Board Members

Rabbi Gideon Schulman

Chair of the Board of Governors and Chair of the Governance Committee

Gideon is Managing Director of a Home Care agency, restauranteur and COO of a Corporate Services Company delivering accountancy, HR, financial and payroll solutions. Gideon brings to the board expertise gained as an International HR Director and has decades of experience of managing companies and leading teams. Gideon is passionate about using his skills, knowledge and energy to support community organisations. In addition to his role at Stanmore College he is a Trustee of Canine Partners and acts in an advisory capacity for Langdon. He has also served as a trustee for the MS Society and Shift MS, and disability and HR advisory boards for Jewish Care. Gideon has Rabbinic ordination, holds an MA in HR and is a Fellow of the CIPD, CMI and FInstLM.

Sundeep Bhandari

Vice Chair of the Board of Governors and Chair of the Audit Committee

Sundeep, is currently an Independent Non-Executive Director with Ghana International, PNB International and British Arab Commercial Bank, Chairing the Board Risk Committee, Board Risk. He is a Trustee with the charity, 15 billion-EBP, which delivers work and career related programmes with schools, employers for young people. Sundeep actively engages as a mentor to the CEO of Maanch, an impact-platform for philanthropy, supporting investments towards achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

He previously enjoyed both a domestic and international career in Financial Services with Standard Chartered Bank and Barclays, working in London, Singapore, Mumbai, Hong Kong and Dubai. Formerly, Managing Director, Co-Head of Wholesale Banking and Global Markets Head, South Asia, and Northeast Asia respectively, Global Head of Internal Audit and prior to that he was the Group Chief Credit Officer based in Singapore and London. He supports community engagement programs and was formerly a guest speaker with HKUST MBA on Ethics & Management Dilemmas.

Born in N. Ireland, married with two children, graduated from the University of Ulster, holds an MBA from City University London.

Annette Cast

Principal and ex-officio governor 

Annette Cast joined Stanmore College as Principal on 1st August 2022. Annette was formerly Principal at Lewisham Southwark College and previously Pro Vice-Chancellor and Dean of the College of Professional Services and Student Experience. With a wealth of experience in further and higher education and a track record of driving innovation and success, Annette will be focused on providing the best possible educational offer for Harrow residents.

Kate Parsley

Chair of Curriculum & Quality Committee and Safeguarding Link Governor

Kate is a public health manager with almost 20 years’ experience, having worked in 16 boroughs of London, in local authority, NHS and voluntary sector roles. She has also supported orphans and vulnerable children in Zimbabwe and worked in HIV prevention and food security with the UN in Uganda. Kate currently leads the healthcare public health team in 2 London boroughs, covering diabetes, NHS Health Checks, Primary Care services, older people and quality assurance. She is the Tenant Representative on the Board of Ekaya Housing Association, is a Trustee for Advance, a charity focussed on supporting women and children affected by domestic abuse and in the criminal justice system. Kate was formerly a trustee for the Young Women’s Hub, as it transitioned from a youth service to an alternative education provider. Kate has a passion for young people’s and women’s rights.

Paul Goodman 

Chair of Resources Committee

A chartered accountant in the creative entertainment and events industry, with a strong background in commercial finance.

Carlton Downie

Governor

Carlton is a Systems Analyst with a subsidiary of Accenture. He previously worked with the college for 4 years, and takes great pride in the positive impact his work has on the operations of the organisation and the experience of our students. In his spare time he likes to tinker with cars, computers, and personal software projects.

Ying Kay

Governor

Chief Finance Officer of an American University based in London. With significant financial and accounting qualifications complimented by an MBA in Higher Education Management

Kevin Moir

Governor

Head of Strategic Portfolio & Projects with a Local Authority,  with a career profile that has spanned public and private sectors, delivering, multi-year, multi million pound portfolio, programmes and projects across B2B, B2C, Logistics, pharmaceutical, defence, telecoms, Higher & Further Education, technology, consulting and corporate sectors.

Samantha Pickett

Governor

An internal communication professional in the legal sector, with previous business partnering and senior advisory experience in financial services and higher education. 

Mike Bluestone

Governor

Mike is Director of Security Consulting with Corps Security. He has worked at a senior level in private security for 25 years and is widely recognised for his expertise in, and contribution to security management, investigations and training. He is a regular guest broadcaster on BBC, frequently speaks at seminars and conferences and has had over forty articles published on corporate security and related topics. Mike has held senior positions in most of the leading industry bodies and is a former Chairman of the Security Institute. 

