Senior Leadership Team and Governors

Mr Neil Osborn attended St Albans School from 1961 to 1968. After reading Modern History at Worcester College, Oxford, Neil became a successful international executive and private investor, focused on business-to-business publishing, financial services and sustainability-related businesses. A great supporter of the School for many years, Neil is a benefactor of the Bursary Fund. Neil became the Chairman of Governors on 1 October 2021. Neil Osborn, Chairman of Governors, can be contacted directly by writing to him, care of the Clerk to the Governors, at St Albans School, Abbey Gateway, St Albans AL3 4HB or emailing bursar@st-albans.herts.sch.uk. 

Anna was one of the first intake of girls to St Albans School in 1991 and subsequently attended De Montfort University where she graduated in law, before joining the accountancy firm BDO Stoy Hayward. Anna moved into teaching and became Head of Business and Economics and Deputy Head of Sixth Form at St George's Harpenden. She now leads the Business Department at Townsend Church of England School in St Albans and is the School SENCo. Anna, who has one son, was born in New York City and has a sister who is also an OA. She is the daughter of a former President of the OA Association, a trustee of the Old Albanian Sports Association and a Vice President of the Old Albanian Cricket Club. She became a Governor of the School in 2021.

Carole became a Governor and Trustee of the School in 2018. She Chairs the Finance Committee and sits on the Nominations, Remuneration and Governance Committee. After gaining a degree in Physics from Oxford, she qualified as a Chartered Accountant with KPMG before joining Schroders. Carole has nearly 20 years' experience of Private Client Investment Management, both as Director at Schroders and then as a Consultant at Rathbones. Carole is the Chair of the Finance Committee at PDSA and has served on their Audit and Risk Committee. She is also Chair of Trustees at Monks Walk School, a secondary Academy. Carole is married with a son and daughter, both of whom attended St Albans School.

Matthew Cawthorne joined the Governing Body in May 2018 and chairs the Risk and Audit Committee. He completed twenty-seven years of commissioned service in the Royal Marines and spent a further nine years in the private security industry in Iraq, before starting a third career in local business.  Matthew’s academic interests include modern languages and history. He is passionate about performance management, coaching and mentoring, as well as maximising the effectiveness of all forms of communication. He is governor of another school in the maintained sector, sings in a barbershop chorus, sits on the committee of a London club and is writing a book about compliance in the armed private security industry. Matthew is married with two older daughters (one of whom is an OA) and lives in southwest Hertfordshire.

Frances is a solicitor and was formerly a Corporate Partner at international law firm Berwin Leighton Paisner. She led numerous high profile projects including mergers, acquisitions, divestments, public fundraisings and international projects. Frances also undertook various Executive level client secondments, which included overseeing legal aspects of plans for the 2012 Olympics and to stabilise the financial situation at the Millennium Dome.   Frances is currently a Panel Member and a Member of the Audit and Risk Committee at the Competition and Markets Authority. Prior to this, Frances was at Lloyds Banking Group plc, leading the legal team on a major regulatory reform programme.   Frances graduated with an honours degree in Jurisprudence from Oxford University. Frances, who became a Governor in 2021, is married with two children and her son attended the school from 2010 to 2015. Frances is also a trustee of a St Albans Choral Society.

Paul was Professor of Molecular Membrane Biology (2001‐14), Master of St Edmund's College (2004‐14) and Deputy Head of the School of Clinical Medicine (2012‐14) at the University of Cambridge, until reaching the University retirement age. Paul graduated from Cambridge with a BA in Natural Sciences and a PhD in Biochemistry. Most of his career was spent in Cambridge and he was Director of the Cambridge Institute for Medical Research (2002‐12), where, as an emeritus professor, he still leads a small research group focused on aspects of cell biology, including abnormalities that cause human disease. He is a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences, the Royal College of Pathologists, the Royal Society of Biology, the Higher Education Academy and an Honorary Fellow of St Edmund's College, Cambridge. Paul was elected as a Governor of St Albans School in 2015 and served as the Interim Chair of Governors March-September 2021. He chairs the Education Committee.

In over twenty years at the Bar, Shantanu has practised in most areas known to the law. For more than a decade, he has specialised in commercial and commercial Chancery litigation and arbitration, professional negligence and some employment. Shantanu is a barrister at Radcliffe Chambers. Shantanu was ranked as a leading junior in commercial litigation, commercial chancery, commercial fraud and professional negligence in the Legal 500. Shantanu joined the Board of Governors at St Albans School in December 2012, following a year on the School’s Advisory Council.

