Karen is a founding Member of the Trust and took up post of Chair of the Board of Trustees from January 2020. She is an independent education technology consultant following her retirement from Birmingham City Council after 32 years of service working with schools and the Local Authority. As well as supporting technology and information systems in Birmingham Karen was involved for many years with data standards nationally as a member of the DfE’s data collection STAR Chamber and Information Standards and Strategy Board.  She is a very proud mother of two daughters, Samantha and Charlotte, both of whom are ex-students of Ninestiles School and Solihull Sixth Form College

Richard is Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees and Chair of Cockshut Hill Local Governing Body. Richard took up post of Vice Chair of Board of Trustees in January 2020. Richard is an education and skills consultant, most recently advising the British Council and the Korean Institute for Curriculum and Evaluation (KICE). Previously he retired following eight years as Chief Executive of Sector Skills Council Asset Skills. A former schoolteacher, Richard spent over 14 years in two spells with The Newspaper Society. There he was responsible for establishing Newspapers in Education and occupational standards for journalists, and for new media opportunities research. He was a board member of the National Council for the Training of Journalists and Chief Executive of the Print Education Forum.

Neal Clements is a director of Project smart Ltd where he specialises in IT projects and training. Neal has over 40 years experience of both business and academia especially in HE and FE including lecturing and governing. His other great passion is aviation, Neal is a flying instructor. Neal chairs the Finance & Resources Committee for the Trust. 

Tejal is a Senior University Lecturer in Leadership and Management. Prior to his academic career, Tejal has over 20 years' experience in Senior HR and Management consultancy roles gained in global organisations including EY, Eon and Capgemini. Tejal is a Chartered FCIPD, FCMI and SFHEA.

Glen has over 25 years commercial experience in the Business and Industrial sectors with expertise in strategic planning, new product development and developing digital marketing programmes. 

He has worked for a number of large multinational corporations including GEC, Honeywell and IMI. He has lived and worked in Ireland, Switzerland and Australia. 

He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing is a guest lecturer at Birmingham University Business School and has mentored MBA students at the Business School.

Glen is a big sports fan and enjoys cycling, golf and riding motorbikes throughout the Midlands.

Emma Pritchard is CEO of The Black Pear Trust,  based in Worcestershire. Emma has worked in education for 15 years, over this time she has worked in a diverse range of educational establishments. Furthermore she has worked alongside the Local Authority in a school improvement capacity, offering school-to-school support for schools in challenging circumstances. Emma has also worked alongside Universities to develop ITT programmes and have offered training to other professional bodies.

After an early career in the United Nations, stationed in Europe over a period of 9 years, Alexandra found her vocation in corporate governance and has been a Company Secretary for over 15 years, working in regulated environments across many industries from banking to retail, healthcare, travel, childcare, automotive and the charity sector.  Over the years, Alexandra has held secretaryships of Audit & Risk, Income & Profile, Investment & Grant-Giving, Service Delivery & Clinical Governance and Nomination committees, and is a director of a few subsidiaries.

Alexandra is certified from the Chartered Governance Institute UK & Ireland, as well as holding an MBA in Business Leadership & Management.  She is also an ISO 17024-accredited EU GDPR Practitioner and has a keen interest in data protection and privacy law, as well as risk management.

In her free time, Alexandra enjoys holidaying in the mountains with family and friends skiing or trekking, as well as tennis and keeping fit. Other interests include reading, interior design, and shopping for rare finds.

Bio coming soon.

Colin has recently retired after 35 years in financial services working for leading organisations such as Merrill Lynch, KPMG, Accenture Consulting and Barclays. He spent his career in the UK and US specialising in M&A, business development & client management. Colin has an MA in Computer Science and an MBA in Finance. Originally from Northern Ireland, he has lived in Solihull for the last 25 years. Colin is a fitness fanatic who loves to travel and read when he is not entertaining his two demanding dogs.