Leader
ship

BA MSc (Hons) ACA, Chair of Council, Chair of Remuneration Sub-Committee 

Heather is a Chartered Accountant by background, having spent seven years in Audit at Deloitte. She subsequently spent 17 years as a headhunter, working for PricewaterhouseCoopers and Capita. In 2009 she joined Executive Action, a company specialising in senior level coaching and career transition/outplacement, across the private, public and not-for-profit sector and has been a Director of the business since 2012. She has recently joined Gatenby Sanderson, as a Partner in their Not for Profit team, working across Executive Search, Coaching and Career Transition.  Heather has a Masters degree in Executive Coaching from Ashridge Business School and is an Ashridge Accredited Coach. She also has a degree in Geography from Exeter University. 

Heather became a Governor in 2008, Vice-Chair in 2015 and Chair of Council in December 2017. She chairs the Remuneration Committee and sits on the Strategy, Finance and Governance Committees. She is an Old Girl of STAHS, a past parent and was Chair of the STAHS Old Girls’ Association for six years. 

Chair of the High School Association

Paul was educated at Aldenham School and, in his 38 years as a surveyor, has dealt mainly with offices in Central London. He was head of department at both Lambert Smith Hampton and then GVA. In 2004 he formed his own surveying practice in the West End advising major corporate companies and landlords on strategy towards the acquisition/disposal of offices, and their professional work. He is now a consultant.

He has a great attachment to the City of St Albans, having lived in the district since 1980. He’s married to Cllr Annie Brewster and is a trustee of both the local Citizens Advice as well as the 948 Sports Foundation. Paul sits on the Estates Committee and is Chair of the HSA.

BSc MA PhD (Cantab)

Maria is a qualified accountant, tax and treasury adviser, has a first-class honours degree in Chemistry from the University of Surrey, an MA in Modern Languages from the Open University, a PhD in Nanotechnology from Cambridge University and is a member of the Chartered Institute of Taxation. Maria is also a member of the British Venture Capital Association’s Tax and Environmental, Social and Governance Committees. 

  As a portfolio director at Mayfair Equity partners, a leading private equity firm, Maria works alongside companies to identify, quantify and unlock business process improvement activities. Maria’s expertise as both a former practitioner and a former consultant allows her to focus on opportunities to drive incremental value in areas such as tax and finance, with the aim of supporting companies to deliver their plans faster or with less risk. Prior to her current role, Maria worked for both Deloitte and Arthur Andersen in their private equity and international M&A groups. 

Maria is an avid reader and advocate for lifelong learning and currently has a daughter in the Prep School. Maria sits on the Finance Committee. 

FICA 

David is currently Senior Vice President of Finance at Experian with responsibility for the global offshore centres of excellence. Over an 18-year period at Experian, David has been the Finance Director of the EMEA/AP region, Finance Director of the Decision Analytics business and had finance responsibility for Strategic Initiatives in the organisation.   

Prior to Experian, he performed various finance roles with EY and Steria.  He is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland.  

David has a busy family life with three children. He is an avid rugby supporter and keen golfer and enjoys regular trips to his native Ireland.  David sits on the Finance Committee. 

BA (Hons) 

Ellie attended the Senior School between 1990 and 1997. After completing a History degree at the University of Bristol, she went on to qualify as a solicitor specialising in Commercial Real Estate. She worked at Macfarlanes LLP for nine years and is currently taking a career break to look after her three young daughters. 

Ellie is Treasurer of the Old Girls’ Association. She became a Governor in 2014 and is a member of the Estates Committee. 

MA (Oxon) MBA NPQH FRSA, Chair of Education Committee 

Neil is the Headmaster of Queen Elizabeth’s School in Barnet, which has consistently been named in the national press in recent years as the country’s top state school for A Level results. He was appointed the 40th Headmaster of this selective boys’ school in September 2011. 

  After reading Geography at St John’s College, Oxford and a PGCE at London’s Institute of Education, Neil started teaching in 2000 in a mixed comprehensive in the London Borough of Brent. He moved to Queen Elizabeth’s in 2002. Before his appointment as Headmaster, he has been Head of Geography, Head of Year, Assistant Head and Deputy Head. Neil was awarded his National Professional Qualification for Headship in 2007 and an MBA in 2010. 

  He is Chairman of Governors at Northgate School, a Pupil Referral Unit for young people with severe mental health conditions, and his other current voluntary roles include being a governor of Longfield Primary School in Harrow and of his alma mater, The John Lyon School. 

OBE FRSA

Nishma Gosrani OBE is a Financial Services Partner at Bain & Company in London. Her work focuses on human capital transformation, as well as the future of work and culture.

