
Our Team
John Whitgift Foundation has a wide pool of talent across the foundation. Our people work in a variety of roles, caring for and assisting thousands of people in Croydon on a daily basis. John Whitgift Foundation’s staff are based in our schools, care homes, Carers’ Information Service or in the Foundation’s head office in central Croydon.
Foundation head office
- Martin Corney – Chief Executive
- Michael Webb – Chief Finance Officer
- Helen Gough – Director of Property
- Emily Boynton – Director of Human Resources
- Catherine Shirley – Head of Marketing and Communications
School head teachers
- Jane Burton – Head, Old Palace of John Whitgift School
- Alasdair Kennedy – Headmaster, Trinity School
- Chris Ramsey – Headmaster, Whitgift School
Whitgift Care
- Melody Akena – Care Manager, Whitgift House
- Deborah Pearson – Care Manager, Wilhelmina House
- Tanya Fitzgerald – Carers’ Information Service
Our governors
Our Court governors come from a range of educational, care and business backgrounds. They oversee the day-to-day management of the charity, led by Chief Executive Martin Corney. The Court of Governors meets four times a year to make key decisions and discuss the Foundation. Governors also sit on subcommittees that meet three times a year relating to aspects of the Foundation’s work.
Christopher Houlding - Chairman
David Seymour CB
Anand Mehta FRCP
Asif Patel, ACA, MSc
The Revd Canon Dr Andrew Bishop, Chaplain to the Foundation
Diana Payne
Nick Edwards
Mark Long
Jo MacKenzie
Jo was educated in Australia and has much experience of the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme, and introduced to Bedford Girls’ School the IB’s Primary Years Programme whilst she was Head. She was Chair of the GSA Sports Committee for five years, an ISI inspector, and has recently become a member ECB London and East Regional Advisory Board to support women and girls’ cricket. Jo also works as an advisory Head for RSAcademics, a company that offers specialist services for the search and selection, coaching and development of school leaders and senior staff.
Jo has a Masters in Education and Leadership (Dist) and has been asked to mentor many Heads as they start their careers in these senior positions. Two of her Senior Leadership Team she appointed went onto Headships and many of her Heads of Dept have moved onto Senior Leadership roles.
The Rt Revd Dr Rosemarie Mallett
Rosemarie is Chair of the Southwark Diocesan Board of Education, and a Trustee of several other diocesan and national para-church organisations, including Churches Together in Britain and Ireland (CTBI). From 2010 to 2021, she served on the General Synod of the Church of England, was one of the Synod Chairs for 5 years, and on several Archbishop’s Council committees, including the Women in the Episcopate Steering Committee and the Pastoral Advisory Group. Rosemarie is a Fellow of the Westminster Abbey Institute and a Visiting Fellow of Jesus College Cambridge.
Warwick Jones
Sarah Fisher
Peter Cornforth
Peter has spent over 30 years in the real estate investment and development industry and currently holds a range of business appointments, including Senior Adviser to global investment house PineBridge Benson Elliot. Most recently he was a Director at European private equity property fund Benson Elliot. He is a Chartered Valuation Surveyor, holds a BSc in Land Management and is a Fellow of The Royal Society for Arts.
Peter is currently a Trustee and finance committee member at Ormiston Trust, a 52 school/32,000 pupil national provider, and has previously held non-executive/audit committee roles at 2 London social housing providers, has chaired an NHS mental health Trust, and been vice-chair of the National Autistic Society, having joined as a volunteer parent member. He also sits on the Investment Advisory Group for Transport for London’s £2bn wholly owned property subsidiary, TTLP.
Ann Wright
Retirement from legal practice in 2010 led to a new career as a regulator and from 2010 to 2017 Ann was the Chief Executive of the Intellectual Property Regulation Board which regulates patent and trade mark attorneys.
Ann is currently a Board member of the Regulatory Board of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.
Ann went to school at Bexley Grammar School Welling and studied law at St Hugh’s College Oxford. Ann was the first in her family to go to University.