Our Governance Team
Our Members and Trustees work collaboratively with our Executive Team to ensure that the strategic direction and growth of the Trust is achieved. The overall aim is to provide good quality education for all of the communities that we serve.
Click on an image to find out more about that individual.
Member Board
The National Governance Association (NGA) describes a Trust’s Members as “the guardians of the governance of the trust.” Their responsibilities are limited but very important. They appoint the Trust Board and have a legal responsibility to appoint the trust’s auditors. Members meet three times a year and can make decisions between meetings in writing.
Melanie McGuirk
Melanie McGuirk
Date of appointment 24th February 2021 Melanie has been a lawyer for 20 years. She is a partner in the law firm, Pannone Corporate, where she specialises in the resolution of disputes and commercial mediations. Melanie has specialism in the resolution of disputes relating to intellectual property and reputation management. She is a committee member of the Association of Women Solicitors and the Manchester Law Society, including its Equality, Diversity and Inclusion sub-committee.Deborah Lucas, FCIPD
Deborah Lucas, FCIPD
Deborah Lucas is a retired HR Director with over 30 years’ experience working at a senior level in a number of local authorities including Manchester, Oldham, Trafford and Kirklees. She is passionate about education, in particular on helping to improve the life chances for young people with disabilities and became a community governor at the Kingfisher Special School in 2009. After supporting the school through transition to an academy in 2016, she became a Trustee of the Kingfisher Learning Trust where she now leads on all employment related matters. In her spare time, Deborah volunteers at a local animal rescue centre, providing care and support for cats who have been abandoned, working hard to find them a forever home.Joanne Hyde
Joanne Hyde
Joanne has more than 38 years’ experience in the public sector, including working in Manchester and Trafford before joining Bradford. Joanne has worked on some significant projects in this time including the Commonwealth Games, Public Sector reform / Devo, Health & Social Care Integration as well as leading on emergency management responses following some major incidents, including the delivery of the ‘one love’ concert following the Manchester arena incident. Whilst Joanne’s professional background is HR she has been involved in some major regeneration projects including the redevelopment of a grade II listed building, the development of a new University and civic quarter masterplan as well as working closely with communities to promote strength based working. As well as more recently in Bradford, One City Park, Bradford Live, Darley Street Market. Joanne led on the establishment of Bradford’s Children’s Trust. Joanne joined Bradford Council in August 2018 as Strategic Director, Corporate Resources, where she is responsible for procurement, legal and democratic services, transformation, IT, Revs and Bens, human resources and estates and property. Joanne plays a key role in supporting the delivery of change across the organisation and providing leadership to support key organisational-wide issues including the Councils improvement and transformation programme, place shaping and investment opportunities, was a lead on the COVID response and recovery. Joanne is married with 3 children and a dog and enjoys spending any spare time with friends and family, enjoying long walks and keeping fit. Joanne is a graduate of Common Purpose 2004/5.Trust Board
The Dean Trust is governed by a Trust Board. The Trust Board is made up of experienced professionals who make decisions about the strategic direction of the Trust.
The Trust Board has strategic oversight of:
- The financial performance of our academies and our Trust
- The educational outcomes of our academies
- New schools and academies applying to join the Trust
- The future ambitions and goals of our Trust
The Trust Board has a Finance, Audit & Risk committee that handles more detailed discussions in relation to these areas of work.
The Board makes decisions about policies and initiatives that affect all the settings within the Trust. However, one of the key principles applied by the Trust is to ensure that local decisions are made locally, where this is in the best interest of our academies, their pupils, and their communities. To support this local decision making, each of the schools in our Trust is part of a Local Governing Committee (LGC).