Hannah Butland

Governor

Hannah is a Deputy Head at a large independent school. She has 15 years experience as a teacher during which she specialised in A Level teaching. As a senior leader she now has responsibility for teaching and learning, staff development and the use of technology in the classroom. She is a passionate advocate for education, having been the first person from her state school to attend the University of Oxford. She wants every young person to have access to the transformative benefits of a high quality, inspirational education and has a particular interest in community education. Hannah has previously sat on the board of two state primary schools and has a Master's degree in Education. 

Julian Davies

Governor

A proven leader in UK and international Professional and Higher Education with a record of successful academic and commercial client delivery. 

Ramin Hashemian

Academic Staff Governor

Ramin has worked at Stanmore College for a number of years and is a highly qualified teacher of English as a second language, (Cambridge CELTA; Cambridge DELTA; and an MA in Teaching English as a Second Language). He greatly enjoys facilitating learners’ acquisition of English as a second language incorporating cultural awareness. He is passionate about enriching students’ learning and the delivery of high-quality curriculums. As a very experienced IELTS lecturer, he has been successful in incorporating a new IELTS course in Stanmore College’s provision. He previously worked in the Film and TV industry after graduating from one of the UK’s top film schools. He produced his own independent drama and later produced a daily hour-long, English language, chat show in Dubai. In his spare time, Ramin is a keen photographer.

Zaid Gandhi

Support Staff Governor

Zaid is a qualified Software Engineer with a solid foundation in Systems and Data Engineering and has been a dedicated professional at the college for several years now. Throughout his tenure, he has led impactful projects in the domain of data analytics engineering and systems development, showcasing his commitment to driving positive transformation within the organization.

Zaid's enthusiasm for data and software development is evident, coupled with his visionary approach aimed at revolutionizing and assisting the organization through technology and data-driven strategic decision-making. He also shares an interest in the FinTech space. Beyond the professional sphere, he actively engages in sports activities and remains abreast of advanced technological trends.

Councillor Simon Radford

Co-Opted Governor

Cllr Simon Radford is a Councillor for East Barnet. Brought up in North London, Simon attended Peterhouse, Cambridge University, was awarded a scholarship to study for his Masters in Public Affairs at Brown University and was a Provost’s Fellow at the University of Southern California (USC) in Political Science and International Relations, where he completed his PhD. At USC he was awarded an Outstanding Teaching Award and published articles on both political science and also pedagogy. His research has been covered in the press, and he has also written extensively for The Observer, the New Statesman, Commonweal, and others. He has also written on economic and investment matters as part of his professional career, where he has worked as both an investment consultant- as a specialist in venture capital- and as a management consultant, where he has advised executives in the both the public and private sectors on issues around innovation and strategy. He is also active in his community: apart from his role as a Governor at Stanmore College, Simon has also served as a volunteer for both the Access Project and the Social Mobility Foundation, and has also been involved in local campaigns in both the UK and US. He lives with his wife and son in Barnet and is a proud season ticket holder at Brentford FC.

Dr Arthur Terrence David Butland OBE

Ambassador

Dr Arthur Terrence David Butland OBE, known as Dr Terry Butland, is a physicist, who has worked at very senior levels in the British nuclear industry, and in British higher education, becoming Deputy Vice Chancellor and Deputy Chief Executive of Middlesex University. He has a BA (Honours) Natural Sciences (physics) degree from Cambridge University and a PhD from Bath University. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Physics, a Chartered Physicist and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and Commerce, and has an honorary degree from Middlesex University. He was awarded an OBE by the Queen in the 2012 New Year Honours List for his services to higher education.

Councillor Jean Lammiman

Ambassador

Councillor Jean Lammiman was elected local Councillor for the Hatch End ward of the London Borough of Harrow in 1994, and was elected as Mayor of Harrow in May 2007. Her focus for her mayoralty was the community and in particular young people; she chose Teenage Cancer Trust as her charity. Over £50,000 was raised and 700 engagements undertaken. She continued this work as Cabinet Portfolio holder for Community and Culture on Harrow Council. Jean sits on a number of trusts/ governing bodies including RELATE London NW & Herts, Stanmore College, Harrow Association for Disabled People, Middlesex Guildhall Art Collection, Harrow Holocaust Memorial Day, and London New Year’s Day Parade. She is also proud to be Chairman of Governors of Shaftesbury High School for children with special needs which was awarded an ‘Outstanding’’ report by OFSTED. Jean combines her role in public life with work as an HR practitioner, academic researcher, author and business consultant.

Viresh Paul

Ambassador

Immediate Past President, London Society of Chartered Accountants at ICAEW, and local business owner of a growth focussed accountancy practice.