Members of Council
Robin Black - Chair
- Management Board (Chair)
- Malvern College School Board
- Nominations Committee (Chair)
- Remuneration Committee (Chair)
- Malvern College International Ltd Board
Robin, an OM and son of an OM, is a chartered accountant qualifying with KPMG, with over 35 years of private equity and banking experience. Previously the CFO of Corbin & King, the London based restaurant group, and the The Ink Factory, the film and TV production company behind the award-winning Night Manager drama series, where he is now a NED and Chair of the audit committee; Robin is a founder director of Heartstone Inns, a regional pub operator, and a trustee of the Sports Council Trust Company that promotes physical recreation (including sports) and education, as well as manages England’s National Sports Centres. He has been a NED and Chair of a number of quoted and unquoted companies in the fund management, media and leisure sectors.
Sue Duff - Vice Chair
- Management Board
- Malvern College School Board (Chair)
- Safeguarding Committee
- Nominations Committee
- Remuneration Committee
- Malvern College International Ltd Board
- Malvern College Enterprises Ltd Board
- College Guardians Ltd Board
Sue was brought up at the College as her father, Alan, was Housemaster of School House, Second Master and Master in charge of cricket. She was educated at Ellerslie School before it merged with the College, studying Business at University and later an MA in Educational Management. She was a School Bursar before spending 10 years in Commerce and then making the transition to teaching in the independent sector. Sue has taught in prep, GSA and HMC environments and been on their management teams. Sue joined the Independent Schools Inspectorate in 2011 and is now a Lead Inspector. Since 2015, Sue has worked with a wide variety of schools supporting them predominantly with their pastoral care, boarding and compliance aspects and training.
Carey Leonard – Treasurer
- Management Board
- The Downs Malvern (Chair)
- Nominations Committee
- Remuneration Committee
- Audit Risk & Compliance Committee
An international commercial banker, Carey worked for Standard Chartered Bank for 34 years in various countries including Hong Kong, Sri Lanka, Botswana and South Africa. He is currently an Independent Non Executive Director in the City of London. He has been a Magistrate since 2007. He is the father of an OM.
Charles Barwell OBE
- Foundation & Property Committee
- Malvernian Society Trustee
Charles is an OM and the grandson of an OM. Following 23 years in wealth management with Albert E Sharp, Gerrard and Barclays, in 2017 he founded a public affairs consultancy, Facultas Associates. A former trustee of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, he sings in the CBSO Chorus. He was a trustee of the English-Speaking Union for 10 years and is a Fellow of the British-American Project. Charles was an elected member of the Board of the Conservative Party from 2007-2011, chairman of the CCHQ Finance & Audit Committee from 2009-2015, and he is a trustee of the Conservative Agents Superannuation Fund. Charles was chairman of the Governors of Bilton Grange Prep School prior to its merger with Rugby School of which he is a Governor. He is a trustee of AGBIS. Charles was appointed an OBE for voluntary political service.
Roger Brierly
- Malvern College School Board
Roger joined the College in 1994 from The Manchester Grammar School and became Housemaster of No7, Director of PE & Sports and Head of Football. He was Coach to Southern England’s Under 19 ISFA and Chairman of Hereford & Worcester Schools Athletic Association. An ISI team inspector, he was Headmaster of Heathfield School for 10 years, a governor of Gosfield School, formed the partnership to create the Heathfield International School, Bangkok and was ISA National Ambassador for Sport.
Andy Collins
- Safeguarding Committee (Chair)
Andy Collins is currently Second Master at Dauntsey’s school in Wiltshire. He joined Dauntsey's in 2021 from Millfield School, where he was Assistant Head Pastoral and Designated Safeguarding Lead. Prior to this he was a Housemaster at Gordonstoun for five years, while he also taught at Monmouth Boys’ School and Abberley Hall Prep School. Andy was educated at King Edward’s School, Bath and Swansea University, where he graduated with a degree in History. He then took a Diploma of Social Anthropology at Lincoln College, Oxford where he held a Major Stanley Scholarship and was awarded two Blues. Andy spent seven years as a professional rugby player from 1995-2002. Andy joined the College Council in 2022.
Christine Fairchild
- Malvernian Society Trustee
Christine is the Director of Alumni Relations at the University of Oxford. Before arriving at Oxford, she amassed more than 30 years of experience in alumni relations at the Harvard University. Most recently, she worked at Harvard Business School where she oversaw the School’s alumni outreach and fundraising activities. Educated at Connecticut College in the US, Christine graduated with a BA in Asian Studies.