Damian McGann
Chair
Damian McGann
Chair
Damian is passionate about education and relentless in his pursuit of excellence across all Dean Trust schools. Damian leads the Board of Trustees who provide support and constructive challenge to ensure that our schools remain efficient and effective in all areas. Damian has varied business interests spanning several sectors including technology, finance, energy and education. Prior to embarking on his current portfolio, Damian worked for three international banks, holding national board positions in two. His particular areas of strength are growing scale businesses developing and executing quality propositions and building great teams. Damian has been involved in designing and executing many large-scale transformational change programmes and is experienced in running national and multi-site operations.Jane O’Brien
Chief Executive Officer
Jane O’Brien
Chief Executive Officer
Sharon Bagshaw
Vice Chair
Sharon Bagshaw
Vice Chair
Sharon is Chief Client Officer for AMS UK & Ireland, EMEA and APAC. She joined AMS in 2023, having spent over 30 years in the technology, outsourcing and consulting services industry with IBM as a Senior Executive and business leader across a number of industries including Tech, Financial Services, Public Sector, Life Sciences and Pharma. She has worked and lived in the UK and overseas. She was a board member of IBM UK and Chair of the IBM UK and Ireland Client Advisory Board. She was also on the Board of TechUK. Sharon has always had a passion for the skills agenda and was co-founder of ‘TechConnect’, a programme between HMG and TechUK, bringing Industry and HMG early professionals together to collaborate on innovative ideas to solve real world issues. She is a keen mentor and coach to a multi-generational workforce. She is proud to be a Board Trustee of the Dean Trust Academy since 2016, and has been a weekend volunteer for the Alzheimer’s society for over a decade. Home is South Manchester with her husband and two children.Tom Powell
Committee Chair: Finance & Resources, Audit & Risk
Tom Powell
Committee Chair: Finance & Resources, Audit & Risk
Tom has a 25 year career in finance and audit, and is currently the Head of Audit and Risk Management at Manchester City Council and the Chief Audit Executive for both Manchester City and Bolton Councils. He advises leadership teams on a wide range of corporate matters and works closely with the statutory officers for finance and legal in assuring governance, information management, finance and all core aspects of the Council operations. Tom is a Deputy Senior Information Risk Officer and works with the Councils’ Data Protection Officers to manage information risk, incidents and breaches. He oversees a range of policy frameworks including risk management; resilience and business continuity; safety; and counter fraud and whistleblowing.Anna Beaumont
Anna Beaumont
Anna is founder of Bexley Beaumont Limited, an innovative award-winning boutique law firm with offices in Manchester and London. A previous winner of Corporate Leader of the Year at The English Women’s Awards, Anna is also an alumni of Insider’s 42 under 42 (North West) and in 2021 was shortlisted for The Law Society Excellence Awards. Anna is also an experienced non-executive director where she provides support on corporate governance, risk, integration, change management, service innovation and strategic and business growth support.James Franklin-Smith
Committee Chair: Education
James Franklin-Smith
Committee Chair: Education
James is CEO of Oak Learning Partnership, a school trust consisting of primary, special and secondary schools. He has extensive experience of leading within education and specifically academy trusts. James has a good understanding of the educational systems, structures and processes needed to be in place to support leaders and staff to provide young people with the very best education they deserve. James has over fifteen years of school leadership experience, including leading the improved performance of a group of schools, leading schools out of special measures and being the principal of a large, high-performing outstanding secondary school.Simon Gallimore
Simon Gallimore
Simon is the CEO of Edam Group which is a local business with a national footprint that provides repair and mobility solutions to the insurance market. Prior to joining Edam in 2021 Simon spent the previous 30 years of his career working for some of the largest domestic and global insurers where he held numerous senior leadership roles and worked in a number of different countries. Simon is passionate about the improving the pathway for school/college leavers into the work environment and has spent much of his career working both internally within the companies he has worked at, global programmes such as Enactus and with local colleges and trade federations.Katie Sharp
Katie Sharp
Katie is Director of Education at the Great Schools Trust, leading school improvement across the trust and supporting principals with internal self-evaluation and capacity building. Katie is passionate about ensuring all children succeed irrespective of their background and believes that education is a human right and fundamental to children’s life chances. After studying English and Cultural History, Katie became an English Teacher serving the community in which she grew up. She then became a founding teacher of the Great Schools Trust’s first school, King’s Leadership Academy Warrington. Katie then moved into leadership roles as SENDCo, Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) and Director of Teaching and Learning as Vice Principal prior to being appointed as Principal of King’s Leadership Academy Warrington in 2021.Directorate
Jane O’Brien
Chief Executive Officer
Jane O’Brien
Chief Executive Officer
Andrew Hubert
Chief Finance Officer
Andrew Hubert
Chief Finance Officer
After spending 5 years working in Uganda, Andrew returned to the UK and qualified as an accountant while working in London for an IT recruitment company in their finance team. After a period working in Sainsbury’s head office, providing financial support to their supply chain capital projects, Andrew and his partner decided to move to Macclesfield.
Andrew secured a job at Macclesfield College as Director of Finance and Estates. This was the beginning of 15 years spent working in three different Further Education Colleges having senior responsibility for the finances and leading on major capital projects, restructuring and being directly involved in the merger of two colleges. This experience has ensured Andrew has a comprehensive knowledge of education and the associated complexities of medium sized organisations. In 2018, Andrew took up a new role as Director of Resources for the Information Commissioners Office. During his time at the ICO Andrew oversaw the significant financial and staffing growth of the organisation that has grown significantly over the previous three-year period.
Andrew has a real passion for education and joined The Dean Trust in the role of Chief Financial Officer in September 2021. This role is the perfect opportunity for him continue to use his experience and skills within an organisation that is making a real difference to young people’s lives.
Andy Shakos
Academies Director
Andy Shakos
Academies Director
Andy joined The Dean Trust as Academies Director in April 2017 which incorporates Executive Headteacher responsibilities for secondary schools within the Trust’s Central and East Hubs. Before joining The Dean Trust, Andy was Headteacher of Parrs Wood High School, Manchester’s largest and most culturally and socio-economically diverse secondary school.
