The combined experience of our Management Team totals more than three decades of political consultancy and executive training.
Gain tailored support from our experienced industry coaches and develop skills across leadership, communication, confidence, empathy and self-awareness.
Thomas Borwick - Director of College Green Group
Thomas has a background in business, economics and finance and a passion for data-driven corporate, political and social campaigns. Previously appointed as Chief Technical Officer for the Vote Leave campaign, Thomas brings a truly granular understanding of the British political arena to the table, in addition to experience working with businesses such as Killik & Co., Winterflood Securities, Standard Chartered Bank and the hedge fund CQS.
Fortunate enough to be on the board of an investment company and attend board meetings from a very young age, Thomas has experienced hundreds of different board room settings and management styles, instilling his belief that much of what makes a person great at a board meeting is not what they were taught at school but how they apply it to the meeting and job role that they are in at the moment. He has spent the last 10 years shaping the political leaders of the world and is now applying his skills to the corporate world as well.
Thomas believes that training programmes should both empower and inform, with an equal focus on practical knowledge and theoretical understanding. He will bring this focus on practical applicability to all elements of the College Green Group Professional Development offering, ensuring that students not only have the toolkit but have also been empowered to practice.
Peter Pickin - Director of Professional Development
Peter is a dedicated expert with experience in designing and implementing development programmes at C-Suite level for individuals in the private, public and third sectors.
With two decades of experience at the Institute of Directors under his belt, Peter has worked with business leaders to provide tailored solutions for both themselves and their organisations, helping them to promote best practice and professionalism both within and beyond the boardroom.
Peter continues to champion the need for improved corporate governance standards in all areas of business and government organisations around the world, and strives to provide guidance to those looking to make an outstanding contribution to their board and business life.
In his role as Director of Professional Development at College Green Group, Peter continues to inspire, develop and coach those currently working in the business or political arenas, through the delivery of affordable and practically applicable learning programmes.
Director Development Programme team
All of our courses are delivered by business leaders, for business leaders. Our world-class tutors have experience across a range of sectors including corporate governance, finance and board strategy. The Director Development programme team has the collective knowledge and expertise to help you get the most out of your learning experience.
Jo Haigh
Jo Haigh is a CEO and an experienced dealmaker, a regular presenter on corporate governance, and specialist with mergers and acquisitions for prestigious organisations across the UK and Europe.
Winner of many awards including The Sunday Times NED of the Year award in 2013, she has been best-selling author of books such as “Keys to the Boardroom” and “How to be a world-class Non-Executive Director”.
Jo also founded OnBoarding Officers, an accelerated non-executive director programme specifically for senior military officers. She also provides board support via her NED and Chair appointments across England and the Isle of Man.
Ted Wainman
Ted is a professional business trainer, keynote speaker and published author. Qualified as a Chartered Accountant with Ernst & Young, he worked with JP Morgan and completed their MBA in the International Management of Financial Services.
For nearly 20 years, he has designed, developed, and delivered programmes for the private sector, across a range of boardroom needs. With his background in finance, Ted has a focus on finance and commercial training (including strategy and leadership) but is also comfortable with a variety of softer skills around
negotiation, presentation, and effective communication.
Ted has worked in over 35 countries and is experienced in addressing the needs of varied cultural backgrounds. Ted is the author of “How to Talk Finance: getting to grips with the numbers in business” published by Pearson (FT) in April 2015.
David Hannath
David has over 15 years of experience working with Boards, Directors, and Senior Management in major plc’s, private, public, and third sector organisations. His UK sector experience includes retail; transport; construction; manufacturing; housing; health and social care; and charities.
He is adept at Board level governance and in 2012 he co-developed the European Governance Model ® which incorporates European Standards for Boards and is now being used by UK organisations as a benchmark for board governance reviews.
He led the training for conducting governance self-assessments and peer reviews and he has also led external reviews of NHS Foundation Trusts.
As an experienced advisor and facilitator, David has led numerous Board strategy reviews; and help organisations accelerate performance, improve business growth by reviewing and aligning business strategy, systems, and capability.
Athina Kafetsiou
Athina is a seasoned professional and has a deep understanding of people and people systems that enable her to design and deliver evidence-based high-growth programmes for individuals, teams and organisations around the world.
For the past 15 years, she has worked with established C-suite executives and teams. Her focused, direct and incisive style has also helped emerging leaders of Family Business conglomerates within Europe, the Middle East, Asia and North America.
Her signature approach bridges that gap between science and practice by complementing leaders’ intuition with in-depth analytics and data. She connects with the development programmes she delivers, to actual results and metrics that enable success.
