Governance

David Johnson

David is a founding member of what was Learning Today Leading Tomorrow and has continued as a member for Triumph Learning Trust. During a long career in business, David has delivered new school facilities under a variety of programmes and is an expert in project delivery and contract management, and delivering value for money schemes in the public sector.

David is a father of three children and is passionate about education and is an advocate of increasing parental choice in high-quality education provision.

Mark Kalinowski

Mark has been a member of Triumph Multi-Academy Trust since its inception in 2017 and has continued as a member of the newly merged Trust.  Mark has over 30 years’ experience as a Finance Director, leading across all aspects of financial and general management within the manufacturing and contract logistics industry, and brings a strong understanding of the purpose and usefulness of financial information for business decision making.  With previous experience of being a company director, Mark has a good understanding of governance arrangements within a MAT.

Stephen Geoffrey Howes

Stephen is an engineer and businessman operating in the technology sector, with a passionate belief that a high quality of education is the foundation on which a fulfilling life is built. Stephen sees diversity of provision and inclusivity in approach as being the twin strands which together will ensure that whatever talents a student has are recognised and nurtured, to allow that individual to succeed in whatever way best suits them.

Having returned from working overseas in 2018, Stephen has been a member since 2020. He is keen to play a role in shaping the development of the Trust.

Adam Scott Brown

Adam has been a member since 2020 and has 20 years’ experience as an Operations Director in large organisations.  His experience includes system migration, budgetary control, decision making, professional responsibility, and accountability.  Adam is therefore well equipped with a variety of business and professional skills and knows the importance of ensuring that successful organisations follow appropriate procedures in delivering a quality service.

Jill Simpson-Vince, Chair of Trustees

Jill is a member by virtue of being Chair of Trustees in line with our Articles of Association.  You can learn more about Jill in our Trustees section.

Jill Simpson-Vince, Chair of Trustees

Jill has been Chair of the Trust since April 2024, having previously been Vice-Chair and is one of the founding Trustees of Learning Today Leading Tomorrow, having been involved in the inception of the Trust as one of a group of parents campaigning for its first free school.

She is passionate about providing high quality education from early years to sixth form for local communities in Rugby and beyond and is working to increase education provision across the borough.

Jill can be contacted by email on: jill@triumphlearning.org

LJ Winterburn, Vice-Chair of Trustees

LJ has been Vice-Chair since Triumph Learning Trust was formed and had previously been Chair of Trustees of Triumph Multi Academy Trust.  LJ is the CEO of a local charity in Coventry and has strong knowledge of children and adult safeguarding requirements, and is skilled in reviewing and analysing data and using this to inform decision making.

LJ is passionate about ensuring that every child in our communities is given access to an outstanding education which raises their aspiration level for this future.

Gary Brown, Chair of Audit and Risk Committee

Gary has lived in the Rugby area for over 20 years and his two children were educated in the town. Gary believes every child should have the right to a good education.

A qualified chartered accountant with an MBA, he held a number of senior financial positions and directorships in retail and leisure companies before moving into senior governance, corporate operations and GDPR compliance roles in global organisations. Gary is a senior executive and is an expert in risk management, service management and operational transformation.

Gary is Chair of our Audit and Risk Committee (ARC) which gives oversight to the financial, audit and risk aspects of the Trust.

Brenda Mullen, Chair of Policy and Innovation Committee

Brenda has over 30 years’ leadership experience in statutory education from Early Years to sixth form. In previous roles, she has set up academies and free schools across the Midlands and was the CEO of LT2 from 2017 until our merger in 2024 when she retired and became a Trustee of the new Trust.

Brenda is Chair of our Policy and Innovation Committee which gives oversight to policy development within the Trust and holds the Trust Leadership accountable to our innovation commitment.

Hayley Shortt, Chair of Standards and Educational Excellence Committee

Hayley is a Headteacher within primary education in Coventry and brings a wealth of education expertise to our board.   Hayley has been a Trustee since 2021, originally sitting on the Triumph Multi Academy Trust board.  She has also been Chair of Governors at Alderman’s Green Primary School since 2021 and support them on their journey to a ‘Good’ Ofsted inspection in 2023.

Hayley is Chair of our Standards and Educational Excellence Committee which gives oversight to school performance at pupil outcomes and the professional growth of school staff.

Pete Richings

Pete is an Engineer who had a long and successful career within the automotive sector before retiring, having worked at Engineering Director level at Jaguar Land Rover.  Pete brings his significant expertise from the competitive automotive sector and was a founding Trustee of Triumph Learning Trust in 2016, and continues to serve on the Triumph Learning Trust Board.

Will Bracken

Will is an experienced Area Manager within the automotive sector with a focus on sales and car dealerships.  Will brings significant commercial experience to the board and is keen to use his expertise to improve education outcomes for the children in his community.

Will was a founding Trustee of Triumph Multi Academy Trust back in 2017 and continues to serve on the board of the newly merged Trust.

Georgina Langley

Georgie is a Civil Servant working for the Department for Education and is currently working as a Policy Advisor within the AI Alignment team, having previously been a Data Protection Business Partner. Before joining the Civil Service, she worked in the LT2 central team leading on governance, data protection and procurement.

Alongside her First-Class Honors degree in Linguistics from University College London, she brings valuable expertise and experience within the education sector to the Trust.  She has served as a Trustee since 2022.

Ian Chaplin

Ian has over 30 years’ experience in Local Government as a Chartered Surveyor and is a Member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.  He is currently Head of Investment Property Management at Birmingham City Council and brings excellent expertise to our board.

Iain has been Chair of Governors at a Junior School in Nuneaton since 2019 and has been a Trustee of our MAT since 2022, originally sitting on the Triumph Multi Academy Trust board.

Jennifer Marie Beattie

Jennifer is a strategic and credible Senior People Leader with a strong history of delivery within the public funded/third sector, delivering operational effectiveness and cultural change. She is currently leading HR within the education sector and has previously been Chief People Officer at the Royal Air Forces Association.

Jennifer has proven experience supporting operational improvement and effectiveness within regulated environments, specifically in response to CQC and Ofsted inspections, and has been a Trustee since 2023.

Kathryn Wright

Kathryn is an experienced secondary education leader and brings a wealth of experience to the board and the Standards and Educational Excellence sub-committee.  She has previously been a Trustee of both Triumph Multi Academy Trust and Learning Today Leading Tomorrow and also served in a local governance role at Rugby Free Secondary School.