Governance

Ninna Gibson

After reading economics at Cambridge, Ninna worked for Mercury Asset Management. She became a magistrate in 1998 and sat as Chair in the Adult criminal court for over 25 years. She currently Chairs in the Family Court sitting in Swindon and Salisbury.

She is a Director and Company Secretary of a financial investment company and a partner in a farm breeding pedigree Hereford cattle.

Ninna was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant of Wiltshire in July 2020. From 2011-2018 Ninna was Chair of Governors at Springfields Academy in Calne, a day and residential school for young people with autism and complex emotional issues.

Ninna became a Trustee of The White Horse Federation in December 2017 and was appointed Chair of the Trust Board in September 2019.

Simon Cleverly

Simon is a corporate lawyer and corporate affairs professional with over 35 years’ experience, initially in private legal practice in a leading city law firm and, subsequently, as an in-house lawyer and as Group Head of Corporate Affairs at a FTSE top 10 global FMCG company. Recently retired, he is now pleased to be able to devote more time to his other interests.

He is currently a Trustee of the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Community Foundation and a Trustee of the Country Food Trust, a national food poverty alleviation charity.

Simon is Vice-Chair of the Trust Board.

Dr. Moira Laffey

Moira holds a PhD in Chemistry and undertook research at London and Cambridge universities. After a career in the Civil Service followed by family commitments, she has held a variety of posts in the independent education world including as a Maths teacher and Headteacher.

After retirement, she worked on various projects for a well-known consultancy including being the independent chair of complaint and discipline panels for numerous senior and junior schools. Her particular interest is in the teaching of numeracy to those who find the subject daunting.

Moira is Chair of the IAB at Melksham Oak Community School, Chair of Governors Larkhill Primary School and a White Horse Federation Trustee.

Hugh Graham

Hugh is an experienced Finance and Risk professional with forty years of experience working in financial. He was responsible for capital management and treasury at Barclays, AMP, Zurich Financial & AIA, as well as organising the capital restructure of Northern Rock and Bradford & Bingley post-nationalisation. He was Chief Risk Officer of AIA and latterly advises the Swire group of companies on risk.

Hugh is currently a Non-executive Director and Chairman of the Risk Committee of London Metal Exchange Clearing, a Non-executive Director and Chairman of the Audit and Risk Committee of China Taiping UK Ltd. and was a Director of a subsidiary of the HKSE from 2013 – 2022.

Mark McVeigh

Mark is an Education Consultant and has advised on the opening of international schools and headship appointments. He was brought up in Belfast and graduated from Bristol University. Mark achieved a PGCE and taught at Lancing College, West Sussex. He moved to Marlborough College in Wiltshire as Head of Department, then boarding Housemaster, and acquired an MA in Education Management. A role in strategic international liaison led to his appointment as Head of the Senior School at the new Marlborough College Malaysia. He was then Principal of Denla British School, a premium start-up British curriculum school in Bangkok.

Anthony Simler

Anthony Simler is a long-term CFO, who specialises in working for family offices, mergers and acquisition, and acting as a turnaround consultant. Brought up in London and graduating from Exeter University in Economics, he subsequently qualified as a Chartered Accountant, before becoming a professional investor with a US private equity firm, then making the switch to becoming a CFO. Anthony has served on many boards and has considerable experience of the debt markets, raising equity, streamlining company operations and integrating acquisitions.

Gordon Montgomery

Having qualified as a chartered accountant, Gordon has started, grown, turned around, and sold companies all his adult life. In the public company and private company arenas, he has variously been Chairman, CEO, CFO or COO of a venture capital investor, corporate finance and M&A broker, turnaround consultancy, furniture manufacturer, ground maintenance business, TV production company, and many more. Most recently; a technology start-up, which he co-founded in 2009 and sold in 2018, grew to dominate its market sector in the UK. He is also non-executive director of a chain of farm shops. He feels passionate about education as a fundamental conduit for providing the world with a next generation that are kind, capable, healthy, responsible citizens - able to stand on their own two feet; stand up for what is right; exercise tolerance and common-sense; and produce those qualities and capabilities in the next generation beyond them.

Gaelle De Sola

Gaelle De Sola is Head of Risk at Jupiter AM, overseeing enterprise risk, investment risk and business resilience, but before joining Jupiter, she was at Janus Henderson Investors, managing the global Risk Team, also covering investment, operational risk and business resilience. Prior to joining Janus Henderson, Gaelle was chief risk officer at Invesco EMEA and before that, she covered a number of head of roles having started her career in 1997 with Ernst & Young. Gaelle holds a BA degree (Hons) in economics and politics from Warwick University. In April 2024 Gaelle became a Trustee of The White Horse Federation who also sits on the Risk and Audit Committee.

Deepak Gupta

Having completed his medical degree in India in 1982, Deepak subsequently had further training in India, USA, and the UK. Since 2000, he has practised as a Consultant ENT Surgeon in the UK. He retired from The Great Western Hospital NHS Trust, Swindon in 2022 but continues to work at the Ridgeway Hospital, Swindon and The Tetbury Hospital. Apart from his clinical work, he has been involved in teaching, training, research and the introduction of several innovative, patient-friendly and efficiency initiatives. In addition, Mr. Gupta has been in senior leadership positions, having served as the founder member of the NHS Southwest Clinical Senate and as the Director of Medical Education at the GWH (2009-2017). He is also the Founder-Director of the Health Economics, Leadership and Management programme (HELM). He has been closely involved in the Swindon and Wiltshire community and initiated the Swindon Indian Association in 2008. Since 2018, he has been a deputy lord lieutenant of Wiltshire.

Matt Beer

Matt is the Deputy Director for Schools in the North East at the Department for Education (DfE). In this role, he provides strategic leadership and oversight of education policy implementation and school improvement initiatives across the North East of England. With a deep commitment to raising educational standards and ensuring equitable access to high-quality education, Matt works closely with school leaders, local authorities, academy trusts, and other stakeholders to drive improvements in pupil outcomes and support effective school governance. He brings extensive experience in the education sector, including prior roles within government and school leadership, and has a strong track record of delivering improvements. Passionate about education Matt is dedicated to building a school system that nurtures potential and supports communities.

Dr Roy Awbery

Roy is a Chartered Chemist and senior research scientist at AWE Nuclear Security Technologies, where he has led nationally significant programmes in nuclear science, materials chemistry, and strategic innovation. He brings to the Trust Board extensive experience in scientific governance, cross-sector collaboration, and long-term strategic planning within complex, high-stakes environments. He has over eight years of experience in school governance, the majority as Chair of Governors at John Madejski Academy. During his tenure, he provided calm, focused leadership through a period of substantial challenge and change. Roy is passionate about educational equity and committed to helping schools ensure all pupils have the opportunity to succeed, regardless of background. Roy is also the founder and former chair of NuFor — the UK’s leading nuclear forensics conference. Uniquely, NuFor brings together scientists, policy-makers, and senior leaders working on national nuclear security, while also being designed to inspire and engage students aged 14 and up. Its inclusive format is deliberately built to foster curiosity and encourage young people to explore STEM careers in one of the most exciting and globally important scientific fields. A lifelong advocate for science education and future talent development, Roy continues to support outreach and mentoring initiatives across the UK. He is also a published children’s author and illustrator, and abstract artist, and lives near Reading.

Richard Marsh

Chair of members. Salisbury Diocese Board of Education Foundation Member

Dan Roberts

Salisbury Diocesan Board of Education Corporate Member

Maria Sullivan

Foundation Member

Rahima Khatun-Malik

Member appointed Member

Charlotte Macleod

Member appointed Member