CAPITAL CITY COLLEGE GROUP - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Leader
- Manager
- Member of the Leadership Team
- Vice Principal, City and Islington College
An experienced physical education teacher and coach, with over 15 years of experience in delivering A Levels and vocational courses, Colleen has extensive teaching and senior management experience in the further education sector.
Colleen is a dynamic leader and manager, with a passion for improving students' prospects, helping them to achieve their ambitions, and raising aspiration by providing and inspiring outstanding teaching, learning and assessment. She joined City and Islington College as Vice Principal in 2019, having held previous senior management roles at USP College.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Leadership Team
- Director of Group Quality & Compliance
David brings nearly 20 years of experience in education management, specialising in quality assurance and improvement. His career in the sector began in Nigeria, as a lecturer in animal management, equine and and veterinary management, before moving to Basingstoke College in 2002.
With significant leadership roles at various FE colleges in and around London, David is committed to implementing teaching, learning and assessment quality improvement strategies that result in significant increases in success rates.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Leadership Team
- Deputy Principal
Gary brings a wealth of experience to Capital City College Group, having started his career in further education at Westminster Kingsway College as a lecturer in Patisserie and Confectionery. Gary is a UK Chocolate Ambassador, and is recognised as one of the UK's leading chocolatiers, providing specialist seminars, demonstrations and classes in his spare time.
Gary leads on initiatives to ensure that the group is at the forefront of education curriculum innovation, design and delivery, to meet the needs of students, and the changing demands of employers. With a specific focus on the specialist areas of Hospitality and Culinary Arts, Engineering and Digital, he leads on securing and maintaining the group's leading status in these and other emerging specialisms.
Graham started his career as an economics and business studies teacher, and brings a wealth of education knowledge and experience to Capital City College Group. After working as an A Level examiner for the University of London Board (now Pearson), Graham held a number of managerial roles within national awarding bodies, including the Chemical Industries Association, where he was the development manager for an awarding body across the chemical and pharmaceutical sectors.
In 2002, Graham joined the Open College Network London, where he was Director of Quality and in 2005 he was appointed as the Clerk to the Governing Body at Newham College. He joined City and Islington College as the Assistant Principal in 2008, and is now the Director of Governance for Capital City College Group.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Leadership Team
- Managing Director, Capital City College Training
- Operations Director of Capital City College Training
Jackie has extensive experience within the apprenticeships sector, having worked at a variety of providers for over 25 years. Her career started with private training providers, culminating in the role of London Regional Director for Protocol Skills. Jackie's career in further education commenced at the College of Haringey, Enfield and North East London, where she was the apprenticeships director for 5 years.
In 2018, Jackie became the Operations Director of Capital City College Training, with responsibility for apprenticeships, commercial courses, employability programmes, European Social Fund courses and international provision. In 2019, she was the chair of the commercial board for the COLLAB Group, focusing on how to support national employers via local colleges.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Leadership Team
- Vice Principal, Westminster Kingsway College
Jasbir Sondhi has worked in further education for over 20 years and has held a range of senior appointments. She has worked across curriculum and support services functions and has expertise in strategic planning, culture change and developing strategic partnerships with external stakeholders. At WestKing, she has been instrumental in developing strong strategic alignment between curriculum and careers education, with her team becoming the first ever from a college to win an award at the Careers and Enterprise Company's annual awards.
Jasbir is committed to ensuring that every individual has the opportunity to access high quality learning opportunities that lead to success for both individuals and communities. Throughout her career, she has worked hard to break down barriers to entry and progression and continues to be passionate about driving change.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Leadership Team
- Director of Technology and Infrastructure Services
After graduating with a degree from the University of Leeds, Jeremy began his career providing IT technical support to multiple marketing, advertising and media agencies across the UK. His vast knowledge and experience was applied to working to various further education colleges in 2011, including the College of Haringey, Enfield and North East London in 2013.
Jeremy joined Capital City College Group in 2018 and has overseen the integration of various independent systems used by the individual colleges into a successful, secure group infrastructure.
Job Titles:
- Executive
- Member of the Leadership Team
- Principal
Kurt has worked in Further Education for over 23 years and has a long history of technical education and apprenticeship training delivery, both in New Zealand and the UK, including running national training contracts for industry. A qualified Mechanical Engineer, he began his career in the New Zealand Army before moving into the private sector and then teaching at the Southern Institute of Technology (SIT) in New Zealand.
