Governors

Sir Michael Rake is Chairman of BT Group plc. He is Chairman of easyJet plc, as well as a director of Barclays PLC, McGraw Hill Inc and the Financial Reporting Council. He is also chairman of the private equity oversight group the Guidelines Monitoring Committee. He was the first Chairman of the UK Commission for Employment and Skills from 2007 to 2010. He was a member of the National Security Forum for 2009/2010. He is a member of The Prime Minister’s Business Advisory Group.

From May 2002 to September 2007 Sir Michael Rake was Chairman of KPMG International. Prior to his appointment as Chairman of KPMG International he was Chairman of KPMG in Europe and Senior Partner of KPMG in the UK. He joined KPMG in 1974 and worked in Continental Europe before transferring to the Middle East to run the practice for three years in 1986. He transferred to London in 1989, became a member of the UK Board in 1991, and was elected UK Senior Partner in 1998.

Mike is a Vice President of the RNIB, a member of the Board of the TransAtlantic Business Dialogue, a Trustee of the Prince of Wales’ Charities, a member of the Advisory Council for Business for New Europe, Senior Adviser for Chatham House and on the Global Advisory Board of the Oxford University Centre for Corporate Reputation. Mike is also the William Pitt Fellow at Pembroke College, Cambridge. Mike was Chairman of Business in the Community from 2004-2007 and a member of the board of the Prince of Wales International Business Leaders Forum from 1998 to 2007.

Charles was a member of the Blucher (1962-1967) before reading Modern Languages and Law at Cambridge (Queens' College). He is a solicitor specialising in maritime law and international trade disputes currently working with the North of England P & I Association Ltd having originally qualified with Clifford-Turner & Co, been a Partner of Holman Fenwick & Willan, then of Herbert Smith and of Lawrence Graham ( 1999-2003). Charles is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. Two of his three sons are OWs and his interests include sailing, skiing, sub-aqua and bridge

Tim joined Balderton as a General Partner in 2007. He was previously a partner of Goldman Sachs where he spent 18 years. At Goldman, Tim held various roles including Global Head of Equity Capital Markets (2002 to 2005) and Vice-Chairman of Goldman Sachs International (2005 to 2006). Tim started to work with Balderton and its portfolio of companies in 2005. Tim is also a Trustee of the Rainbow Trust Children's Charity and the Paul Hamlyn Foundation. Tim is a graduate of the University of Cambridge.

Old Wellingtonian (Hopetoun 1964-68), read Arabic and Persian at Queens' College, Cambridge before joining the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 1973. Senior appointments included Ambassador to Jordan (2000-02), Director for Middle East and North Africa (2002-04), Ambassador to Iraq (2004-05) and Ambassador to Italy and San Marino (2006-2011). Retired 2011. Senior Adviser to Good Governance Group, Trustee of Mowgli Foundation and Commissioner of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

Educated at Roedean and Kent University (History & English), Margot spent the majority of her career at the Ministry of Defence in a variety of posts that included remuneration and staffing of the Armed Forces, budget management and arms control negotiations. She then moved to St Paul's Girls' School where she was Bursar for 13 years. Now retired, Margot is also a Governor of the Haberdashers' Adams' Federation Schools and of Roedean School and is a Liveryman of the Haberdashers' Company.

Educated at Winchester College and read English at Balliol College, Oxford. Thomas taught at Hopkins Grammar School, New Haven, USA, Winchester College and Manchester Grammar School before becoming Head of English and subsequently Housemaster at Winchester College. He is a past Headmaster of King Edward V1 School, Sevenoaks School and Winchester College. An admirer of the International Baccalaureate Diploma course and was at Sevenoaks when the School decided to phase out A Level in favour of it. Married to Carol (died 2009) with three daughters and two grandchildren.

Educated at Arts Educational School, Tring Park specialising in Drama. Founding Headmistress of Chandlings Manor School, Oxford 1994 - 1999. Married to Robert (Old Wellingtonian - Talbot 1962 - 1966), retired Headmaster of Lambrook Haileybury School. Sat on Development Plan and Senior Management Committees at Lambrook. Taught drama to senior School. Brother and 2 sons are Old Wellingtonians.

Ron Dennis CBE has been a pioneering force within motorsport since he began his career more than 40 years ago. As team principal of McLaren, he reinvented one of the most famous names in Formula 1 and created one of the most powerful and successful teams in modern sport. Dennis has always been passionate about sustaining and developing the potential of young talent, whether fostering the skills of legendary drivers such as Ayrton Senna and Lewis Hamilton, or pushing engineers to challenge the technological boundaries of automotive technology. He hopes to continue in the same vein via his involvement with Wellington College.

Educated at Eton College (Music Scholar, Duke of Newcastle Russian Scholar), Jesus College, Cambridge (Schiff Foundation Scholar, Choral Scholar), 1st Class, History. Took doctorate in Byzantine History at Corpus Christi College, Oxford (Senior Scholar), and Worcester College, Oxford (Junior Research Fellow). Currently Senior Research Fellow, Worcester College, and Director of the Centre for Byzantine Research at Oxford University. Chairman and Co-Founder, A Curious Group of Hotels; Green & Spring; Frankopan Nekretnine d.o.o.; Chair of Frankopan Foundation. Fives Blue (Oxford and Cambridge).

Brought up at Wellington College, the daughter of R E Storrar, head of Modern Languages and tutor of the Murray. Graduate of the University of Southampton, BA in Modern History and Politics with Philosophy, and Ph.D in History. Teacher and Senior Tutor at Peter Symonds' Sixth Form College, Winchester 1982- 1992, and Deputy Head and Senior Admissions Tutor Marlborough College 1992 - 2005. Governor of Westbourne House School and past Governor of a number of others. The mother of two Old Wellingtonians, both in the Benson.