Cheryl has extensive board experience in the private and public sectors. She is currently the Senior Independent Director at Hays Plc, a global recruitment specialist and Non-Executive Director at Atom Bank Plc, AXA, the UK insurance business and Siris Capital, a US private equity firm.   Cheryl is also a Trustee and Member of the Governing Council of Durham University from where she graduated with a degree in Physics in 1987. She is married with two sons both of whom attended St Albans School.  Previous executive roles include Group Chief Executive of Equiniti Plc, Chief Digital Officer at Travis Perkins Plc, Waitrose Ltd, and ASDA Plc. Cheryl joined the Board of Governors of St Albans School in February 2022.

Nigel Moore is a retired solicitor and Vice Chairman of Ross Trustees, where he acts as a professional trustee for large pension schemes. Nigel was at St Albans School from 1973 to 1980 and subsequently attended Warwick University, where he graduated in law, and then studied for an MA in Business Law from London Metropolitan University whilst he was a trainee solicitor. He completed his legal career as a partner and Head of the Pensions Team at leading international law firm CMS. Throughout his career, Nigel specialised in the employee benefits field, focusing particularly on pensions. Nigel was a member of the team which brought the landmark Coloroll case on equalisation to the European Court of Justice. Nigel became a Governor of the School in 2018. He was born and bred in Hertfordshire and lives in Welwyn Garden City. He is married and has two children. His son attended the School from 2003 to 2010.

Chris is currently HR Director at one of the largest international law firms, Gowling WLG. He coaches and develops senior leadership teams and boards, helping them to achieve business success through their people, talent and inclusion strategies. Chris has spent his career in the City working across different sectors, predominantly in complex global international financial services companies as an HR Director and Chief Operating Officer. Chris thrives on change and progress that has a positive purpose. Throughout his career he has encouraged individuals to fulfil their potential, and is proud to have supported apprentice, school leaver and graduate programmes. He became a Governor of the School in 2021. Born and educated in Lancaster, Chris moved to St Albans over twenty years ago, having completed a Bachelor of Commerce at the University of Birmingham. He and his wife, Sarah, have two children. His son, Harry, is a pupil at the School. Outside of a busy work life Chris enjoys most sports and travelling.

Michael Punt grew up in Brentwood, Essex and was educated at Brentwood School. He read Physics at Oxford University with sponsorship from the US chemical company Monsanto. In 1992, he left Oxford for Imperial College London, where he gained an MSc in Semiconductor Science and Technology with a research project in collaboration with GEC Marconi. In 1993, Michael began teaching physics at St Dunstan’s College, SE London. He took a PGCE whilst teaching and variously held the positions of Head of Year, Head of Oxbridge and Head of Physics. In 2001, he moved to be Head of Sixth Form at the Perse School in Cambridge where, in 2004, he became Academic Deputy Head. In 2007, he moved back to Essex as Headmaster of Chigwell School.  In 2022, he became the Headmaster of Bromsgrove School, an independent day and boarding school with just over 2,000 pupils aged two to eighteen. Michael became a Governor at St Albans School in 2015. He is also an inspector for ISI and a member of the HMC Pastoral and Safeguarding Committee. When possible, Michael enjoys spending time in Cornwall, cycling, sailing and gardening. Michael is married to Gill and they have three sons.

Alastair is a Director of Hertfordshire based Chartered Surveyors, Rumball Sedgwick. Alastair holds professional membership of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and is an RICS Registered Valuer, with thirty years’ local property experience. Alastair’s expertise encompasses valuation, acquisitions and disposals, planning and development and corporate estate management. Alastair is also President of St Albans District Chamber of Commerce and the chairman of a local theatre company. Alastair joined the Board of Governors in December 2010 and is also Chairman of the St Albans School Woollams Trust.

Ben Walker has worked in eight schools in different sectors, phases and countries. He completed 12 years as Headmaster and safeguarding lead of Lochinver House Preparatory School, retiring in August 2023. He is an alumni of both Lochinver and St Albans School (1983). He has served as an ISI Team inspector and as a member of St Albans School’s Education Advisory group. He remains a member of IAPS.  He is married to Jill, a serving IAPS Head, and they have three grown up children.

Oliver developed his career after qualifying as a Chartered Surveyor Wetherall Green and Smith, as a Developer with London Town PLC, Redrow Homes PLC and Tesco Stores PLC. Oliver is a founding director of King & Co with Jonathan Collins. Oliver is the director responsible for strategic asset reviews on behalf of landowners, identifying development opportunities and maximising income and revenue for clients through financial options analysis. Oliver oversees the creation and management of Joint Ventures with landowners to deliver a property strategy to maximise value.

