Executive Chair
Dame Christine Gilbert CBE
Dame Christine Gilbert CBE is providing additional support as Executive Chair while Becky is on secondment.
Education Endowment Foundation:Hanneke Smits
Hanneke Smits
Meet our in-house team.
Hanneke was most recently Senior Executive Vice President and Chair of BNY Investments, and a member of BNY’s Executive Committee.
Previous roles included CEO of Newton Investment Management and Chief Investment officer at private equity firm Adams Street Partners.
She has served on various boards and industry initiatives over the course of her career including as Non-Executive Director to the Court of the Bank of England.
Hanneke has been an advocate of creating opportunities for all which is reflected in her past roles as Chair and Trustee of Impetus, Global Chair of the 30% Club, Founder Chair of Level 20 and Executive Sponsor of PRISM, BNY’s LGBTQ+ Employee Resource Group.
Originally from the Netherlands, Hanneke holds a BBA from Nijenrode University and an MBA from London Business School.
Naomi Eisenstadt CB
Naomi is currently a Non-Executive Board Member on the DfE Board and the DHSC Board. She also Chairs the NHS Northamptonshire Integrated Care Board.
Sir Peter Gershon
Sir Peter is a former Chair of National Grid, a former non-executive Chairman of the Aircraft Carrier Alliance Management Board, a former Trustee of The Sutton Trust, and a former independent Chairman of the Dreadnought Alliance.
Lucy Heller
Lucy is Chief Executive of Ark, an education charity.
Professor Sir Kevan Collins
Kevan is a non-executive board member at the Department of Education and adviser on school standards to the Secretary of State.
Hanneke Smits
Hanneke was most recently Senior Executive Vice President and Chair of BNY Investments, and a member of BNY’s Executive Committee.
Sonia Thompson
Sonia Thompson is the Headteacher at St Matthew’s C.E. Primary School and the Director of St Matthew’s Research School in Nechells Birmingham.
Sarah Breeden
Sarah Breeden is Deputy Governor for Financial Stability at the Bank of England. She is a member of the Monetary Policy Committee, Financial Policy Committee, Prudential Regulation Committee and the Bank’s Court of Directors.
Graham Elton MBE
Graham is a Partner at Bain & Company where he ran the Private Equity practice in EMEA from 2005 to mid-2018 and is now Chair. He has 17 years of experience on the firm’s Investment Committee and was also a leader in the Media practice.
Zoe Lewis CBE
Zoe became Middlesbrough College’s first female Principal in 2013 and has since developed the college substantially in skills priority areas such as engineering, green energy, construction, health and digital sectors.