Old Wellingtonian (Picton 1973 - 1977). Awarded Morehead Scholarship to University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Joined Goldman Sachs in New York in 1983 and subsequently worked in London and Hong Kong. Became Partner in 1994. Ran Pan-European Equities until 2002. Trustee of New Philanthropy Capital and Member of the Board of Visitors Kenan-Flagler Business School, University of North Carolina. Chairman, The Tennis & Rackets Association. Vice-President, Save the Children UK. Partner CDK Investments LLP. Three brothers also attended Wellington.

Robert Perrins is Group Managing Director of Berkeley Homes. He lives in Chobham which puts him in easy reach of the School. Educated at Marlborough, he is a Geologist and Chartered Accountant, and has worked with Ernst & Young and Shanks & McEwan before joining the Berkeley Group in 1994, where he has held various Directorial positions. He is married to Vanessa and has two boys, Ralph and Humphrey. His interests included Cricket, Hockey (still playing) and Travel.

Roland Rudd founded Finsbury in 1994. The company was bought by WPP in 2001 and following the merger with RLM in July 2011, is today one of the largest global financial communications groups. Before founding Finsbury he worked as a financial journalist at the Financial Times, The Sunday Correspondent and The Times and was a policy coordinator for Lord Owen.

At Oxford University Roland read philosophy and theology; he was President of the Union and is now a visiting Fellow at the University’s Centre for Corporate Reputation and an honorary fellow at the University’s Regent’s Park College. He is a Trustee of the Royal Opera House and The Education Employers Taskforce; Chairman of the Tate's Corporate Advisory Group and Non-Executive Director on the Army Board. Roland is also a member of the Great Ormond Street Hospital Centre for Rare Disease Research Fundraising Appeal Board and a patron of the NSPCC. He is a former board member of Britain in Europe and is now the founding Chairman of Business for New Europe and a member of the Centre for European Reform’s advisory board. Roland is the founding Chairman of the Legacy10 charitable giving campaign and a board member of StartUp Loans.

Elizabeth was appointed as Schools Commissioner by the Secretary of State, and took post in May 2011. Her mission is to raise standards, tackle underperformance and champion the growth of Academies, Academy sponsors and Free Schools. Elizabeth is committed to turning around underperforming schools and has proven experience in communicating with hard to reach communities. Her previous role was the Chief Executive of Haberdashers’ Aske’s Federation, a unique hard Federation of three all-through academies which she founded.

In her present role, she is visiting schools and local authorities nationwide, working with heads, governors and sponsors to ensure a world-class education system.She is a governor of two schools; a Freeman of the City of London and a Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Haberdashers’. In June 2009, Elizabeth was awarded a CBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list for services to local and national education.

Lord Stirrup was educated at Merchant Taylors’ School and the Royal Air Force College Cranwell. He was commissioned into the Royal Air Force in 1970, and completed a number of tours in the instructor and fighter reconnaissance roles. From 1990 to 1992 he was Officer Commanding RAF Marham in Norfolk, a period that covered the first Gulf War.

After various command and staff appointments, he was deployed in 2011 to United States Central Command immediately following 9/11, and commanded British forces during Operation Veritas, the UK’s contribution to Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. He became Chief of the Air Staff in 2003, and was appointed as Chief of the Defence Staff in 2006.

Following retirement from the military, he was appointed to the House of Lords in 2011, where he is particularly involved in the areas of defence, security, foreign relations and the arts. Lord Stirrup was awarded the Air Force Cross in 1983, and was appointed Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath in 2005. He is married with one son, a practising cardiologist, and maintains a keen interest in history, music and the theatre. 

Thomas Strathclyde was appointed Leader of the House of Lords and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster on the 12th May 2010. He is also Leader of the Conservative Party in the House of Lords and sits in the British Cabinet.

Lord Strathclyde entered the House of Lords in 1986. In 1988 he became a Government Whip and was promoted to Minister for Tourism in 1989, and then to Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries at the Scottish Office between 1990 and 1992. After the 1992 General Election he moved to the Department for the Environment, and then became Minister for State for Small Firms and Consumer Affairs at the Department of Trade and Industry.

In 1994, John Major made him Government Chief Whip in the House of Lords. He continued as Chief Whip into Opposition in 1997 – joining the Shadow Cabinet – until his appointment as Leader of the Opposition in the House of Lords in 1998 (a position he retained until the formation of the Coalition Government in May 2010). He has been a Privy Counsellor since 1995. 

John Turnbull has been a partner at Linklaters since 1989. He became head of the litigation department in 2002 and then Global Head of the Commercial Division in 2007 (a business with revenue of over £300m pa). In 2010 he became the Managing Partner of the Americas, responsible for Linklaters' offices in New York and Sao Paulo. John sits on the Executive Committee which manages the worldwide firm. He is a solicitor of the Supreme Court of England and Wales and of the Supreme Court of Hong Kong. John has a particular interest in corporate finance litigation, contentious aspects of mergers and acquisitions, general banking work and professional negligence claims. He also has extensive experience of the complex issues arising in cross-border litigation.

Educated at Magdalen College Oxford and Durham University (Classics), Howard qualified as a Chartered Accountant with Spicer & Pegler in 1976 and became a Partner in 1985. He was a Partner at Deloitte & Touche from 1990 - 2009. His son left Wellington in 2008, having also attended Eagle House. Howard is a keen golfer.