Members

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Governance and Policy
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Members

Members

Canon Jonathan Veasey

Eric Kirwan

Christopher Loughran

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Members/Trustees play a vital role in ensuring the Multi Academy Company remains aligned with its founding religious ethos and values. They provide strategic oversight, uphold governance standards, and ensure decisions reflect both educational excellence and the Diocese’s mission, offering guidance, challenge, and accountability across all schools.

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The Board of Directors is responsible for the strategic leadership and accountability of the Multi Academy Company. It sets the vision and direction, ensures effective governance, oversees financial performance, and holds executive leaders to account for delivering high-quality education and outcomes across all schools within the MAC.

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Audit & Finance

Oversees financial strategy, budgeting, audit processes, risk management, and internal controls. Ensures regulatory compliance, value for money, financial sustainability, and robust reporting to support effective governance and decision-making.

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Catholic Life

Promotes and monitors the Catholic ethos, spiritual development, and religious education. Ensures the mission and values are embedded across schools, supporting faith formation, worship, and community engagement.

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Curriculum & Standards

Monitors educational performance, curriculum quality, and pupil outcomes. Provides challenge and support on teaching standards, assessment, inclusion, and improvement priorities to ensure high achievement for all learners.

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HR & Operations

Oversees workforce strategy, staffing, wellbeing, and organisational development. Ensures effective operational delivery, including estates, health and safety, and policies, supporting efficient, compliant, and sustainable organisational performance.

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The Chief Executive Officer provides overall leadership of the Multi Academy Company, translating the Board’s strategic vision into operational delivery. They lead school improvement, manage senior leaders, ensure financial sustainability, and are accountable for standards, performance, and the effective day-to-day running of all schools within the MAC.

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Provides strategic leadership across the Trust, driving school improvement, operational effectiveness, and alignment with vision and values. Ensures consistency, accountability, and high-quality outcomes through strong collaboration and leadership.

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Provide local oversight and community engagement, supporting school leaders while holding them to account. Ensure alignment with Trust priorities, monitor performance, and uphold standards, ethos, and stakeholder relationships.

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View Our Scheme of Delegation and Terms of Reference for Governance.

Explore Our Scheme of Delegation and Terms of Reference for Governance

Canon Jonathan Veasey

Fr Jonathan Veasey is a priest of the Archdiocese of Birmingham and serves as Parish Priest of Sacred Heart and Holy Souls in Acocks Green, Birmingham.

Fr Jonathan has served as Director of the Diocesan Education Service leading the strategic development of Catholic education for the schools of the Archdiocese

Eric Kirwan

Eric is the Chief Operating Officer for Birmingham Diocesan Education Service.

Jacqui Francis

Jacqui’s consultancy, AdinaMay, provides specialist recruitment services. She brings a constructive external perspective to senior recruitment campaigns for ministerial appointments, executive and non-executive roles and membership of regulators and expert bodies.

Jacqui is a member of the Judicial Appointments Commission recruitment panels and she serves on the Bar Standards Board, Independent Appointments Panel. Locally she is a Citizen Member of Birmingham City Council – Independent Remuneration Panel. Jacqui is a previous ministerial

appointee Lay Adviser on the West Midlands Strategic Management Board responsible for public protection arrangements. Jacqui also volunteers at PAUSE a mental health drop-in centre for young people.

Christopher Loughran

Chris has recently completed a 30-year career with Deloitte, the international professional services firm. Joining the embryonic management consulting division of Deloitte (then Touche Ross and Co,) in Birmingham in 1987, he has worked both nationally and internationally with the firm. He was admitted to partnership in 1993, led the Technology Consulting practice from 2002-2010 and returned to Birmingham in 2010 to assume the role of Senior Partner for the Midlands Region from 2010-2015. He served as an elected member of the Board of Partners from 2010-2016.

He has served on the Board of Marketing Birmingham from 2011 to 2017 and its successor, the West Midlands Growth Company from 2017 to 2020. He was Deputy Chairman of the Greater Birmingham & Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership from 2015 to 2020 and Chairman of Midlands Connect Steering Group from 2017 to 2020. Chris served as High Sheriff of the West Midlands in 2018/19 and was made a Deputy Lieutenant in 2019.

Having retired from Deloitte in 2018, Chris now serves as a Trustee on the Boards of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, the CBSO Development Trust and the Lord Mayor of Birmingham’s Charity. He is President of Birmingham & Solihull Rugby Club (where he was previously Chairman for ten years) and Honorary President of Birmingham’s oldest musical theatre company, BMOS.

Peter Vella

Peter has enjoyed a varied career, predominantly across travel, tourism, aviation, construction and education sectors. He spent twelve years as an executive director of Birmingham Airport Ltd, five years with Interserve plc operating as CEO of a group of companies building schools in Leeds, St Helens and Sandwell followed by four years as Director for the Malta Tourism Authority in the UK and Ireland. Peter served a school governor from 1999 until 2007. In 2014 he founded an academy trust based in Leeds and was appointed as its first CEO.

Peter has also held a number of non-executive directorships including six years with Marketing Birmingham. He has extensive experience of working across the private, public and charity sectors. Peter currently serves as a non-executive director for HotelshopUK Ltd and is a fellow member of the Institute of Travel and Tourism. In 2016 Peter was invested as a Knight of Magistral Grace for The Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of St John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta and plays an active part within the organisation.

Members

Members

Canon Jonathan Veasey

Eric Kirwan

Christopher Loughran

View Our Scheme of Delegation and Terms of Reference for Governance.

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