Trust Board
Andrew Needham (Chair of Trustees)
Andrew chairs our Board of Trustees, having previously served as Chair of The Sixth Form College Farnborough, now an academy within The Prospect Trust. A Chartered Accountant by profession, Andrew has spent his career working with leading businesses, developing the commercial skills and capabilities of executives from new graduates to main board leaders.
Andrew brings his commercial experience and energy to help shape the Trust’s future success across all aspects of its operation and performance.
Vicky Baker
Vicky is an experienced Global HR Director, with a keen interest in supporting businesses to set and achieve their strategy. She brings commercial experience in leading people strategy, growth, leadership development, organisational transformation and cultural development, compensation and benefits, operations and technology and employee relations.
Vicky lives locally with her husband and children, one of whom is a pupil at a Trust school.
Maria Dawes
Maria is the CEO of Schools Alliance for Excellence and STSN, a school-led company that provides school improvement and leadership development for schools in Surrey and other local regions. Maria is passionate about a school-led system, believing bringing all schools, providers and partners together creates educational facilities that are more than the sum of their parts. In her previous work she has facilitated the development of multi-academy trusts and developed strong new MATs. Her previous roles included Senior HMI and Deputy Regional Schools Commissioner.
James Freeman
James is a business transformation specialist who has worked for many commercial, service and media organisations, focusing on transformational change programmes and organisational effectiveness outcomes.
He lives locally with both his children in attendance at The Prospect Trust academies.
James brings his public and private sector experiences and skills in leadership, transformational change, critical thinking and strategic alignment to the Trust to help continue the success and growth of this highly successful organisation.
Andrew Majury
Andrew was an independent governor and Chairman of the Audit and Risk Committee of The Sixth Form College Farnborough, now an academy within The Prospect Trust. Andrew brings financial and commercial experience to the Trust to help it to develop into a successful and high-performing organisation.
Alex Tear
Alex is an experienced Diocesan Director of Education and leads the Education team based at Church House, Guildford. He is a member of the Bishop’s Leadership Team and provides the strategic leadership for education within the diocese working closely with Bishop Jo Bailey-Wells who Chairs the Diocesan Board of Education.
Before taking up his post in Guildford, Alex was the Director of Education for Rochester Diocese for 6 years and Acting Chief Executive officer at a Diocesan Multi-Academy Trust.
Alex is an experienced system leader and former Local Leader of Education (LLE) in Surrey. He has 20 years’ experience in education as a teacher, governor, local authority adviser and primary headteacher of a Church of England school in Guildford Diocese.
Alex is a Trustee of Schools Alliance for Excellence (SAfE), a local education partnership in Surrey and a trustee of the Archbishop Abbott’s Exhibition Foundation, a local charity based in Guildford that awards grants to young people to assist with training and education.
Sheila McKenzie
Sheila is a qualified accountant with 25 years experience of working at an executive level in the charity sector. Having worked in social care and a membership organisation for the last 10 years, she has worked as the CFO and COO for a medium-sized national multi-academy trust. Having recently retired, Sheila wants to continue to work with schools and use her knowledge and experience in school finances, estates and other operational services to support the delivery of great outcomes for children and students. She is delighted to join The Prospect Trust and excited to be part of the next stage of the Trust's journey.
Minutes of the Trust Board meetings are available on request by emailing our Governance Adviser
