HomeOur AcademyGovernors
Governance at The Bridge Academy, Hackney:
There are essentially five categories of Governor at The Bridge Academy:
1) Sponsor Governors – these are Governors appointed by the Sponsor.
2) Community Governor – Community Governors are appointed (and re-appointed) by
the Governing Body and are likely to be people living or working in the community
served by the Academy.
3) Parent Governor must be parent of registered student at the Academy and is
elected by the parent body. When a vacancy occurs an election must be held and
nominations invited - if only one candidate applies, they are considered elected.
When a Parent Governor's term of office comes to an end, the Governing Body
cannot just reappoint them. The vacancy must be advertised, and an election held.
Parent Governors do not represent parents, but instead are representative of parents.
4) The Local Authority Governor is appointed by the Governing Body and is usually
employed by the Local Authority. The Local Authority Governor does not represent
the Local Authority.
5) The Staff Governor is elected by the staff working at the school.
The Governing Body's Appointments Committee regularly reviews the range of skills and experience of Governors in order to identify any potential gaps.
Governors usually serve on the Governing Body for a period of four years. It is not unusual for Governors to be reappointed when their period of office matures and in exceptional circumstances, where their skill set is considered imperative to the effective functioning of the Governing Body, reappointed for a third term of four years. When an elected Governor's term of office comes to an end, the vacancy must be advertised, and an election held.
All vacancies are considered by the Appointments Committee which will recommend potential candidates to the Governing Body.
The Bridge Academy Governors
Ruwan Weerasekera - Sponsor Governor and Chair of the Governing Body
Ruwan Weerasekera retired from a 28 year career in financial services in 2015 with roles in strategic consulting and banking: the last 10 years were spent as Chief Operating Officer of the Equities Division and subsequently Securities Sales and Trading for UBS Investment Bank as well as leading a programme of group wide culture change and focusing on addressing some of the issues that faced the bank and the industry. Prior to this he was a partner at Accenture.
He is now a Non-Executive Director for the North West London NHS Trust and for London Works; a social enterprise driving employment diversity and social mobility. Ruwan is also a Non-Executive Director of ICBC Standard Bank. He has a consulting firm focused on financial technology innovation and working with organisations on culture change and conduct risk. Ruwan was appointed as a Governor at The Bridge Academy in February 2015 and is now the Chair of Governors and is a Link Governor with responsibility for Careers Education Information Advice and Guidance.
Darren Allaway - Sponsor Governor
Link Governor for Vulnerable Students / CEIAG
Darren is a Managing Director and founder member of the UBS Global Family Office Group, based in London.
He currently advises a number of international family offices and multi-family office clients on structured finance transactions, portfolio construction, and investment selection.
After playing professional basketball in Spain, he joined the Investment Management Division of Goldman Sachs International in 1988 as a Financial Analyst and in 2000 he was promoted to Associate, assuming co-responsibility for managing multi-asset class portfolios as a member of the UK, Ireland and Israel coverage team. Darren joined UBS Wealth Management in 2001, and is approved by the FCA as an Investment Advisor.
Darren graduated in 1996 from Stanford University (Palo Alto, CA) with an AB in Human Biology and holds the (CISI) Chartered Insititute for Securities & Investment's Private Client Investment Advice & Management Diploma.
Darren is also active with The Golden Co., an organisation which facilitates the inclusion of at-risk youth incentivizes social, athletic and academic achievement.
Darren lives in London with his wife and their two children.
Anne Barton - Sponsor Governor, Co-Vice Chair and
Chair of Education Committee
Sarah Craner - Sponsor Governor
Jenny Gould – Sponsor Governor and Link Governor for Safeguarding
Jenny retired in 2012 from a 37 year career in education. Throughout most of her career, Jenny's interest and expertise has been in the issues surrounding inclusion, special educational needs, bilingualism and the safeguarding of children and young people. From 2006, Jenny worked as an education consultant with SOL Consulting. One of their major projects was to work with The Bridge Academy at a time when the Academy was undergoing significant challenges. Jenny set up the current SEN and Inclusion provision at the Academy and continues to monitor its progress via her role as SEN Governor. Jenny was appointed to the Bridge Governing Body in October 2012.
Jenny gained a degree in Sociology and Economics at the University of Paris (usually referred to as the Sorbonne), then a Masters in Urban Education at Kings College London. Throughout her career she has taught in South America and in most London boroughs.
She continues to work as a consultant on a part time basis, always mindful that our children and young people deserve the best education money can provide. Education is the key that will unlock opportunities often denied to the least powerful in our society.
