Marian Williams – Member
Marian has been one of the members of Paradigm Trust since 2 April 2013.
Since 1998 Marian was a governor of Old Ford Primary School with intermittent and shared responsibility for chairing the governing body, SEND & looked after children, the finance/premises/PFI Committee and the personnel/curriculum committee. Marian was a governor of Culloden Primary School before it converted to an academy in September 2013. Marian was also chair of the local governing body at Old Ford Primary Academy until the trust’s governance structure was revised in September 2015. As a director of Paradigm Trust, Marian was a member of the operations and finance committee and was also the trust’s link director for Old Ford Primary Academy.
Marian was born and educated in Tower Hamlets and continues to be a resident. After serving as a clerk in the Public Health Department of London County Council, Marian went on to work as an accountant in the investments department of ICI, which was set up to invest pension fund money. During this time she was involved in the company’s joint (management/staff) consultative committee including chairing the head office committee and central staff conference and member of the pensions committee. She retired in 1996.
From 1998-2006, Marian was an elected member of Tower Hamlets council. Her committee membership included: education, pensions/investment, scrutiny, disciplinary appeals, licensing and housing benefit appeals.
Marian served as a director of Paradigm Trust from September 2013 until she stepped down on 1 April 2017, at the end of her four year term of office. She was appointed as a director by the members when the company was formed on 2 April 2013.
Jeff Martin – Member, Director and and Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors
Jeff is one of the members and joined the board of directors of Paradigm Trust in September 2013. He is vice chairman of the Board and also chairs the operations and finance committee. He is the trust’s link director for Culloden Primary Academy.
Jeff was a governor at his daughters’ primary school in Redbridge for 10 years before moving to Tower Hamlets. There he was introduced to Old Ford Primary School where he became a governor, a role he held for six years, eventually becoming the vice chair of governors. Jeff next became chair of the local governing body at Culloden Primary Academy and interim chair at Solebay Primary Academy until the Trust’s governance structure was revised in September 2015.
Until his retirement in 2014, Jeff was a director of BMS Group, one of the world’s leading reinsurance brokers. During his career spanning 40 years, working within the London insurance market, Jeff held a number of posts including IT director and group marketing and communications director.
Jeff’s term of office is four years. He was appointed as a director by the members when the company was formed on 2 April 2013. He has since been re-appointed as a director, by the members, and is currently serving his third term.
Adam Redgrove – Parent Director
Adam joined the board of directors of Paradigm Trust in September 2015. He was also a member of the academy council at Solebay Primary Academy, where his two children attend, and ensured parents’/carers’ views are heard and accounted for. Prior to this, he was a parent governor on the local governing body at the school.
Adam is a structural engineer with over 15 years experience. Adam’s work often included school projects, which has enabled him to gain a valuable insight into the operational and management aspects of schools. Adam taught English in India for six months after graduating from university. Adam is passionate about children’s education and the importance of primary education.
Adam’s term of office was four years. He was appointed as a director by the members on 23 September 2015 and stepped down on 2 October 2017.
Amanda Phillips CBE
Amanda joined the Board of Directors of Paradigm Trust in September 2013. She was also a member of the education committee and the operations and finance committee.
Amanda was the CEO of Paradigm Trust and, since 1 January 2017, also the principal of Murrayfield Primary Academy.
Amanda became the headteacher of Old Ford Primary School in March 2003. She became the headteacher of Culloden Primary Academy in August 2006, as well as the executive headteacher. Both schools are now rated outstanding by Ofsted. Amanda led Ipswich Academy out of special measures, as principal.
Amanda led on school improvement work for the trust. Amanda was also a national leader in education and she regularly advised on school improvement in other schools and educational establishments. She was often approached by national media to speak on current educational matters.
Amanda was accountable to the department for education (DfE) and the board of directors of Paradigm Trust in addition to over 2,100 pupils and their families for high service delivery. She made sure that the trust’s vision and values were secured and articulated whilst determining a high professional development strategy for all 400+ employees.
Amanda died on 31 May 2017.
Christopher Crozier – Member
Christopher has been one of the members of Paradigm Trust since 2 April 2013. He attends the audit and risk committee.
He joined the governing body at Old Ford Primary School in 2004 and went on to become chair in 2008. Christopher was also a governor at Culloden Primary School, before it converted to an academy in September 2013. Christopher was chairman of the Paradigm board until July 2016.
Christopher is the chief risk officer of Permira, a European private equity firm with global reach. He focuses on improving and standardising Permira’s risk management function globally. Christopher’s role covers key areas including reputation, conflicts, compliance, litigation and regulatory matters. Prior to joining Permira as a principal in 2008, Christopher was the chief administrative officer for emerging markets (EMEA) at Morgan Stanley where he was responsible for a number of compliance and risk matters including helping the firm establish its middle east offices.
Prior to this, he practised law at Freshfields and Simpson Thacher. Christopher has a degree in law from Oxford University, England, and a degree in international relations from Brown University, USA. Christopher is a solicitor (England and Wales) and an attorney (New York).
Christopher served as a director of Paradigm Trust from September 2013 until 19 July 2016. His term of office was four years. He was appointed as a director by the members when the company was formed on 2 April 2013.
Les Pipe – Member and Director
Les rejoined the board of Paradigm Trust in July 2023 after previously serving one term of office from May 2018 – May 2022.
Les currently holds a number of non-executive and consultancy posts, predominantly in the publishing and media production sectors, where he worked for some decades.
Before stepping down from his last full-time managing director role, Les was a director in a number of media production SME businesses, specialising in restructuring, growth, acquisition, and stakeholder value realisation. He has been involved in start-up companies, growing from base to multi-million pound organisations.
Les is also a business mentor for the Prince’s Trust.
Les is the Trust’s link director for Murrayfield Primary Academy.
Ben Bryant – Director
Ben joined the board of directors of Paradigm Trust in May 2017, having been a member of the Trust’s Education Committee and a governor within the Trust over the past four years. Ben originally visited Old Ford Primary School in 2013, as part of his work in the Department for Education in 2013 and, having kept in touch with the school, became a governor later that year. Ben held the position of governor for two years, and moved to take up a role on the Trust’s Education Committee when the Trust’s governance structure was changed in 2015.
In his day job, Ben is a Director of Isos Partnership, an independent research and advisory organisation specialising in strengthening strategic planning and delivery across public services, including education, special educational needs and children’s services. Before joining Isos, Ben was a civil servant in the Department for Education for five years, where he held key roles leading policy on the pupil premium, special educational needs, and funding. Away from his professional work, Ben co-founded and is a trustee of a charity that uses football to support young people from refugee and asylum-seeker backgrounds in London.
Ben’s term of office is four years. He was appointed as a co-opted director by the Trust Board on 23 May 2017.
Dave Hughes – Director
Dave joined the board of directors of Paradigm Trust in January 2017.
Dave holds a number of consulting, non executive, and executive roles. He is Non Executive director for Health Enterprise East, an NHS based Intellectual property company, Director of Castle Crag Communications, a Digital Communications Consultancy company, and a trustee of both the Suffolk Community Foundation and Let’s Talk Reading, an Ipswich charity focussed on improving literacy in the town. He is deputy chairman of the board of Papworth Hospital NHS Foundation trust, where he is also chair of the performance committee and chair of the strategic projects committee which oversaw the recent move of the hospital to the Cambridge Bio Medical Campus.
Prior to this, Dave held a range of executive roles at BT over a 35 year career.
Dave’s term of office is four years. He was appointed as a co-opted director by the Trust Board on 11 January 2017. He is the Trust’s link director for Woodbridge Road Academy.