Kurt was Chief Examiner to NZQA's Automotive Engineering National Examinations for three years and a World Skills National Judge before moving to East Berkshire College in the UK in 2004. Becoming a senior manager at CONEL in 2009, Kurt continued as a curriculum expert and innovator as Vice Principal, Deputy Principal, Principal, and now Executive Principal for CCCG. Kurt has led and managed many significant technical developments and innovations including most recently the ETF Outstanding Teaching, Learning and Assessment (OTLA) project, the Mayor's Academy programmes in Green Skills, Creative Industries, Digital Skills and Hospitality, and collaborations on a range of London Strategic Development Fund partnerships. Kurt leads quality improvement and curriculum strategy for CCCG and achieved a "Good" Ofsted inspection in December 2022 and the highest possible rating of "Strong" for our contribution to local skills needs.
Job Titles:
- Corporate Services Manager and Senior Executive Assistant
Linda is an experienced office management professional, who provides strategic support at senior management level, and manages the group's CEO office. With a background in management and administration, Linda has worked for a diverse range of organisations, including those within the public sector, private sector, and overseas. In previous roles, Linda has managed, developed and assessed business administration apprentices.
A chartered manager and member of the Institute of Administrative Management (IAM), Linda is passionate about the administrative and EA professions and the significant impact they have within the organisation.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Leadership Team
- Director of Estates and Facilities
Neill has significant experience in estates, facilities and project management, both within the private and public sectors. He has successfully delivered capital infrastructure and refurbishment projects of various sizes throughout his career.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Leadership Team
- Chief Executive Officer / Group CEO ( Interim )
Pablo is a social entrepreneur and mentor focused on social impact and innovation. He has co-founded several organisations in the education sector over 20 years including Visionnaires, a social enterprise providing inclusive support to business founders.
He was a founding director of Ufi/learndirect, helping one million people gain qualifications in literacy and numeracy, and co-founder and first CEO of Activate Business School. He is also Deputy Chair of Cockpit, London's leading incubator of craft and design businesses.
He is a former Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants and was awarded an OBE for services to young people's skills in 2019.
Job Titles:
- Chartered Certified Accountant
- Chief Financial Officer
- Member of the Leadership Team
Rachael brings a wealth of experience operating at an executive board level to Capital City College Group. She is driven by a sense of purpose to transform people's lives through education and continued learning and development.
Rachael is a qualified Chartered Certified Accountant with clear leadership skills that empower others to perform and excel. She has led large scale change management projects, acquisition opportunities and is focussed on delivering Strategic Plan Priorities underpinned by a drive for financial sustainability and long term growth. She is also Vice Chair and Chair of the Audit Committee of Provide Healthcare.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Leadership Team
- Vice Principal, the College of Haringey, Enfield and North East London
After graduating with a degree in Politics, Robin took a Christmas temp job with Next Retail, where he stayed for nearly 13 years, managing stores in and around the North London area. In 2007, Robin moved into the further education sector, where he held various curriculum management roles. He joined the College of Haringey, Enfield and North East London in 2016 as a Curriculum Director and became Vice Principal in September 2019.
Robin is committed to driving and delivering sustainable business improvements to ensure an excellent student experience, which allows the communities served by the college to benefit from the opportunities available.
Job Titles:
- Finance Director
- Member of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants
Sarah has extensive experience in the education sector, both in finance and corporate services management, having worked within not-for-profit organisations across business and education for over 20 years. She is highly experienced in systems analysis, change management, strategic planning, risk and governance, relationship building and customer-focused support. particularly within executive financial management & governance.
Sarah is a Member of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, in the process of Fellowship of the Chartered Institute of Management, and outside of her role at CCCG is a governor at a primary school.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Leadership Team
- Director of Integration and Information
After graduating with a degree in physics from Oxford University, Stewart started his career working for BT as an engineer, before taking a management position at Datastream International. He brings nearly 25 years of experience in further education to his role in the group, having joined Newham College as Director of Business Information in 1997. In 2006, Stewart joined the senior leadership team at Working Men's College, where he stayed for 8 years, overseeing their rise to an Ofsted ‘Outstanding' inspection.
Stewart joined the College of Haringey, Enfield and North East London as Vice Principal for Finance and Resources in 2014. In 2017, he became Director of Integration and Information at Capital City College Group, ensuring the group's business systems are robust and at the heart of the student experience.
Job Titles:
- HR Director
- Member of the Leadership Team
- Chartered Member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel
Trovene joined CCCG in February 2020, a mere few weeks ahead of the global pandemic as the Head of HR Operations. She was promoted to the HR Director role in October 2022. Trovene brings a wealth of experience in HR from local government, education, private and the voluntary sector.
Trovene is a chartered member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development and recently completed an Executive MBA Programme.