SEA Committee

Leanne is a highly driven Commercial Director with over fifteen years of demonstrable success developing and implementing commercial strategies, driving profitability and value proposition in the independent education sector.

It was at Repton School that she began commercial journey within education. Her passion as a former international basketball player has driven her to widen access to sports for young people from a diverse range of backgrounds through local and national partnerships. Leanne built an extremely successful enterprises function at Repton during her tenure, leading a strong and ambitious team to double revenue.

Leanne accepted the position of Head of Commercial Enterprises at Denstone College in 2022, ready to take on a new challenge, and has since developed a five-year strategy following a challenging few years of COVID restrictions.

With nearly 30 years’ experience of commercial business in the independent school sector, nothing beats the reassurance one gets from sharing experiences, particularly when tackling complex and difficult challenges and even more so in the unusual and unique environment of an independent school steeped in centuries of tradition.

With nearly 40 years working across a spectrum of environments including local authority and private leisure operators prior to moving into the School’s sector, plus a bit of private consulting thrown in along the way, Tim brings a wealth of experience in many aspects of leisure and commercial business including a broad ranging experience in start-ups and established businesses, in everything from typical public sports centres to ice rinks and indoor water parks, and of course, the unique world of independent school commercial enterprise.

Nicole is an experienced Finance and Commercial leader, currently Director of Finance and Operations at South Hampstead High School (GDST). Prior to this, she served as Director of Commercial and Enterprise at Haberdashers’ Elstree Schools, where she led the development of a successful co-commercial strategy and delivered significant revenue growth through strategic partnerships and innovative projects.

Nicole has a proven track record in financial strategy, operational leadership, and enterprise development within the education sector. A Fellow Chartered Accountant, she brings both commercial acumen and a collaborative, values-led approach to her work.

Having spent over 15 years working in an Enterprise environment with charities and educational organisations, Phillip took up the role of Head of Events at Winchester College in early 2022. These previous roles, combined with 15 years prior experience in the events and hospitality space, has enabled Phillip to build up a wide range of skills that he draws upon on a daily basis.

Since joining Winchester Phillip has developed a 5-year strategic plan for the Enterprises business, implemented a range of changes that benefit the school as a whole, taken on the management of the school tours and retail offer, and established new strategic partnerships.

Phillip believes that never have Enterprise departments been more under the spotlight or in demand as they are now and will be in the coming years. The landscape for the independent sector is changing and we must be ready to meet these challenges head on, delivering reliable and consistent income to support our parent organisations. Finding and maintaining these valuable income streams, building new opportunities and ensuring this is managed within the framework of the school is critical.

Phillip looks forward to collaborating further with SEA members and is delighted to have the opportunity to contribute further by joining the committee.

For the past 10 years Ed has built and enhanced an extensive commercial programme at Shrewsbury School with particular focus on sporting and residential business. Their operation now generates a sizeable contribution aiding bursaries and capital projects. Ed’s time with the SEA has highlighted the benefit of experience sharing and he’s excited by the opportunity of aiding its long-term support to members maximising use of school facilities, whilst balancing this with the needs of pupils.

He is a talented manager with a strong background in leisure, school and facility management. These experiences have enabled him to develop a skill set in a number of areas including maximising income potential and sourcing funding opportunities, management of varying teams of staff, developing effective partnerships, budget monitoring, producing business plans, health and safety and the creating, monitoring and evaluating of business operations. With 20 years of experience in this domain and an excellent track record of over achieving on targets set he is delighted to support SEA members.

Tom qualified as a teacher before embarking on a successful 10-year career in the hospitality and leisure sector. Recently transitioning back into the school sector, he now serves as the Lettings; Events Manager at Gordon’s School, a state boarding school, where he plays a pivotal role in developing and executing the school’s commercial strategy. Under Tom’s leadership, the school’s enterprise division has experienced impressive growth, doubling its revenue in just over 12 months.

In his role,Tom is responsible for commercial management, business development, sponsorship, and event management, demonstrating his diverse skill set and ability to deliver impactful results. With a strong focus on creating new opportunities and expanding the school’s commercial potential, Tom is continually seeking innovative ways to foster growth and make a lasting impact.

As Gordon’s is a state boarding school, Tom is passionate about offering insights into this unique sector. He is committed to helping other schools within the state sector challenge their thinking and explore what is truly possible in terms of growth, development, and maximizing commercial opportunities.

