David Ross Education Trust Board

Trustees

David Ross (Chairman)

David qualified as a Chartered Accountant with Arthur Andersen & Co. He co-founded The Carphone Warehouse Group plc in 1991 and led the company's IPO and subsequent growth to becoming Europe's leading mobile communications retailer. David is a board member of the British Olympic Association (Chair of the Audit Committee), Commonwealth Games England, Cosalt (Chair), 'LAMDA 150' (Chair), Serpentine Gallery (Council member) and The University of Nottingham's Development Committee (Chair). David is a Trustee of the National Portrait Gallery, Uppingham School and a member of The Old Vic Artistic Director's Circle.

He has also been a member of Sport England, the Home Office Audit Committee, and Lord Carter's Review of Legal Aid Procurement. He was appointed to London United, the body supporting the capital's bid to be a host city for the 2018 World Cup bid, having previously been the Mayor's representative for the planning of the 2012 London Olympics.

He is passionate about developing educational opportunities for young people, by supporting world-class organisations outreach work and sponsoring primary and secondary academies in the East Midlands and Yorkshire regions. In addition to donating funds, he gives freely of his time and expertise with all these institutions.

David Overton

David originates from Northampton. He was educated at the Westminster Abbey Choir School and Trent College. He was admitted as a solicitor in 1966, practising initially in N.E. Lincolnshire as an advocate and subsequently as a commercial property lawyer. He served for ten years as Deputy Coroner for North Lincolnshire, and retired as senior partner of a major regional law firm in the north east in 2009. David has a strong interest in the arts, particularly music, enjoying a semi-professional career as composer/arranger, conductor and producer. He is a governor of St James School Grimsby, the choir school of Grimsby Minster, of which he was formerly Director of Music, and a governor at Havelock Academy, the Trust's first Academy.

Tim Hastie-Smith

The Reverend Tim Hastie-Smith began his school career as assistant chaplain at Felsted School in Essex, having graduated from Magdalene College Cambridge and Wycliffe Hall, Oxford. He enjoyed a range of highly successful roles both in school and more widely, before becoming headmaster of Dean Close School (a co-educational day and boarding school in Cheltenham. In 2008, he also became one of the youngest ever chairman of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference (HMC). Mr Hastie-Smith has been actively involved in new school set up and, at the invitation of Lord Adonis, chaired the governing body of a new academy in Cheltenham, with a complex group of stakeholders. Since then, he has acted as a senior education consultant to Perrett Laver, and more recently was appointed as the National Director of the Scripture Union - a post which he combines with his role as a minister in Gloucestershire.

Frederick William (Bill) Wood

Bill Wood has had a long relationship with Havelock and its wider community, having been educated at the predecessor school from 1957 to 1964. He qualified as a chartered accountant in 1969 and enjoyed a long and successful career with Cosalt plc from 1971 until 2007, during which time he served as chief executive for eleven years. He played a key role in helping to establish the Trust and Havelock Academy in 2007 and has been both trustee and Chair of governors from that time onwards.

Alan Hancock

Alan Hancock comes from a long line of teachers, and both his children followed him into the profession. He went from school in North Staffordshire to read Geography at Oxford, and between 1969 and 1980 taught at Stamford School, and then at Uppingham until his retirement. At both schools he was Housemaster and Head of Geography, and in the latter capacity served as Treasurer of the Independent Schools Group of the Geographical Association. As Higher Education Adviser at Uppingham he was involved in the organisation of conferences for UCAS and CRAC at which he led workshops including "Widening participation", "Applying to Oxbridge" and "Opportunities for interaction between the Independent and Maintained Sectors". He was school representative for the ATL and Chairman of the Staff Salaries Committee. He was also i/c staff development, introduced the appraisal system, and was a member of the Independent Schools Inspectorate. Alan is Chair of governors of Malcolm Arnold Academy.