-driven solutions for strategic estates management. A hallmark of Jeremy's approach is his passion for structured data as the golden thread of good estates management. By harnessing the power of detailed, accurate property estates data, Jeremy has led his team at School Property Matters to develop comprehensive base datasets for more than 4,000 schools across the UK.

Jo Marchant has worked in and with schools for the last 15 years providing education business leadership. Jo has an MBA and a master’s degree in leadership, and is passionate about sharing her knowledge on how to develop individual and collective leadership in schools, particularly with regard to education estates. Jo is the author of the bestselling books The School Premises Handbook and Managing School Business Operations. Jo was made an MBE for services to education in June 2024. 

Joe is Education Consultancy Director at The Litmus Partnership Ltd, a leading provider of catering and facilities management consultancy to schools and universities across the UK. He joined Litmus in 2012 and has worked extensively across all education sectors as a consultant since 2008. Before that he managed student residences in London and worked for a global facilities company.

Joe specialises in helping schools get best value from their catering and cleaning services through benchmarking, strategic reviews, tendering and performance management for many prestigious clients across the sector.

As a strategy consultant, John has been involved in development of academies and multi academy trusts since their inception in the 1990s and beyond. He has assisted CEOs and trust chairs in the successful founding and development of their trusts and now, as Chief Commercial Officer for ISBL, is responsible for all aspects of communication, marketing and commercial development at the Institute.

Jonathan Coyles is a Partner at Barker and has over 25 years of experience within the education sector. He advises organisations on data collection, reporting and analysis to ensure that evidenced based decision making sits at the heart of everything and all projects deliver value for money. Jonathan supports many of the UK’s leading school trusts to develop their estates and energy strategies and has helped them save millions by implementing innovative data technologies.

Kelly Crawford is the Finance Service Lead for School Business Services, overseeing a team of consultants who provide financial advice, guidance and solutions to schools and trusts. A qualified accountant and former chief finance officer of a school trust, she brings over a decade of experience in the education sector. 

Leora Cruddas is the founding Chief Executive of the Confederation of School Trusts – the national organisation and sector body for school trusts in England. She has advised successive governments and sits on several Department for Education advisory bodies. She was recently the vice chair of the Head Teacher Standards Review Group, a member of the external advisory group for the Schools White Paper, SEND National Implementation Board and the Regulatory and Commissioning Review.

Prior to founding CST, she was Director of Policy and Public Relations for the Association of School and College Leaders. Leora has six years of experience as a director of education in two London local authorities. She is a visiting professor at UCL Institute of Education. Leora was made a CBE in the 2022 New Year’s Honours.

Michael has a rich and extensive background in the catering and facilities management industry. With over 40 years of experience in various segments of the catering industry, including hotels, in-house catering, and contract catering, he has developed a practical understanding of the field.

Facilities management consultancy has been his career choice for the past 26 years and he is well known for his advice and professionalism in ensuring that his clients receive ‘best value’ in the provision of facilities management contracts in all areas of the education sector especially those within multi-academy trusts, enabling the trust to bring together facilities management contracts to deliver “best value”.

Having worked as a solicitor in private legal practice for over 20 years, Natalie now manages a business providing HR and legal support for the education sector across northern England. In this role, Natalie works closely and collaboratively with trade unions in the sector, chairing a consultation group for academies. She sits as a director on the board of a multi academy trust and as the vice chair of a primary school interim executive board. Most recently she has been appointed to the Confederation of School Trusts as Director of Employer Policy, working to represent the interests of trusts as employers.

Orrin is the Head of Service Delivery at Dixons. He joined the trust in December 2021, and previously served as the head of IT. As the Head of Service Delivery, Orrin is committed to ensuring all service requests are logged, ensuring all requests are delivered before they are breached, and contributing to service improvement plans to review process efficiency across all non-teaching functions across our trust. 

After graduating from university with a degree in biology, Paul moved to London and trained as a chartered accountant. He qualified in 2003 before moving into the charity sector where he had the fortune of working for several incredible organisations - children’s charities (Coram, Plan UK); the Wellcome Trust; Community Development Foundation and Wood Green Animals Charity.
Paul joined HEART in 2017 and oversees the work of two great teams; finance and IT. Paul is a fellow of the Institute of School Business Leaders, a member of the DfE/ESFA working group on academy finance and a committee member for the Bedfordshire School Business Network. In 2021 Paul joined the UK Schools Sustainability Network where he co-chairs the UKSSN 'Ops group', a national network of schools and trusts working to help navigate the education sector towards a more sustainable future. Paul represents UKSSN Ops Group on the Department for Education Sustainability User Group. Paul is also part of the steering group for Climate Adapted Pathways for Education (CAPE) Alliance and supports the Our Schools Our World project for Bedfordshire. Paul is a Carbon Literacy Facilitator and Climate Fresk Facilitator.

Paul Stewart is the Trust Estates and Facilities Manager for Plymouth CAST Multi Academy Trust, overseeing the management and operation of 34 schools. With over a decade of experience in the education sector, Paul has developed and implemented almost all the trust’s estates and facilities systems, streamlining processes, and significantly enhancing efficiency. His work has earned national recognition from the Department for Education and LocatED for creating “exemplar estates data systems.” 

Paul’s dedication and expertise were celebrated when he won the Education Estates People’s Award for Estates Professional of the Year, highlighting his innovative approach to data analysis and estates strategy. Additionally, one of his projects was shortlisted for the Innovation in Asset Management Award, further showcasing his forward-thinking contributions to the field. 

Currently, Paul is leading the way in integrating 3D BIM (Building Information Modelling) for school estates management, positioning Plymouth CAST at the forefront of estates innovation in the education sector. 

Samira Sadeghi is Director of Trust Governance for CST. Prior to that, she was Head of Governance and Company Secretary at Academies Enterprise Trust, a multi-academy trust with 57 schools, and served as Regional Governance Officer at Ark Schools for four years. Before moving to the UK with her family in 2010, she was a criminal defence attorney and spent 12 years representing clients on California's death row in their post-conviction proceedings.

Sarah Lovell is the Chief Operating Officer (and CFO) of the Cabot Learning Federation. The COO is responsible for all areas of operational activity outside of educational delivery. This includes leading professional services which covers estates management, governance, IT, administration, communications, HR, and finance.

Sarah started in role in January 2022, having previously held the role of finance director for over 4 years. She is a qualified accountant of over 10 years and has worked in range of different sectors including legal and IT. Sarah is involved in a number of external networks that include Bristol School’s Forum, chairing the Queen Street Group Finance Subgroup and is chair of CST's Operations Community.

Sarah is passionate about the role of professional services within education and the positive impact it has on a pupil’s school experience. This includes ensuring professional services colleagues have excellent professional development and opportunities to progress.

Tom’s career started in several private sector FTSE 100 organisations including British Aerospace, ICI and Lex Service. His career initially focused on IT and large-scale business change programmes but grew to include HR, finance, customer service and procurement moving through roles from business analyst to managing director. This grounding in corporate services led to Tom moving into the setup and delivery of large-scale shared services teams for Network Rail and five UK Police Forces as CEO. A common theme across Tom’s more recent career has been leading transformation initiatives in local and central government to improve the efficiency and service quality of each organisation.

Since October 2023, Tom has moved into a career in education to implement a new business services function at Dixons.

Will Jordan FCCA has worked with academies and multi academy trusts since the first ‘phase two’ academies opened in September 2010. As a qualified accountant and financial technology specialist, Will now works with established multi academy trusts to strengthen their financial planning and reporting processes by replacing legacy software with multi academy trust-specific, agile tools.