Trustees

Juliet Humphries
Chair

Juliet was educated at both Sutton and Wimbledon High Schools. Following a law degree at Leicester University she qualified as a solicitor.

Juliet joined Linklaters and rose to become global Director of Knowledge. She then set up her own consultancy specialising in knowledge management and working with law firms and other organisations in the UK, Europe and the US. At Bird & Bird she set up an associate and partner training programme.

Before becoming a Trustee Juliet was Chair of the Local Governing Board of The Belvedere Academy and also a Governor of Wimbledon High School.

Kathryn Davis

Kathryn spent 26 years (17 of them as a corporate/commercial partner) with city law firm Slaughter and May before retiring from legal practice in 2013. During her legal career, Kathryn spent much of her time dealing with strategic issues primarily for a range of FTSE 100/250 companies. She was also extensively involved in recruitment, training and professional development activities and the mentoring of younger lawyers, most of whom were women.

Kathryn was formerly deputy chair of governors at Paddington Green Primary School, a maintained inner London primary school, prior to its joining the ARK multi-academy trust group and since 2021 has been an external member of the Audit & Scrutiny Committee of the University of Oxford.

Kathryn provides legal case study/commercial awareness workshops to law students at the London School of Economics Law School.  She also recruits, mentors and provides training to trainee solicitors seconded to a range of in-house legal departments and law firms by innovative legal training provider, Accutrainee Limited.

Kathryn was formerly a non-executive director of G15 housing association Metropolitan Thames Valley and its predecessor organisation Thames Valley Housing Association  (2014 -2020) and an independent panel member of the Lord Chancellor’s Advisory Committee for London, interviewing prospective magistrates for the Ministry of Justice (2014 -2022).

Vicky Tuck

Vicky Tuck has extensive experience of school leadership and governance in national and international contexts.

In 2017 she completed a six year mandate as Director General of The International School of Geneva, the largest (4500 students) and oldest international school and the birthplace of the International Baccalaureate.

Vicky was previously Principal of Cheltenham Ladies’ College, a position she held from 1996 to 2011. She was President of the Girls’ Schools Association in 2008 and Vice Chair of the Independent Schools Council, chairing its Education Committee prior to her departure to Switzerland.

Earlier in her career, Vicky worked at the Institute of Education, now part of UCL, training modern languages teachers. Having been a modern languages teacher for many years, Vicky speaks fluent French, respectable Italian and hesitant Spanish. Having begun her career as a teacher at Putney High School, followed by five years at Bromley High School, Vicky is delighted to serve on the GDST Council. She is currently Co Vice Chair and chairs the Senior Appointments and Remuneration Committee.

Pete Oliver

Peter Oliver is the Chief Marketing Officer for DAZN Group, the world’s leading sports entertainment platform.

DAZN is the market leader in Italy, Germany, Spain and Japan. It is also the global broadcaster for the UEFA Women’s Champions League driving rapid growth of women’s football by streaming the tournament in over 200 countries worldwide.

He was previously a Managing Director at BT where he led diverse teams across multiple brands including EE, BT, Plusnet and BT Sport.

At BT, he was heavily involved in BT’s digital literacy programme, sponsoring programmes with partners such as UNICEF to work with schools to help over 1 million children in the UK make the most of the internet while staying safe online.

Peter graduated with a law degree and later studied a masters degree in Business Telecommunications management.

Judy Simons

Judy is emerita Professor of English and former Pro Vice Chancellor of De Montfort University, Leicester, where she headed the academic portfolio. During her 30+ year university career she chaired a number of national higher education bodies, including the Council for Deans of Arts & Humanities and the Higher Education Academy Council. She was also a Research Fellow of the University of London.

Passionate about girls’ education and advancing opportunity, Judy is an experienced non-executive director and school governor. For eight years she was on the board of Sheffield Hallam University, was a longstanding trustee of Leicester Arts and was on the board of the government quango Standards for England. She is currently Chair of High Peak Theatre Trust and a Director of Hanover Talent Solutions, a career development company.

Judy has published widely on literary topics. Her most recent book explores her family’s immigrant history and charts their extraordinary journey to the UK over a century ago. She is delighted to be part of the GDST 21st century journey.

Stuart Ross

Stuart is a Chartered Accountant and he is a non-executive director of businesses in the finance sector.

Stuart has held CFO roles in large UK businesses in the energy and telecommunications sectors and, more recently, in international media and technology businesses backed by private equity.

These roles have typically been in businesses which have undergone significant change as a result of market developments and have required changes to their business models and operational capabilities. He also has extensive experience of corporate treasury and financing, and mergers and acquisitions.

Fraser Montgomery
Trustee

Fraser is the Chief Financial Officer at LGH Hotels Limited, with a portfolio of 60 UK Hotels carrying the Hilton, Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn and Best Western brands.

Previously Fraser was Commercial Director of Merlin Entertainments plc, Europe’s largest entertainments company, and best known for the LEGOLAND, Madame Tussaud’s, and London Eye brands.

As Merlin’s Commercial Director, Fraser had strategic responsibility for customer experiences, partner promotions, food and beverage, retail, hotels, and photography across 130 sites worldwide.

An ACA qualified accountant, Fraser has over 20 years’ experience in the leisure and hospitality industry. Before joining Merlin, Fraser worked for Marks & Spencer. He also serves on the Boards of the Wildfowl and Wetland Trust and the Royal Caledonian Curling Club.

Masha Gordon

Masha Gordon is a professional independent director and a seasoned investment professional with nearly two decades of experience.

During her executive career, Masha was a Managing Director of Goldman Sachs and most recently led the emerging markets portfolio management team at PIMCO. She was named among “Top 40 under 40 in Asset Management Industry”.

She moved to a portfolio career of non-executive board appointments in 2014 and currently chairs the board of directors of Constellation Holdings. She is also a member of the Board of Advisors for the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University.

She actively supports development of grit and resilience in young women through charitable programs of GRIT&ROCK, a charity she founded after setting two world records in the Explorers Grand Slam and 7 Summits becoming the fastest woman to complete both.

Masha gained a BA in Political Science from the University of Wisconsin and a MA in Law and Diplomacy from The Fletcher School at Tufts University.

Rita Dhut

Rita has 30 years of varied and award-winning investment experience with previous roles including Director of European Equities at M&G and Head of Pan European Equities Value Investing at Aviva Investors.

Rita is currently a non-executive director for a range of UK Plcs and a Venture investor for Newable Ventures investing and helping to build deep technology companies.

She brings expertise in operating in regulated entities, instigating change and developing plans around resilience and to support value capture and scaling.

With a particular interest in improving outcomes for young people she is a founding Trustee of the Financial Times Financial Literacy Charity and a qualified Childline Counsellor

Ann is a senior executive leader with broad experience in general management, change management, and strategic HR. She has worked in the commercial and not for profit sectors, specialising since 2010 in education. After completing her PGCE and PhD at Trinity College, Cambridge, she worked as an Assistant Lecturer in the University of London in the early 1980s, later joining BP where she worked in various positions until 2006.

Ann took up the position of Head of Learning and Development at HSBC Bank in 2006, a post she held for four years. She later worked with Ark, the children’s education charity.

Ann currently teaches on postgraduate programmes with the Open University Business School, and is Vice Chair of Council, Royal Holloway College University of London.  She is founding chair of governors at Ark Soane Academy, a start-up secondary school in Acton, west London.