Richard Hardie – CO-Vice Chair of the Governing Body, Sponsor Governor and
Link Governor for Music
Richard Hardie is a Chartered Accountant and after a career starting in 1977 with SG Warburg & Co. Ltd. (now part of UBS Investment Bank) in the Corporate Finance Department, Richard became Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the Equities business.
From 2002 - 2006 Richard was Regional COO for UBS Investment Bank in EMEA. He became non-executive in 2006 and joined the board of UBS Ltd. which he chaired from 2010 to 2015. Richard is now a Senior Adviser to UBS AG in the UK. He is 67.
In 2003 Richard joined the Board of The Learning Trust, Hackney's then education provider and the only not-for-profit independent Local Education Authority in the UK, and became Chair in 2007. The Trust's mandate was completed in 2012. Richard is an Honorary Vice-President of the UK Chartered Institute of Linguists and is actively involved in policy matters relating to the teaching of modern foreign languages. He chairs the 'Born Global' MFL research project (on behalf of the British Academy for the Humanities and Social Sciences) and 'Speak to the Future,' a national campaign funded by the British Academy. Richard was named HRH The Prince of Wales' Business in the Community (BITC) Ambassador for London for 2007. He is the education lead in London for BITC.
Richard joined the Board of the LSO (which is sponsored by UBS) in December 2015 and is Deputy Chair of Heart of the City, a programme funded by the City Corporation under which large companies mentor smaller ones in the establishment of CSR programmes. Richard also chairs the Development Committee of Lincoln College, Oxford, where he took an MA in History and French, and is a member of the college's Governing Body. Richard is a member of the Circle of Patrons at INSEAD Business School, Fontainebleau.
Richard co-led UBS's project to set up The Bridge Academy and was first appointed as a Governor in June 2005.
Henry Knapman – Sponsor Governor and Link Governor for Mathematics
Siobhan McDonagh - Sponsor Governor
and Chair of Pay & Performance Management Committee
Siobhan is a mother to two grown up children, both of whom are connected to the world of education. Her oldest son is a Department Head of Mathematics at a school in St Albans, and her daughter is in Recruitment for the Education sector. Siobhan has worked in Human Resources for over 30 years and is currently at UBS as the Head of HR for the UK and the Global Investment Bank.
She started her career at Marks and Spencer PLC where she held numerous roles over an eleven year period, culminating in HR Director in M&S Head Office. Following that she was a HR Business Partner for the Corporate Division at Linklaters LLP, a magic circle law firm. Siobhan's first role in the Financial Sector was with Merrill Lynch and subsequently Bank of America Merrill Lynch where she was the Global Head of HR for Investment Banking and then Global Head of HR for Corporate Banking.
Before joining UBS, Siobhan worked at Credit Suisse for three years as Global Head of Human Resources for Finance, Operations and IT and Regional Head of EMEA Human Resources.
Siobhan McDonagh joined UBS in October 2014.
Siobhan holds a degree in Psychology and Education from Surrey University and was trained in mediation. She is a Trustee for the UBS Optimus Foundation and a Governor of The Bridge Academy.
Dame Benita Refson, DBE – Community Governor
Benita is a founding Trustee of Place2Be and a qualified counsellor. After 19 years, Benita stepped down as CEO in 2014 and continues to support the organisation enthusiastically through her new role as President.
Benita received an OBE for Services to Children and Families in 2007; was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Law from the University of East London in 2009; in 2014 was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from the Institute of Education, University of London.
Currently Benita is Trustee of Children of Success Schools Trust, Rehabilitation for Addicted Prisoners (RAPt) and was appointed as a Governor at The Bridge Academy in October 2014.
Bert Suer – Sponsor Governor and Link Governor for SEND
Bert Suer works at UBS in London as Head of the EMEA Investment Banking Legal Department. He joined UBS in 2000 after training as a lawyer at Clifford Chance in London. He specialises in capital markets and M&A (Merger and Acquisitions) Law.
Bert has always been interested in community affairs and represents Legal at the UBS Community Affairs Committee. Bert participated as a volunteer and fundraiser for a number of the schools and partner organisations that UBS supports for many years, before joining The Bridge Academy Governing Body in 2013.
CHRIS BROWN – PRINCIPAL / GOVERNOR
ANNIE COLEMAN - SPONSOR GOVERNOR
KATERINA GEORGIOU - PARENT GOVERNOR
JENNIFER LINDSEY - STAFF GOVERNOR
VIVIEN O'BRIEN - PARENT GOVERNOR
Paul Graham - Sponsor Governor and Chair of the Finance & General Purposes Committee
Siobhan McDonagh - Sponsor Governor and
cHAIR OF THE PAY & PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE
Should you require a copy of the minutes from the Governing Body Meetings, please call 02077495240.