Board Members
Dr Andrew Roberts – Chair of the Board
Andrew is Managing Director of Avoira Ltd, a locally based technology company, and a past pupil of the college (1976-78). As a former City & Guilds student, Andrew received a Highly Commended Certificate in May 2011 at a special ceremony at Buckingham Palace for outstanding contribution to Telecommunications from HRH The Duke of Edinburgh as part of the annual Prince Philip Medal awards. He received an Honorary Doctorate in Education from the University of Bolton in 2018 for his outstanding contribution to education, he has over 30 years’ experience of primary, college and university governance. Andrew is also a Governor of the University of Bolton and Vice Chair of QUEST a Multi Academy Trust which is part of the University of Bolton Group. In 2019 he became an Honorary Doctor of Science at Salford University.
He is also a Trustee of a Young Persons charity. Andrew loves to encourage and champion local businesses and is Chair of Bury Business Leaders Group and local Bury President of the Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce.
Andrew is the Chair of the Board, the Search and Governance Committee and the Resources Committee
Andrew Fawcett - Vice Chairman of the Board
Andrew is the Executive Director of the Greater Manchester Provider Network which represents the interests of over a hundred colleges and Skills Providers. Prior to this he held senior positions in the Skills Funding Agency and the Learning and Skills Council.
Andrew is committed to improving the skills and employment system in Greater Manchester and having worked alongside the College for several years, welcomes the opportunity to work as a Governor – something which he has done for the majority of his working life.
Andrew recognises the vital contribution which colleges make to both the lives of individuals in terms of the communities they serve, and to the employers they support. He feels that as a Governor he can support the College to make an even greater impact through support and challenge.
Andrew is the Vice Chair of the Board and Chair of the Audit Committee.
Link Governor: 16 – 19 Programmes / T-Levels
Bill Webster
Bill was appointed, as the permanent Principal of the College with effect from 13th February 2019, having acted as Interim Principal from 1st December 2017 to 12th February 2019.
Bill is a qualified marketer with over twenty five years’ senior management experience in the education and business sectors. Bill was previously the Assistant Vice Chancellor (Development) and Deputy to the Vice Chancellor at the University of Bolton. This role is a senior post holder appointment with responsibility for institutional advancement, business development and enterprise, student recruitment and student employability business. He was previously a Company Director of an education and training consultancy and Director of Community Partnership Solutions, a business focussed on developing corporate social responsibility strategies for industry. This included a consultancy role as CEO of the Backstage Academy Ltd, a private training provider in the live events industry.
Prior experience as the Deputy Principal at one of the largest FE Colleges in the country (annual turnover circa £40m) including an extended period as the Acting Principal and accounting officer.
Prior to this, he lived and worked for seven years in Hong Kong in a senior role in the higher vocational education sector. This followed extensive experience lecturing in Asia and the Middle East. Before leaving the UK he worked as a Principal Lecturer at Leeds Metropolitan University in the Department of Hospitality and Tourism and was seconded to the University’s newly-formed Business Development Centre.
He is a member of the Resources Committee, the Search and Governance Committee and the Standards and Performance Committee
Principal/Link Governor: Environment and Sustainability
Dr Sue Lomax
Sue was a student at Bolton College where she subsequently taught and led the implementation of NVQs across the College. She owned and ran her own business for 28 years. She was a senior manager at Bolton and Bury TEC with responsibility for youth and adult training. Moving to Manchester TEC, Sue implemented a standards and new quality monitoring procedure, which was aligned to the new Training Standards Council inspection framework. In 2001 Sue joined the Greater Manchester Learning and Skills Council as an area manager with responsibility for all post-16 activities and procurement.
Sue has extensive experience in Work Based Learning, Further Education, Schools, Regeneration and Economic Development, Apprenticeships, Area Inspections, Foundation Learning City Strategies, Local Authority Agreements and Sub Regional Governance.
Sue is the Chair of the Standards and Performance Committee.
Link Governor : Safeguarding / Apprenticeships
Kate Flood
Kate is the former Chief Commercial Officer for Hill Biscuits Ltd with commercial responsibility for a £24m premier biscuit manufacturer servicing retail, wholesale and the foodservice sectors.
Working with the College, Kate has established a keen interest in the development of young people and their preparedness for working life. She believes that she can bring a positive contribution to the College Board in helping shape the agendas and provide a pragmatic employers’ perspective on the strategic plans of the College.
Kate is a member of the Resources Committee and Remuneration Committee.
Link Governor: Health and Safety
Baroness Sayeeda Warsi
Baroness Warsi is a lawyer, businesswoman, author, commentator, campaigner, philanthropist and politician. Baroness Warsi has held many roles, however she is best known for being the first Muslim to serve in a British cabinet. Sayeeda has also been a long-term racial justice campaigner and was instrumental in the launch of Operation Black Vote, a not-for-profit national organisation that works towards greater racial justice and equality throughout the UK.
Link Governor : Equality, Diversity and Inclusivity
Gulnaz Brennan
Gulnaz is the Editor & Publisher of the ChaiTimes- a community Newspaper for Bolton and Founder of the Inspirational Women of Bolton Awards.
Gulnaz is an active member of the Bolton community and volunteers extensively and understands Governors are volunteers who make an invaluable contribution to the development of excellence in colleges.
