Richard Bettsworth
Chair of Trustees
Good governance is at the heart of delivering educational excellence.
Richard is Director of Public Affairs at the Association of School and College Leaders, a professional association and trade union which is based in Leicester and represents 19,000 leaders in schools and colleges across the UK. He was previously the Editor of the Leicester Mercury, and prior to that Deputy Editor and Head of News. He trained as a journalist at the University of Cardiff and the Portsmouth News, and worked in Portsmouth as defence correspondent, political editor and deputy news editor before joining the Leicester Mercury in 2000.
Richard joined the Discovery Trust Board in 2017 serves on the Human Resources Committee and Education Standards Committee of which he chairs.
Mihir brings a uniquely diverse skill set, having gained experience in different industries (banking, technology, manufacturing, local government) delivering global multi-million-pound change initiatives.
He has managed global teams delivering regulatory change across US, APAC and EMEA for an investment bank, worked across 23 local authorities improving their annual £1.5+ billion yearly spend on adult social care, managed outsourcing IT teams (process mapping, TUPE, global infrastructure delivery, etc).
Mihir graduated from Loughborough university with an honours degree in chemical engineering and believes in continued lifelong learning, gaining a further honours degree in Psychology, followed by certicates in Philosophy, ancient Greek, macroeconomics and computer science.
Shane is a commercially focused managing and non-executive director with extensive experience of working in the private & public sectors, providing goods and services to consumers and businesses.
Shane also has experience of strategically developing businesses and implementing transformational change, Shane supports and expertise in in strategic business development, financial oversight and growth potential.
As well as his full-time role and commitments Shane also works with the Department of Justice, recruiting and promoting magistrates, Chair of Swimzi Ltd – a leisurewear brand for swimming. Shane joined the Discovery Trust Board in 2017 and serves on the Human Resources and Finance Committee.
Chris is the newest recruit to the Discovery Board and will have a particular focus on special educational needs and disability.
Chris has worked in the SEND sector for 40 years and is committed to social justice and the rights of children and young people. Chris is dedicated to ensuring the education system and partners fully support and improve outcomes for all children and young people, particularly those with SEND.
Chris is a strong advocate for personalised and child centric approaches and a curriculum which enables young people to fulfil their potential and aspirations.
Having originally trained and practiced as a special needs teacher in the 80s & 90s, Chris spent many years in senior SEND focused positions within Leicestershire County Council. He now works for the University of Derby as a senior lecturer in SEND.
With the development of the SEND Cluster and special school growth, Chris will brings a wealth of experience and expertise to the Trust Board on this important area.
Stephen is a CIPD Chartered Fellow People Officer & Senior HR Director with significant experience across the public and commercial sector.
Stephen has particular strengths in developing innovative people strategy and solutions and spearheading change and transformation programmes to continually improve culture. Combining broad HR experience with strong business literacy, Stephen will support the Board to navigate the challenges of a growing trust.
As an advocate and ally for social mobility, Stephen is motived by equity, equality, diversity, inclusion, and fairness which comes from his own personal experience of how education played a part in this.
Maggie has a passion to see children achieve academically and pastorally, regardless of background, ability or challenge.
Maggie’s background is in education and she specialises in inclusion and home education.
Maggie has been involved with her local school Barwell CofE Academy for over twenty-five years as both a governor and latterly as Chair of Governors.
She joined the board in 2014 and chairs the Education Standards Committee.
Gary qualied as an accountant with KPMG and has 10 years’ experience operating at Board level in both Executive and Non-Executive roles within the private, public and third sectors. A seasoned professional, he has a proven track record in leading major transformational change and developing enterprise wide risk and control frameworks. After over 23 years working in Financial Services he established Venturezen in 2018 to support growing SMEs.
Gary is a non-executive director to a portfolio of companies and charitable trusts in the justice, housing and education sectors.
Raj joined the Discovery Board in 2021 having supported the Finance, Audit and Risk Committee as a co-opted member.
Raj is a passionate advocate of education and the transformative effect it can have. He firmly believes in social responsibility and ‘giving back’ to society to enable a more enriching, stimulating and technology-led learning environment to ensure young people have the very best opportunity to develop their natural curiosity.
As the Director of Commercial & Strategic Partnerships for a global healthcare organisation, Raj is well placed to support the strategic development of Discovery. He also brings a valuable insight from a range of organisations including large multinational, smaller mid -sized to start up’s.
Raj currently supports two other schools as a local governor as well as acting as a charity Trustee for the Marlene Reid Community Charity in Coalville.
Lucy has worked in the financial services sector for over 11 years in global organisations. Her portfolio of roles span Personal Banking, Wealth Management and most recently as Chief of Staff for the Head of Wealth in Europe Middle East and North Africa for a global investment bank.
Lucy has a breadth of experience to offer the Board, across a range of areas including customer experience, proposition development, communications, people strategy and governance and planning.
Back in the UK now, Lucy has spent time living and working in Switzerland and the UAE.
Lucy is passionate about supporting the lives of young people, including through mentoring current students at her old University and previously working for Action for Children as an Independent Visitor and it looking forward to hopefully leveraging her previous experiences to make a positive impact on the Trust.
Lucy graduated from the University of Sheffield with BA(Hons) in Geography and an MSc in Business Management. Currently spends any free time with her 2 young children!
Faith grew up and lived in South Leicestershire for 30 years.
Faith has a background in Law, with 24 years’ experience running courts, tribunals and leading change projects within the Justice System.
Faith joined the Parole Board in 2015 as Director of Business Improvement and led the digital transformation of the Parole Board, as well as projects to reduce deferral of cases and increase the openness and transparency of the Board’s work, especially for victims.
In 2019, Faith was appointed as Chief Operating Officer of the Parole Board, in this role she was pivotal in leading the Board through the COVID pandemic and transforming the Board’s operating model to one where oral hearings are carried out by video in the majority of cases, saving time without compromising on public protection and fairness.
Faith’s journey over the past 8 years has shone a light on her inspiring leadership, commitment to continuous improvement and has solidified her reputation as a strategic thinker and effective collaborator. Faith was promoted to Interim Chief Executive from 1st March 2024. The interim chief executive officer has the leading role in decision-making and financial management at the Parole Board.
Richard is Director of Public Affairs at the Association of School and College Leaders, a professional association and trade union which is based in Leicester and represents 19,000 leaders in schools and colleges across the UK. He was previously the Editor of the Leicester Mercury, and prior to that Deputy Editor and Head of News. He trained as a journalist at the University of Cardiff and the Portsmouth News, and worked in Portsmouth as defence correspondent, political editor and deputy news editor before joining the Leicester Mercury in 2000.
Richard joined the Discovery Trust Board in 2017 serves on the Human Resources Committee and Education Standards Committee of which he chairs.
