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Trustees

 Please click any names in the list below to learn more about our Trustees at Gordon's School

lieutenant general Richard cripwell cb, cbe
Chairman

Commissioned into the Corps of the Royal Engineers in August 1982 until February 2022, Lieutenant General Cripwell was Deputy Commander Allied Land Command, the standing headquarters for NATO land forces and was recently sworn in as Lieutenant-Governor of Guernsey, representative of the Crown in the Bailiwick. Married, with two children, Lieutenant General Cripwell is a keen sportsman

Mr Richard Whittington FCA DL
VICE CHAIRMAN

A chartered accountant, Richard retired from KPMG where he was partner-in-charge of the Infrastructure, Government and Healthcare Group and simultaneously Global Head of Building and Construction. Until June 2021 was a non-executive director of The Hillingdon Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. Having been a trustee and treasurer, he is now Vice President of the Community Foundation for Surrey. He is vice chairman of Surrey Care Trust and chairman of The High Sheriff Youth Awards. He has lived in Surrey for over 30 years, was High Sheriff of Surrey 2016-17 and appointed a Deputy Lieutenant of Surrey in 2017.

Mrs Jane Valner
CHAIR OF GOVERNORS

Jane took a degree in Jurisprudence at the University of Oxford and trained as a company lawyer in the city, working in the private company department on qualification. Subsequently she stayed at home to raise three sons and support her late husband’s career as a city litigation lawyer. She has lived in West End for more than 30 years and plays an active part in church life.

Mr Tom Gordon
Trustee

Representative of the Gordon family. Currently works with Nomad Digital Ltd, part of the Alstom group, as a Global Bid Manager previously with De La Rue International, BAE Systems Applied Intelligence, Oracle Corporation UK Ltd, EMC Europe Ltd UK and De Lage Landen. After completing University and PGCE taught and lived in the Czech Republic and Germany. Married with a son, lives in Crowthorne and is a keen player at Bracknell Tennis Club as well as enjoying travel. 

Mr Martin Barnes
trustee; treasurer

Martin is an engineer by background with a career across the energy sector including Renewable Energy. Martin was Governor between 2008 and 2022; he has had two children at Gordon’s and has lived in West End for 14 years.  Martin is a member of the Foundation Development Committee and of the Joint Finance and Estates Committee as well as the Audit and Nominations Committees.

Mrs Anne Stephens
Trustee

Anne is mother of three alumni of Gordon's School in addition to living close to the school for over a decade.  She has a history in corporate strategy for multinational organisations and is studying for a doctorate in consumer behaviour at Brighton University. 

Major General Angus Fay CB MMAS FCILT FCMI 
Trustee  

Following a distinguished military career that included various senior appointments in military logistics and strategic analysis, Angus is now Vice President Strategic Development for World Fuel Services (February 2020). Also, Angus recently took over the role of Chairman of The RLC Foundation.

Mrs Deborah Mckenzie 
Trustee

Elected trustee in January 2020, Deborah is currently Chief People Officer at NHSBT (Blood and Transplant). Prior to this, Deborah worked at Public Health England from 2013 and was Chief People Officer for PHE from June 2017. Previous roles include Director for Civil Service Leadership and Learning and Programme Director for Public Health and Social Care. Deborah studied at the University of Surrey and lives in Guildford.

Mrs Sally Hounsham 
Trustee  

Sally was elected trustee in June 2020 and appointed a Foundation Governor in November 2020. Parent of two Gordonians, Sally is a strong advocate for the value of a Gordon’s education beyond the classroom. Sally’s experience is in strategy and procurement, particularly for corporate travel and expense management but is now retired and focusing on voluntary work with several locally based community initiatives. Sally is a member of the Enterprise Committee.

MR PETER JONES
TRUSTEE

Peter was elected trustee in June 2020 but already knew Gordon’s as parent of three Gordonians.  With over 30 years’ experience in the construction industry as board member and senior leader, most recently as Managing Director of Matthew Homes & Charles Gallagher Ltd, Peter’s knowledge is particularly relevant to supporting the development and improvement of facilities at Gordon’s School.  Peter is a member of the Foundation Development Committee and of the Joint Finance and Estates Committee.

MR SHAHID AZEEM
TRUSTEE
 

Elected trustee in January 2021, Shahid is currently Managing Director of Arcom IT and of Folio3. He is Chairman of  Woking Asian Business Forum and Chairman of Aldershot FC where is he using the power of sport to help integrate communities. Shahid is Vice President of the Community Foundation of Surrey and was 2020-21 High Sheriff of Surrey.

BRIGADIER JONATHAN MULLIN MBE
TRUSTEE; boarding & safeguarding governor;  CCF LINK; MEMBER OF SAFEGUARDING COMMITTEE
 

Jon enjoyed a full military career in the Royal Engineers retiring as a director of the European Defence Agency in Brussels.  During his service across the world he deployed on operations to Northern Ireland, the Falkland Islands and the Balkans.  He subsequently worked for Bechtel.  Jon lives close to Gordon’s School; in addition to helping support the development of Gordon’s he also looks forward to supporting the Gordon’s CCF.

Miss Jessica kruger
TRUSTEE
 

Elected January 2023, Gordonian, Jessica, was Head Girl of her year and left Gordon’s in 2016 to read Geography at the University of Exeter with a particular interest in climate modelling and renewable energy production. On graduating, she took on various roles at a primary school including managing their childcare facility before moving to her current position in April 2022 with Sweatcoin, leading on the company’s global CSR partnerships and initiatives. Jessica is also a member of the Gordonian Advisory Panel

Major General The Rt Hon the Lord (mark) Lancaster of Kimbolton PC
TRUSTEE 

Mark was MP for Milton Keynes 2005-2019; responsibilities during this period included appointment as Parliamentary Under Secretary of Defence Veterans, Reserves and Personnel until appointed Minister of State for the Armed Forces until 2022. Having served with the Royal Engineers, Mark continues to serve in the Army Reserves as a Major General and is currently Colonel Commandant of the Brigade of Gurkhas. A keen cricketer, Mark is an non-executive director of Hampshire County Cricket Club. He is married to Caroline Dinenage, MP for Gosport.

Lieutenant Colonel Jim Fernandes MBE 
trustee

Jim Fernandes works as a Director in Kier Group.  A Cambridge Graduate and Senior Scholar, Chartered Civil Engineer and Fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers, he served for 24 years in the British Army Royal Engineers and concluded his military career as Commanding Officer of 3 Training Regiment Royal School of Military Engineering at Gibraltar Barracks Minley,  It is while serving there that he first encountered the school, as a parent and supporter of the CCF.  Jim is a passionate advocate for construction sector innovation, skills and future careers.  He also served in the Brigade of Gurkhas, including in Nepal, and is a colloquial Nepali speaker.


dr shenila rawal
trustee
 

Dr Shenila Rawal is an applied education economist. She has extensive experience in leading and conducting large-scale evaluations and research projects working to ensure robust, equitable and evidence-based policy and practice in education. She has authored several academic papers and lectures at Masters’ and PhD level on a range of topics in the field of economics of education such as student learning, non-cognitive outcomes, teachers and teaching, labour markets, non-state education, political economy of education systems and issues of equity and marginalisation. She holds several governance positions at philanthropic organisations that support beneficiaries in the UK and internationally.

Ex Officio:  Mr Andrew Moss MEd 

JF&E: Joint Finance and Estates Committee
FDC:  Foundation Development Committee