Athina is a clinically trained Psychology practitioner with an Organisational Behaviour postgraduate specialisation. She has also completed an MBA at London Business School. In addition, Athina is a classically trained musician and pianist, investor and NED and her time is split between London, Abu Dhabi and Greece.
Our tutors
Our course tutors are experts in their respective fields, with extensive experience of both working in and delivering training in environments relevant to their specialisms.
Raj Gandhi
Over 25 years, Raj has held board positions specialising in finance, treasury, governance, and risk within the financial, energy, and retail sectors. His knowledge and expertise have inspired him to become a course leader for the last 10 years, delivering for institutions like ACCA, ICAEW, and IoD.
Gerard Hargreaves
Gerard is an international business coach and course leader, working with individuals and groups to help improve effectiveness and performance. For 11 years he worked with an international consultancy firm, specialising in helping organisations identify training needs – but then became Head of Director Development, at Institute of Directors. Gerard’s range of clients is broad, and he even has the time to broadcast for BBC and radio. He is a member of CIPD, IoD and Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.
Richard Murphy
Richard has a wealth of knowledge and expertise in structuring and managing campaigns at all levels of electioneering. He provides MPs with first class strategic and tactical guidance, particularly on the construction and management of their local communication programmes.
With more than thirty years’ experience of working as a political adviser and trainer, Richard regularly runs workshops on parliamentary best practices, communications strategy, profile raising, community engagement, campaign and fundraising techniques.
He is a senior member of the International Association of Political Consultants and has trained MPs, their staff, and volunteers in countries all over Eastern Europe.
James Tumbridge
James is a barrister and partner with Venner Shipley. He has extensive experience in commercial litigation, intellectual property, and alternative dispute resolution (ADR). His expertise includes anti-bribery compliance, data protection matters; compliance for politicians and political campaigns, advertising and promotions. He has been an ad hoc advisor to various UK MPs and MEPs on a range of intellectual property and dispute issues. Through his engagement with policy makers he has extensive Government relations experience and advises clients on how to prepare for legislative changes and regulation compliance. As a consequence of his regulatory work with politicians James also has a sub-specialism in election law.
John Moss
John is a political organiser and fundraiser. For over 20 years he has worked with individuals in strategic planning, ground campaign organisation, team building, and training. He has been involved with all elections in London since 2000, including the first election for Mayor of London. He has specialised in training activists, parliamentary candidates, and constituency officers around media and campaigning, as well as supported constituencies and council groups in creating submissions for local government and parliamentary boundary reviews. John currently delivers courses on “Getting Elected in 2022” and “Understanding Government”.
Martin Thomas
Martin is a marketing consultant, trainer, and author. Most of his work is focussed on helping organisations respond to the opportunities and challenges posed by digital media. He has written three books on this topic, including The Financial Times Guide to Social Media Strategy.
He was a course leader on digital and social media at the Institute of Directors and has delivered workshops within all sectors including Sport England, Commonwealth Games England, Irish Marketing Institute, the RAC, and Bank Muscat.
Dean Fathers
Dean Fathers has a wealth of experience in a range of organisations, from blue-chip organisations in the private sector and national Government Departments / Agencies, to medium sized private, entrepreneurial companies. He is an accomplished Chair and Director, having held numerous executive and non-executive board positions. He also has international experience as an organisational change leader, working in areas as diverse as, the automotive industry, construction, distribution, education, media, retail, and pharmaceutical.
The development of strategy as a driver for change is his forte and this is linked to a deep understanding of best practices principles of Board governance. As well as being a trusted advisor and consultant to many Boards, Dean provides a highly regarded, confidential mentoring service to many senior Directors. His constructive challenging broadens the range of options considered by his clients and enables them to achieve a creative, differentiated outcome, raising their ability to generate wealth for their organisation and achieve their full potential and personal aspirations.
Specialties: Working with Boards and directors to develop, long term sustainable success and resilient organisations.
Sally Newnham
Sally Newnham started her career in the Royal Air Force, and now works with many private and public sector companies. She uses the very best evidence informed ideas, training, events, and practice-led support to help those she works with to be their very best, especially in leadership and human relationships.
She is a proud member of the Centre for Organisational Resilience at Lincoln International Business School and remains an RAF reservist alongside her work as a freelance L&D specialist.
Tim Clark
Tim has taught in a wide variety of schools: town/rural/inner city; single-sex and co-ed; selective grammar and comprehensive; LA and academy, and has been an incredibly successful Head for 18 years. He first led a coasting school to be “outstanding” in all areas, and subsequently “transformed” (Ofsted 2017) a challenging academy sited on one of the largest and most deprived council estates in the country.
Tim has an impressive wealth of experience and has run training courses for school Heads around the world.