“As a member of the governing board, I can be a small part of the mission and vision and help set goals in accordance to the local community needs. Becoming a governor has provided me with many opportunities to contribute to my local community and an excellent way of learning and developing much needed strategic leadership skills.”
Gulnaz is a member of the Audit Committee.
Link Governor : Early Years / Mental Health and Well-Being
Professor George E Holmes DL
When appointed to the post of Vice Chancellor and Chief Executive of the University in 2005, Professor Holmes became the youngest university head in the UK. He is now one of the longest serving Vice Chancellors in Britain, having been in post for over 16 years.
Prior to joining the University, the then Dr Holmes was Principal of Doncaster College where he established the Doncaster Education City Project, of which he became Chief Executive. In this post, he secured the largest capital grant in the history of the FE sector at the time and had responsibility for building a new £75m College on the Waterfront.
George was previously Deputy Vice Chancellor at the University of North London (now the London Metropolitan University). In 1996 he played a central role, within the Vice Chancellor's Office, in the founding of the Lincoln University Campus, opened by HM The Queen.
Latterly in 2015, Professor Holmes was appointed by Her Majesty's Lord Lieutenant of the County of Greater Manchester as one of his Deputy Lieutenants.
As well as being a member of the Board of Bolton College, George is Chair of the Advisory Panel at Regent College, London.
George is a member of the Resources Committee, Remuneration Committee and Search and Governance Committee.
Dr Gill Waugh
Gill is the current Dean of the Faculty of Professional Studies at the University of Bolton, and has extensive experience of working in both the Higher and Further Education sectors. She began her career at the University as a Senior Lecturer in Teacher Training with a specialism of training literacy teachers, before becoming Programme Manager and then Academic Manager in the School of Arts, Media and Education and later the Faculty of Well-Being and Social Science. Prior to joining the University, Gill worked for Bolton College, Bury College, the Training and Enterprise Council and Accrington and Rossendale College.
Gill has taught in Singapore and Russia and has delivered teacher training in China. She has worked as an adjudicator for Professional Recognition with Standards Verification UK and was involved nationally in the revisions of the Teacher Training Programme for Post Compulsory Education with the Learning and Skills Improvement Service through the 2007 and 2011 revisions.
Her qualifications include BA (Hons) in Language and Literacy, Certificate in Education, MEd in Managing the Curriculum, Literacy Subject Specialist Diploma, Postgraduate Diploma in Post Compulsory Education, Postgraduate Diploma (TESOL), MA Applied Linguistics (TESOL and Literacy), and a Doctor of Education. Gill is an experienced External Examiner and is the Chief External Examiner at the University of Ulster.
Gill is a member of the Standards and Performance Committee.
Link Governor: English and Maths / Adult and Community Learning
Dr Tony Unsworth
Tony Unsworth is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants and worked in the accountancy profession for over 11 years. He held senior financial positions in the engineering/manufacturing industry before moving into the Higher Education sector in 2001. Tony has worked at the University of Bolton for over 10 years and is currently the Assistant Vice Chancellor (Resources).
Tony is a member of the Resources Committee.
Link Governor: Finance
Deborah Bradburn
Deborah Bradburn is the Clerk to the Board and she supports and advises the Board in relation to its role, responsibilities and remit.
Deborah has over 10 years’ experience as a legal compliance advisor. She has a degree in Law and is a member of the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives.
Dr Chris Ball
Chris has over 30 years' experience in Further and Higher Education including 13 years as a College Principal. He led the successful transformation of a failing General Further Education College and a land based College in Leicestershire. Chris has also been a part-time Ofsted Inspector and received an honorary doctorate from the University of Bolton for outstanding services to Further Education.
Link Governor : High Needs / SEND
Dr Adrian Brooks
Adrian has over 40 years’ experience in the entertainment industry. Adrian is the Chairman and Managing Director of a number of innovative businesses across the entertainment sector. Dr Brooks founded Litestructures in 1990, LS-Live rehearsal studios on 2005 and Backstage Academy in 2009. Backstage Academy is an educational facility dedicated to behind-the-scenes support to the entertainment industry. Adrian has also received an honorary doctorate from the University of Bolton for his outstanding contribution to business and entertainment.
Sharon White
Starting her career as a nurse, Sharon worked in senior commissioning and system leadership roles before joining Bolton NHS Foundation Trust as Director of Strategy and Transformation.
Sharon enables the development and delivery of the Trusts Strategy and Transformation Plans and is responsible for the Trusts digital, communication and engagement function and for the Trusts charity.
Link Governor : Digital / Careers and Skills
Tom Martin
Tom is the curriculum leader of Foundation Studies and EDI Champion Leader at the College. He has worked in Further Education for over 10 years in a number of positions from lecturer, advanced practitioner, English co-ordinator and curriculum leader.
Tom has always believed that through education we can improve the quality of learner’s lives and that engaging and innovative teaching, learning and assessment can inspire learners to reach heights that they did not envisage.
Tom is a member of the Standards and Performance Committee.
Fardean Farooq
Fardean is undertaking a Level 2 ICT programme.
Fardean is a member of the Standards and Performance Committee.
Michael Walker - Student Governor
Michael is undertaking a Level 3 Forensic Science and Criminal Investigation study programme.