Following his successful tenure as Headteacher at Parrs Wood, leading the school to their highest educational outcomes whilst establishing the Sixth Form as an excellent A-level provider within the city, Andy joined The Dean Trust with an established reputation as a highly regarded and influential school leader.
Andy sits on Manchester’s Strategic Education Board alongside the Executive Member for Early Years, Children and Young People and the Director of Education to enhance educational experience, progression pathways and career opportunities for young people in Manchester.
As Academies Director, Andy’s key areas of responsibility include School Improvement, Quality of Education, Quality Assurance, Continued Professional Development, and Health & Safety. Andy has also been instrumental in leading on the Trust’s Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy.
Andy has provided Interim Leadership at Ashton on Mersey School and, most recently, has been Interim Executive Headteacher at Abraham Moss Community School in Manchester, as part of a school leadership support commission with Manchester City Council.
Andy is driven by a core belief that informs both his decision-making and evaluation of impact on provision and outcomes: “If it’s not good enough for my own children then it’s not good enough for anyone else’s.
Barry Bridden
Academies Director
Barry Bridden
Academies Director
Barry acts as a key ‘change agent’ within The Dean Trust and is at his best when schools require a major shift in culture and ethos. Barry takes responsibility for the Trust’s primary sector and is the Executive Lead for our secondary schools in Wigan and Knowsley.
Barry has considerable experience as a Headteacher, having successfully led schools in the secondary, primary and special education sector. Barry is an integral part of The Dean Trust Executive Team, leading in all things relating to Behaviour Cultures, Character Building, SEND and Trust MIS systems such as Timetabling and organsation of school-based data / assessment reporting and recording.
Barry’s experience in supporting significantly improving schools in difficulty, has extended from Sheffield through to Warrington, Trafford, Knowsley, Wigan, through to Cumbria. Each school improving in order to be sustainable financially, behaviourally and culturally. His understanding of the local context allows him to exploit this to the benefit of the school community and to bring stakeholders, parents and carers on board.
Claire Henson
Chief People Officer
Claire Henson
Chief People Officer
Claire joined The Dean Trust in September 2018 with over 20 years HR experience, mainly within the private sector, working as HR Manager at Liverpool John Lennon Airport for 15 years prior to joining The Dean Trust. Claire has experience in the full breadth of HR Management. Key areas of experience range from employee relations, employee reward, performance management, change management and employee engagement. During her time at The Dean Trust, Claire has successfully developed a whole trust HR function and introduced a range of initiatives and processes which have improved the quality and professionalism of service across the Trust.Damian Kenny
Damian Kenny
Maria Finnigan
Chief Estates Strategy Officer
Maria Finnigan
Chief Estates Strategy Officer
Maria has extensive leadership experience spanning more than thirty years in both the private and public sector. Prior to joining the Trust in 2015, Maria had a lengthy, successful and diverse career in the ever changing and highly competitive finance sector, culminating with managing a portfolio of high net worth commercial and corporate clients at The Royal Bank of Scotland. In 2009 Maria utilised her financial acumen and business development skills to transition from the private sector to education. Her aptitude for fostering trusted relationships with stakeholders has enabled her to be an influential leader at a senior level, most recently as Director of Resources at Dean Trust Wigan. Maria is passionate about education and feels privileged to be part of an organisation that places young people at the heart of all that it does.Marie Dillon
Chief Education Officer
Marie Dillon
Chief Education Officer
Mike Ward
Chief Information Officer
Mike Ward
Chief Information Officer
Mike joined The Dean Trust in 2014. His role as IT Director encompasses IT Strategy, Cyber Security, Project & Budget Management, IT Operations and Executive Support. Since joining Mike has developed a robust, scalable, cost-effective IT function across all Trust academies and an IT function that strongly underpins and enhances Teaching and Learning for staff and pupils. Over the last 10 years, Mike has won numerous awards and accreditations both for himself and The Dean Trust, including Cyber Essentials PLUS, Certified IT Professional (CITP) Status, Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA), Specialist Leader of Education (SLE) and has been a finalist in both the AV Awards and EdTech Industry “IT Professional of the Year” for the last two years. Outside of work, Mike is a Chairman of the Scouts Association, a Trustee of an Education establishment in South Africa and also volunteers at a number of North West charities, supporting people with limited IT access to develop their confidence and skills in this area.Vicky Gowan
Vicky Gowan
William Smith
Director of Systems
William Smith
Director of Systems
Local Governing Committees
The Trust Board delegates some decisions about local policies and deployment of resources within each academy to its LGC. Our LGCs give strategic level support to the operational leadership of our headteachers and their senior leadership teams. The LGC doesn’t have statutory responsibilities, but does have responsibilities delegated to it by the Trust Board, which are set out in a scheme of delegation. Not having statutory responsibilities allows our LGCs to concentrate on enhancing the life chances of all children and young people in our schools.
You can find out more about the local governing committee in each of our schools by visiting their website.