Nishma has nearly two decades of Big 4 Financial Services Consulting experience across geographies, throughout which she has architected and deployed strategic people initiatives. Her breadth of expertise spans all facets of human capital, workforce strategy, re-organisation design, cost restructuring, and talent management.
Her work lies at the intersection of front and middle office, as well as corporate and enabling functions, with a comprehensive understanding of the impact of regulatory reform. For several years, she led the Financial Services Culture, People Change, and Organisation Design practice for another top firm.

She was invested with an OBE in Her Majesty’s 2020 Honours List for services to diversity and inclusion, pioneering gender pay gap reporting, and the subsequent changes to the Equality Act. She has been honoured with numerous other awards, including “Asian Professional of the Year” at the Asian Achievers Awards, and was appointed a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.

Nishma sits on the Strategy and Education Committees.

MA (Hons) NPQH 

Carol is recently retired as Head of Old Palace of John Whitgift School, Croydon where she held several leadership roles over a period of twenty-two years. 

After reading music at St Andrews University and completing a PGCE at Trinity College Cambridge, Carol started teaching in 1982 in a mixed comprehensive in Banbury.  She moved to Llandrindod Wells, Powys in 1984 and then to Edinburgh in 1986 where she taught music at St George’s School for Girls for eight years.  Before becoming Head at Old Palace, she was Director of Music, Senior Teacher and Deputy Head.  She was Head from 2011 to 2019. 

After studying at the National College for School Leadership she achieved her National Professional Qualification for Headship and a further award for School Business Management. 

Currently she is an advisor to Mindful Healthcare, an organisation supporting young people with mental health conditions.  Other current voluntary roles include singing with Croydon Minster Choir where she is one of the Lay Clerks. 

Carol sits on the Education Committee. 

Katie Kolmar MA (Cantab) ACA,

Katie started her career at PwC, qualifying as a Chartered Accountant in the banking and capital markets audit practice. For the past ten years she has worked in financial consultancy with experience across risk, regulatory compliance, remediation and project leadership. Katie is a STAHS Old Girl and has volunteered in schools over many years. She is currently a governor of a maintained primary school and a member of the National Governance Association’s Young Governors’ Network.

Katie read Geography at Cambridge University and is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, attending their Monday-night lecture series whenever she can. She believes strongly in the value of lifelong learning and professional development and is currently studying for an Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) certification. She likes to spend weekends in the Hertfordshire countryside with her husband and three young children. Katie sits on the Finance Committee.

MA (Oxon), Chair of Governance Committee 

Simon is a lawyer by profession and was a partner in a City law firm, Macfarlanes, for over 20 years, including stints as head of the Corporate Department and Managing Partner. He was educated at St Albans School and read law at Oxford. 

Simon is now busy in the charity sector. He is a trustee and Vice Chairman of ABF The Soldiers Charity, the Army’s national charity.  Simon is also the Protector (a quasi trustee role) of two charitable trusts funded by the Big Lottery Fund:  the Forces in Mind Trust, which awards grants and commissions research to enable more ex-Service personnel and their families to make a successful and sustainable transition into civilian life, and the Centre for Ageing Better, which works to address the challenges and recognise the opportunities resulting from more people living longer. 

Simon has three daughters, all of whom were educated at the High School between 1998 and 2015. Simon has been a Governor since October 2016 and is a member of the Finance & General Purposes Committee. 

BA (Hons)

Having begun his professional life in financial services marketing, Chris has spent the majority of his career focused on sports sponsorship, primarily within motorsport.  Since stepping away from his last role as Marketing Director of the Williams Formula One team, Chris has established his own consultancy advising brands and rights holders across the sports and entertainment sectors. 

Chris has one daughter who attends the Prep school. He became a Governor in 2020 and serves on the Estates Committee.  

BSc (Hons) MRICS, Chair of Estates Committee 

Daniel joined the Governing Body in September 2012 and sits on the Finance and General Purposes and Estates Committees. He is a chartered building surveyor and a director of a building surveying and project management practice operating primarily for funders, investors, developers and occupiers of commercial property. He lives close to St Albans with his young family. 

Cricket is Dan’s primary focus during any spare time. He plays for the local village side during the summer months and is a playing member of the MCC. He also enjoys spoiling a good walk by playing golf. 

UMIST University, Manchester BSc (Hons) 2:1 degree Management Sciences 1989

London Business School Executive Development Programme 2002

Alison has enjoyed a successful career in marketing, working on leading consumer brands at large multinational companies such as Procter & Gamble, Kraft Foods and PepsiCo based in the UK and internationally.  She took the opportunity to change path in 2012 and joined an international education group in Dubai to lead their global marketing team.  Having always held a fascination for the education sector, she then went on to work with schools in the GCC to support start-up and expansion plans before joining Amity Education Group as Vice President of Strategic Development.

Alison came back to the UK with her family in August having spent 17 years living and working internationally and is now Group Director of Marketing and Admissions for Orbital Education.  She sits on the Education and Strategy Committees.

In her spare time she can be found either watching her daughter riding horses or meeting up with friends.