Kaspar Hartmann
An OM, Kaspar is a founder of KKA Partners, a Berlin-based private equity firm that invests in leading companies in Germany, Austria and Switzerland – the so-called “Mittelstand”. He started his career as a M&A banker at Citigroup in London and New York, gained his MBA in the US, and undergraduate degree in Scotland and California. He sits on the board of the HBS Alumni Association of Germany.
Neil Jones
- Malvern College International Ltd Board (Chair )
- Audit Risk & Compliance Committee
Neil is a Vice Chairman of Deloitte Consulting and leads the firm’s relationship with several FTSE 100 organisations. Neil is a Chartered Accountant and specializes in technology enabled finance transformation projects that embrace organisational, process and people related change. Neil’s industry experience is centred around travel, hospitality and services. Outside Deloitte, Neil is also a Governor of Birmingham City University.
Stuart King
- The Downs Malvern (Vice Chair)
- Foundation & Property Committee
After reading law at University College London, Stuart has been a commercial property lawyer for nearly 40 years, initially in the City of London and for many years as a partner and now a consultant in two large Bristol law firms. His son and two daughters were educated at Malvern College, his youngest daughter also at The Downs Malvern where Stuart has been a Governor since 2011. He joined the College Council in March 2022 and is also a member of its Foundation and Property Committee.
Paul Nicholls
- Foundation & Property Committee
- Management Board and Nominations Committee
An OM and son of an OM, Paul graduated from Pembroke College, Cambridge in Classics, Archaeology and Anthropology. Paul has worked in the City since 1979 at various banks but principally at SG Warburg (later UBS Warburg). He has been the Chief Executive of Hoare Govett (owned variously by ABN Amro, RBS and now Jefferies) and since 2006 has been its Chair.
Louise Penrice
- Malvern College International Ltd Board (Vice Chair)
Louise has spent 30 years as an educator, living and working in Europe, the USA and Asia. A former Head of a bilingual school in Switzerland, she now has her own company offering leadership development and coaching. Originally trained as a teacher at Cambridge University, she has an MBA and has worked as a consultant developing leaders in larger organisations. Louise is married to an OM, is the parent of three OMs.
Dr Dominic Sandbrook
- Malvern College School Board
An OM, Dominic is one of Britain’s best-known historians. After studying at Oxford, St Andrews and Cambridge, he became a lecturer in history at Sheffield before pursuing a career as a freelance writer. He is the author of a series of bestselling books on Britain from the 1950s to the 1980s, and has written and presented numerous documentaries for the BBC. He has been a Senior Fellow at Oxford’s Rothermere American Institute and is now Visiting Professor at King’s College London. He is also a regular columnist for the Daily Mail and BBC History Magazine, writes book reviews for the Sunday Times and is a supporter of the perennially unlucky Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Timothy Straker KC
- Malvernian Society (Chair)
- Foundation & Property Committee (Chair)
- Management Board
- Malvern College School Board
- Nominations Committee
An OM, Timothy is the nephew, brother and father of OMs. After Cambridge he read for the Bar and is head of chambers at 4-5 Gray’s Inn Square, where he practises. He has been in silk for more than 25 years. He is a bencher of Gray’s Inn, a deputy High Court Judge, a judge of the Court of Appeal of the Falklands, a Recorder of the Crown Court and an Election Commissioner. Although he achieved no distinction in the game at school he regularly plays rackets and follows Malvern rackets closely.
Ben Walker
- Malvern College Enterprises Ltd Board (Chair)
- College Guardians Ltd Board (Chair)
An OM, Ben read history at Trinity College, Cambridge before qualifying as a solicitor in 2002. Having worked with law firms and in the City of London and Milan, he currently practises corporate and commercial law, specialising in the oil and gas sector.
Tom Whittaker
- Audit Risk & Compliance Committee (Chair)
A qualified accountant, Tom has 30 years of experience in financial services holding board positions at FTSE 100 companies, including 10 years at the Prudential Group as Head of Audit for Prudential UK & Europe, Head of Audit for M&G Investments and Chief Risk Officer for Prudential UK & Europe. He was previously Head of Audit of Willis Group, Head of Compliance & Risk of Charles Schwab and Group Compliance Officer of HBOS Clerical Medical.