Following a successful round of open recruitment the Foundation has appointed four new board members with the skills, knowledge, experience and, crucially, passion to support the Foundation’s new strategy.

The Foundation had a fantastic response to its public recruitment adverts in Spring 2024, which received a wealth of applications from far and wide and gave the people and nominations committee the welcome challenge of matching skills and lived experience with the strategic focus of the Foundation’s next five years.

The four new trustees take their places alongside 14 existing trustees and between them comprise an inclusive and proactive board, notable for its age, gender and ethnic diversity.

We are pleased to introduce:

Andreas Gaitzsch who came from Germany to the UK to study at university, and never left. Andreas is a careers consultant for the Dickson Poon School of Law at King's College London having previously worked in Talent and HR Business Management for Lloyds Banking Group and in Finance/People Change Consulting and Training for PwC. On being appointed, Andreas reflected: “I believe that education and opportunity are the most potent levers there are for advancing social mobility and inclusion. As such I am really happy to have been appointed.”

Ewelina Lacey who brings a wealth of experience in international education spanning five countries. She is Regional Director for Europe Operations at the Institute for Study Abroad leading strategic operations and partnerships across the continent and has a particular interest in the future of AI in education and the workplace. “We are an educational charity with a rich history dating back to 1863. I look forward to working with the board on the future success of our two London schools.”

John Pike who is an experienced lawyer and has held both chief executive and leadership roles in major city and international law firms, and was president and then chair of a major media charity. John believes that education, in the widest sense, is a fundamental human right and one of the strongest instruments for a stronger and better society, improving health, gender equality and reducing poverty. John is an alumnus of the Boys’ School, and his sister attended Central Foundation Girls’ School when it was based in Spitalfields.

Tom Doherty who is a public affairs consultant and a former Civil Servant based in London. Tom was an adviser in the 10 Downing Street Policy Unit, HM Treasury, the Cabinet Office and the Foreign Office specialising in business, technology and regulatory policy. Tom is a mentor for young people from disadvantaged backgrounds through the Patchwork Foundation and says, “As a former student of Central Foundation Boys’ School, I feel a great attachment to the Boys’ School. It has played an important role in my life by providing me an excellent education in a supportive environment, which gave me many opportunities later in life. I am keen to explore the role our Foundation has in creating opportunities for young people.”

The Foundation’s chief executive, Sarah Gosling commented: “We are delighted to have Andreas, Ewelina, John and Tom join the Central Foundation Board. They add fantastic skills and experience as well as bringing a real commitment to our vision of an exceptional Central Foundation education for every student. We now have a strong, balanced, diverse and highly engaged board and I am excited about the work we will unlock together.”