Colin was appointed as principal and chief executive officer of Leeds City College in 2015, before it became a member of Luminate Education Group and he took on the role of Group chief executive officer.

Prior to that, Colin spent seven years as principal of Barnsley College, where he steered the College to an Ofsted rating of outstanding.

He has worked in the further education sector for over 35 years, as both a teacher and manager in Skills for Life and provision for students with disabilities or learning difficulties.

Colin has also worked as a part-time inspector for Ofsted and the Adult Learning Inspectorate. He was awarded an OBE for services to further education in the Queen’s 2015 New Year Honours list.

As group chief executive officer, Colin is a governor of Luminate Education Group and sits on each board within the group’s governance structure. He is also a member of the Finance Committee, Governance & Nominations Committee and Property Strategy Committee.

John is the Chair of the Board of Luminate Education Group. He is a partner with international legal services business, DWF Law LLP. John has lived and worked in and around Leeds for over 30 years, and first became involved with further and higher education governance in 2006 at Doncaster College.

A passionate believer in the transformative power of education, John has also been a lay trustee of Leeds Beckett Students' Union.

As a governor of Luminate Education Group John sits on the Group Board and is chair of the Harrogate College Board and chair of the Group Audit Committee.

Richard is a director at Gen North, an advisory company that focuses on workplace consultancy and programme and project management in the property and construction industry.

Prior to that, Richard was operations director at Mace Group, a leading construction company, where he led the consultancy business in Yorkshire and the North East, supporting clients in the planning and delivery of property and construction projects.

He is a chartered civil engineer and qualified project manager (PRINCE2 and APM), and has a passion for developing others through mentoring, coaching and engagement across the wider skills agenda.

As chair of the Luminate Group’s Property Strategy Committee, Richard brings a wealth of experience and expertise in the strategic planning of real estate portfolios, and in the planning, management and delivery of construction projects.

Richard is also a trustee of the Hunslet Club in Leeds.

Richard is a governor of Luminate Education Group, sitting on the Group Board, Group Finance Committee and is Chair of the Group Property Strategy Committee.

David is a retired senior manager with extensive skills and knowledge acquired from working in both public and private education sectors.

He has been a Board and trust member of various organisations, and undertaken consultancy activity with other educational and public sector organisations.

David originally trained as a careers adviser and was chief executive of a company that delivered Careers Education Information Advice and Guidance (CEIAG) throughout Cambridgeshire. He also held the position of policy leader for 16-19 education in a large metropolitan district, where he was responsible for ensuring the local authority met its statutory responsibilities.

David is committed to developing collaborative working through active and meaningful partnerships, and is passionate and committed to disability rights, particularly access issues.

As a governor of Luminate Education Group, David is vice chair of the Group Board, chair of the Keighley College Board and a member of the Group Audit Committee

Qasim is the elected SU President for Leeds City College 2023/24.

Qasim is the student governor of Luminate Education Group and student member of the Leeds City College Board.

As a chartered accountant, Jane’s experience has included senior management positions in three further education colleges, as well as finance and operations roles in several private and public sector organisations.

She is currently undertaking a PhD in the field of comparative vocational education and training policy at the University of Huddersfield, and is developing a portfolio career as a researcher.

Jane has lived in Leeds for over 20 years and is passionate about improving educational opportunities for young people and adults across the city.

Jane is a governor of Luminate Education Group, sitting on both the Group Board and the Group Finance Committee.

Mark has spent over 35 years in senior roles in marketing, communications and customer relationship management in a variety of high-profile private and public sector organisations worldwide.

In his early years, he was Marketing Director for Principality Building Society in Wales and Head of Customer Management for Royal & Sun Alliance (responsible for leading customer management for the launch of MORETH>N), before running his own international customer management consultancy, helping over 30 companies worldwide to develop effective customer management practices.

He was instrumental in setting up Confused.com, before taking up a senior interim management career with organisations such as Open University, Royal Bank of Scotland PLC, Yell Group PLC, British Airways and Barnardo’s.

He joined the higher education sector in 2009 and has been in senior marketing, communications and student recruitment director roles for City, University of London, the University of West London, University of Bradford, Swansea University, and University of Law. In May 2022, he was appointed to the University Executive Team at Anglia Ruskin University as Director of Marketing, Communications and Recruitment.

He is Chair of CASE Universities’ Marketing Forum and is a campaigner for equality, diversity and inclusion. He is also an ambassador for AWLO (African Women in Leadership Organisation) and the White Ribbon campaign. He was previously on the Advisory Board for Bradford Literature Festival and a Board member of Bradford UNESCO City of Film.

Mark is a governor of Luminate Education Group and Chair of the University Centre Leeds Board.

Carolyn is a partner at Clarion Solicitors and has spent all of her life in Leeds and Yorkshire. In a career spanning over 30 years, she has advised on some of the most significant development schemes in Leeds, as well as projects across the UK, and has been appointed to external roles to deal with areas of governance of local authorities in West Yorkshire. She is also a trustee of Yorkshire Sculpture Park.

With nine years as a governor at Leeds Trinity University and further two years as a member of the Board at Leeds Conservatoire before taking the Chair role in January 2022, Carolyn is passionate about opening up opportunities of Higher Education (HE) to the widest diversity of students and helping to ensure the long-term success of the specialist HE institutions that add to the region’s cultural richness.

In addition, Carolyn has a life-long love of music which she has passed on to her three sons. She has sung in many choirs and was a founder member of St Peter’s Singers in Leeds in her teenage years. She has also sung in or been associated with Leeds Cathedral Choir since the 1980s.

Carolyn is a governor of the Luminate Education Group (Group Board), Chair of the Leeds Conservatoire Board of Directors, a member of the Group Remuneration Committee and a member of the Group Property Strategy Committee.

Ken worked for Leeds City Council for more than 30 years in Education and Children Services, latterly as head of Service for Young People and Skills.

Since retiring, Ken has also built up a portfolio of volunteer governance roles. In addition to his roles within Luminate Education Group, he is also director of the Brigshaw Learning Partnership (a six-school multi-academy trust), governor of Springwell Leeds (an SEMH Special School), and primary school governor at Kippax Ash Tree and Hunslet St Mary’s. He is also trustee and chair of YAMSEN (a small musical charity providing inclusive opportunities for people with additional needs), and a trustee of GIPSIL which provides housing and wellbeing support services for young people and families in Leeds.

Ken is a governor of Luminate Education Group, serving as vice chair of the Group Board, chair of the Leeds City College Board and member of the Group Finance Committee.

Profile to follow.

Profile to follow.