Governance

Jacqueline is an experienced Director with expertise in developing young teams and in helping organisations going through rapid change. She is known to be ‘highly driven with a strong moral purpose’. She is passionate about working with organisations dedicated to positive social change. She has a reputation for getting things done and can ‘balance specialist expertise and gravitas with empathy and trust’.

Jacqueline joined the Ark family over ten years ago. She initially worked at Future Leaders as COO and then as CEO led that organisation to merge to form what is now Ambition Institute. She became CFO of Ark in 2017 becoming COO in July 2022. Prior to joining Ark, Jacqueline had experience of a variety of sectors including hospitality, retail and lottery. She was Finance Director of Geronimo Inns, The Conran Shop, and the inaugural Finance Director of the South African National Lottery, a role she held on secondment from the Camelot Group.

Jacqueline has served on several Governing Bodies. She is also a trustee for CST, the national organisation and sector body for School Trusts in England and a member of their Finance and Resource Committee.

Jacqueline qualified at Price Waterhouse and is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants.

A Peckham resident since 2016, Gulnaz is originally from Istanbul, Turkey. She worked at Ark Globe Academy as their Marketing and Media Manager between 2017 and 2022, while continuing to work as a freelance journalist both for Turkish and UK media. Gulnaz is co-founder and former chair of the board of trustees of the charity GlobalGirl Media UK. Gulnaz is passionate about the purpose of Ark Globe, social justice, and committed to supporting young people of South London through her work and voluntary positions. She holds an MA in Sociology and a BA in Arts Management.

Sultan brings over 15 years professional experience working in the financial sector and Civil service. As area Learning lead he has identified and delivered learning to improve capability and opportunities for staff to achieve their potential. As work place equality rep Sultan has reviewed policies ensuring they are fair and inclusive.

Having attended the school previously known as Geoffrey Chaucer he has a vested interest in its success.

As "friends of Ark" member Sultan is working with Ark to introduce a new adult learning programme. Sultan is keen to see Ark Globe become a beacon of equality within the community where all children can thrive and achieve their potential regardless of their background. 

Abou is a finance professional, currently working as a primary school business manager. He's also worked for a MAT.

He has previously been a parent governor for his children's primary school. 

Abou would like to utilise his vast experience in corporate and schools' management to help Globe Academy achieve its full potential and retain its excellent reputation for academic success. 

Richard is a former headhunter, turned serial social entrepreneur that started life at one of the UK’s first Internet ventures in 1995. In 1998, he went on to create and run his own, which went onto become one of the UK’s leading online recruitment platforms.

In 2012, he launched GoodPeople - a social enterprise that works with enlightened leaders across various industries, to deliver social impact people strategies.

GoodPeople are best known for delivering a high profile social impact programme 'GoodPeople at The Shard' - that resulted in 447 unemployed Southwark residents securing good, sustainable jobs.

In addition to GoodPeople, until very recently Richard was a long-term Trustee and Director of Unltd - The Foundation for Social Entrepreneurs - where he chaired the Awards & Delivery Group with responsibility for funding of thousands of Social Entrepreneurs each year.

Hywel is an Elephant & Castle resident and technology general manager, who wishes to contribute to the betterment of his community and help create opportunities for others to succeed.

Hywel was born in South Wales and went to the local inner-city comprehensive school before reading Economics at the University of Bristol.  Having spent time working for some of the largest technology service companies in the UK and India - and also a couple of start-ups - he is now responsible for the business with financial services clients for the largest IT services company in the UK, DXC Technology.  He also invests in new businesses as well as being on the board of various organisations.

What sets Hywel apart is his can-do attitude.  He creates teams to pull together what was thought to be impossible.  ‘Just because it hasn’t been done, doesn't mean it can't be done,’ is his mantra.  Through being on the local governing board, Hywel will support the Globe Academy leadership to enable all students to achieve their ambitions.  He will help ensure that the academy continues to deliver year-on-year improvements whilst fostering a sense of community involvement and commitment by all students whatever their capabilities.

Puja Mitra is Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) Manager at Ark. She has worked in HR/D&I roles across UK, India, Middle East and South Africa in HR/D&I both as a consultant and in-house roles. Her varied roles and work location has given her an in-depth understanding of different cultures and ways to integrate. She has also worked for multiple voluntary organisations in India and the UK which has given her the exposure to diversity and inclusion on a broader scale not just at work but outside work as well. Puja is multilingual and can in addition to English is fluent in Bengali and Hindi.

Josh is a Senior Lecturer in Adult Nursing at London South Bank University. He has a passion for education and strongly believes that education has the power to deliver positive change within society and the local community. He has worked within Southwark, starting his career as a registered nurse at Guys and St Thomas NHS Foundation Trust, for over 8 years. He cares strongly about young people, ensuring that everyone has access to a good education and that all students are given the opportunity to flourish within their education.