Binita Mehta-Parmar is Head of Partnerships at a national charity and Chair of Watford Conservative Women's Organisation. She was a candidate for Watford Mayor in 2022 and the last Conservative Group leader at Watford Council: at 24, the youngest council group leader in the country. She is a published writer with articles in The Times, The Spectator and The Telegraph. She was previously Deputy Chair of Watford Conservatives, Secretary of Watford and South West Herts Business Club, Trustee of the Barrow Cadbury Trust and founding Governor for Lanchester Community Free School. She currently sits on the board of Watford Palace Theatre, as Equality, Diversity and Inclusion lead, is Director of the Refugee, Asylum and Migration Parliamentary Project and is Advisory Board member of Conservatives Against Racism for Equality. Binita is a founding Director of Modern Britain, a centre-right think tank exploring innovative thinking on a range of issues important to BME communities, and authored a report on migration policy post-Brexit. Binita read Philosophy, Politics and Economics at the University of Warwick and lives in Watford with her husband, who has many memories playing at Woollams!

Carrie Preston is a global inclusion, culture and engagement expert. Skilled in creating long-term, embedded change, her areas of expertise include Change Management, Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability as well as Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging. She is currently the Global Head of Inclusion at an FTSE 100 business. She started her career in the Not-For-Profit sector at Oxfam and The Prince’s Trust. More recently, she has worked at News International, EY and DLA Piper Law. Carrie is an Old Albanian and left the School in 1997 to read Sociology at the University of Birmingham. She lives in Hertfordshire with her husband and three children.

An old Boy of St Albans School (1976-1983), Philip has a BA in English from the University of Oxford, from where he joined 3i as a graduate trainee. After eight years he moved to JP Morgan Partners, where he was a partner. Philip joined August Equity in 2004, led a restructuring of the firm and was appointed Managing Partner in 2011. He led the fundraising for August Equity Partners III and IV. Philip is responsible for the strategic development of August Equity, new investments and portfolio performance. He is responsible for the investment strategy of the funds under management at August Equity and chairs the investment committee. He is currently on the board of SecureData.

Lindsay attended the School from 1979 to 1986, when he went to the Royal Agricultural College to study Rural Land Management, gaining his degree in 1990 and MRICS in 1992. Lindsay has worked for various land management firms in Norfolk, carrying out a variety of roles from the day-to-day management of traditional rural estates, to flood prevention in the Norfolk Broads. In 2004, he returned to Hertfordshire to take on his farm outside Colney Heath, which has been in his family since 1877. In the last few years, Lindsay has developed former agricultural buildings to commercial uses, experimented with alternative crops, carried out woodland improvement and new planting, taken part in agri–environmental measures and invested in renewable energy schemes on the farm. Lindsay is a current committee member and former chairman of Hertfordshire and Middlesex Country Land and Business Association. Lindsay has two children and enjoys shooting, riding, the countryside and travel, particularly to Southern Africa

Martin has spent his career in the audit and risk profession, originally qualifying as a Chartered Accountant with Price Waterhouse in 1995 after graduating from Durham University. Currently, he is the Director of Internal Audit and Risk Management at Spire Healthcare Group Plc, and has worked previously for De La Rue plc, and the Camelot Group, who have operated the UK National lottery since 1994. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants (England and Wales) and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. Martin sits on the Audit and Risk Committee. Martin has had a life-long love of the theatre and is not averse to appearing in the local Panto. Martin is married with one daughter.  

Peter joined Knight Frank Rutley as a trainee surveyor before moving to Chestertons. In 1984, Peter opened a general practice estate agency in London, Vickers & Co. Peter became a Governor at St Albans School in 2012, and in 2021 stepped back from his role as a Governor and now sits on the School's Advisory Council as a member of the Property Committee. Peter is married with two children. 

Fiona qualified as a Medical Doctor in 1990, starting her career as a Gynaecologist, then changing speciality to General Practice. She is a Fellow of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, a Member of the Royal College of General Practitioners, and has been a GP Partner at Bennetts End Surgery since 2008. In addition to her clinical practice, Fiona teaches and examines students from Imperial and Cambridge Medical Schools in their clinical phases. She also leads the speciality training of clinicians’ post-graduation and appraises doctors at all stages of their careers in readiness for their GMC revalidations. She was a board member of the previous Herts Valley Clinical Commissioning group and has been a member of various committees over the years, looking to improve health care delivery and outcomes across her locality. She is currently the PCN Educational Lead for five practices in Dacorum, which involves training allied health professionals. Fiona is married with a son and daughter who both attended St Albans School.