Jamie is a dedicated leader with a wealth of expertise honed across the leisure, hospitality and real estate industries, before moving into the independent schools sector. With a strong background in health and safety, commercial management and operational leadership, Jamie brings a blend of strategic vision and hands-on experience to drive success in his role at Berkhamsted School.

Having joined Berkhamsted in September 2022, he has developed the school commercial strategy and made significant increases in non-fee income which has already started to allow reinvestment in staffing and facilities to benefit both school and commercial users.

Jamie is excited to have the opportunity to share his knowledge and experience to support and collaborate with other SEA members in achieving commercial success in their roles.

With 20+ years’ experience leading education, community development and sports & leisure teams in the local authority sector,  Jo joined Gordonstoun in June 2023 to lead their developing Enterprises team and develop a strategic approach to the Enterprises business. With Gordonstoun’s nearly 50 years’ experience of running a successful summer school, and a number of other programmes, there is much to build on, and Jo is excited about exploring other opportunities to utilise Gordonstoun’s unique location and brand to increase commercial revenue.

Jo joins the committee as a co-opted member to represent the Scottish SEA and looks forward to representing our Scottish members and bringing a uniquely Scottish perspective to SEA committee discussions.

As the Operations and Commercial Director at Bishop’s Stortford College, Emma understands the critical intersection between business strategy and educational outcomes. Her experience in developing and executing innovative commercial strategies at the College has enabled her to foster sustainable revenue streams while supporting the College Strategy.  Moreover, Her collaborative leadership style has consistently facilitated productive partnerships between academic staff and commercial stakeholders. She firmly believe in the power of collaboration to leverage resources, expertise, and networks.

Emma is committed to leveraging her skills, experience, and passion for Enterprise to drive meaningful impact and contribute to the committee’s success.

Marie is a resourceful leader with 30 years’ experience working in Local Commercial Radio (on and off air!), Professional Sport and Education. Marie has been Business Development Manager for the Dean Close Foundation for 9 years and has been part of the SEA group since its inception.  The role has oversight of all commercial income through a number of business strands, across multiple schools.

Marie has experience in commercial management, business development, sponsorship, fundraising and charitable support for organisations, providing leadership, business planning, programme management and execution. In the 9 years at Dean Close , Marie has grown the commercial team, and Dean Close Services Ltd now delivers a number of its own Camps & Courses, (Easter Revision, Sports, Drama, Swim School) in addition to delivering year-round Lets,(Residential, Sports, Day Hire), managing the Foundation Retail business, Immersion programmes & a 566 seat Theatre with full commercial programme. In this time profits have grown significantly and are gift aided back into the Foundation.

Over the last 8 years at Harrow, Lauren has developed and grown the events and tours business. Hosting over 100 events per year, for clients such as NFL, 02, Credit Suisse, Netflix, Tatler and alike. Out Tours market has been the quickest to recover post the pandemic, so this has been wonderful to see. Her role also focuses time on the Schools outreach programmes which provides her with more exposure with the SMT at Harrow. Prior to her current role, Lauren worked in Event Management at the National Theatre and Tate Galleries, London. These iconic and world-famous brands helped shape and develop a career in hosting and planning events for private, corporate events for both domestic and international clients.

Having been apart of the SEA since its very inception, Harrow School was thrilled to be one of the very first Schools to join the membership. Lauren has seen the association grow enormously over the years and enjoys being apart of such an interactive and supportive group.

Caolan is the Commercial Manager at Mount Kelly, an independent school in Devon renowned for its world-class sporting facilities and strong community ethos. With a background in education, residential programmes, and commercial operations, Caolan brings a dynamic and forward-thinking approach to enterprise in schools.

At Mount Kelly, he oversees a broad portfolio including lettings, partnerships, and the development of new revenue streams – all while ensuring that commercial activity enhances the core mission of the school. He is particularly passionate about repositioning school enterprise as a vehicle for innovation, impact, and long-term sustainability.

Caolan has held leadership roles at summer schools in the UK and has delivered specialist immersion experiences for international students. In 2025, he presented at the SEA Conference on the topic of “Shifting Perceptions: how Mount Kelly moved beyond the swim legacy,” exploring the challenges and opportunities of rebranding a school with a high-performance sports reputation.

Driven by collaboration and community, Caolan joined the SEA Committee to support schools in building thoughtful commercial strategies that extends beyond school holidays.