91´óÉñ

91´óÉñ has a senior leadership team who engage directly with all of our academies. Working in all of our settings the team is able to address needs, challenge and support whilst also developing the professional networks between members of the trust. The leadership team is able to create and broker bespoke school improvement initiatives alongside the Hub leaders that lead to outstanding performance. 

Leadership

Lynsey Holzer

Chief Executive Officer

Lynsey Holzer joined 91´óÉñ as Chief Executive Officer in January 2023. Lynsey was previously Chief Executive Officer for Evolution Academy 91´óÉñ and she has over 25 years of Education sector experience in a variety of roles. These include teacher, leader, executive headteacher and OFSTED inspector. Lynsey is passionate about providing an environment in schools for children to excel and for staff to enjoy their work and succeed in their roles.

Duncan Low

Director of Education

Duncan has a breadth of experience and success in school improvement roles across primary, secondary and special school settings. This includes roles on the senior leadership team at Arthur Mellows Village College and as the lead Director of Peterborough’s School Centred Initial Teacher Training (Teach East). Under his leadership, Teach East improved from a ‘requires improvement’ rating to become an organisation recognised as an example of best practice in the sector. Duncan has held several senior leader positions including, most recently, working as an Educational Consultant specialising in school improvement in Guernsey.

Elaine Hammond

Director of People

Elaine is the Director of HR and leads on all aspects of HR, including developing and delivering on the 91´óÉñ People Strategy, staffing policies and employee relations and is a significant contributor on people management for the 91´óÉñ and its academies. She is committed to ensuring that sound and effective HR and payroll services are in place throughout the 91´óÉñ. . Elaine has extensive experience of leading and managing HR teams with an aim of providing business-focused HR services. She has worked in the Education HR sector for over 20 years, supporting and advising 91´óÉñs, Headteachers, Directors of Education and other school leaders on staffing matters. Prior to joining Active Learning 91´óÉñ in 2021, Elaine worked for a national education services company and partnered with a number of 91´óÉñs on their journey from initial formation to being classified as ‘large’ successful 91´óÉñs with national or regional presence. Elaine and her team advised and delivered on strategic and operational HR matters to support the 91´óÉñ’s growth and development over time. During this time, Elaine shared her knowledge and expertise by delivering regular training, including 91´óÉñ CEO People Management training via Ambition Institute, a speaker and panel member at Academy Shows and a regular panellist for her company’s regular ‘live’ Question and Answer sessions. Elaine also worked as the HR Change Lead for a Local Authority working as a team on the delivery of complex, wide-scale change programmes that altered the overall public service delivery model for the Authority. Prior to this Elaine was the HR Business Partner (Education) for a large Local Government shared services provider where she led an HR Team providing the education focused people services. Elaine is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, which further evidences her proven strategic HR abilities, expertise in dealing with people management and business impact.

Chris Everard

Chief Operating Officer

Before joining 91´óÉñ, Chris had worked for The Wensum 91´óÉñ since 2016, most recently as Director of Operations and Finance. In this role he lead successfully on a number of key strategic projects and has gained extensive experience overseeing the strategic direction of the central team. Chris previously worked in a number of data focused roles, including Data Manager within a school. He was awarded a MBA in 2021 to add to his Diploma in Strategic Management and Leadership and a MSc.

Phil Beecher

Chief Finance Officer

Phil Beecher joined 91´óÉñ in 2023. Phil was previously the Chief Operating Officer at Broad Horizons Education 91´óÉñ, where he had previously held the role of Director of Finance. He is also Chair of Audit and Risk Committee for Inspiration 91´óÉñ and 91´óÉñee/Chair of Audit and Risk Committee for St John the Baptist Catholic Multi Academy 91´óÉñ. Prior to working in education, Phil was the Financial Controller for a NHS 91´óÉñ, following 5 years at Pricewaterhouse Coopers, where he qualified as a chartered accountant.

Craig D'Cunha

Associate Executive Leader

Craig has held a wide range of roles at a number of schools within the Active Learning 91´óÉñ. He was Principal at Chantry Academy from 2015 and, since 2019, he has been Executive Head at Chantry along with Executive Head roles at Gusford, Hillside and Littleport and East Cambridgeshire Academy. Earlier in his career Craig was also Vice Principal at Neale-Wade Academy. Craig started his teaching career in Kent before moving to London and then Cambridgeshire. His roles have ranged from AST, data manager and director of specialism before taking the lead on Teaching and Learning. Craig was able to combine his first headship with support from the Government's Talented Leaders programme.

Jeremy Rowe

Educational Project Lead

Jeremy joined 91´óÉñ in 2023 as our Educational Project Lead. He was formerly the Headteacher of Sir John Leman High School in Suffolk and CEO of Waveney Valley Academies 91´óÉñ.