Our Trustees

National governance of our trust lies with the Trust Board, a group of professional volunteers who provide support and challenge to Anthem’s Executive Team.

Our Trustees are responsible to the government for the performance of all our schools. They ensure our clarity of vision and strategic direction; hold each school to account for its educational performance; and make sure our money is well spent.

To find out more about becoming a Trustee at Anthem, visit the Join our governance community page.

Anthem's Board of Trustees

Chair of Trustees Jay Bhutani has a background in institutional fund management for over 15 years, most recently as Managing Director of the Wellington Management Company. Now retired, Jay has a strong interest in education and brings considerable analytical skills and experience in working with private sector boards, auditors and regulators around the globe to our Board.

Dr Martin Coles is an experienced Board Trustee with a successful career history of working in education leadership, including roles at the National College for School Leadership (NCSL) and The British School in the Netherlands. A skilled business development professional with a doctorate from The University of Nottingham, Martin has also published 19 books and over 50 articles on literacy, school leadership and school improvement, most recently How to Have Happy Children (2019), RedDoor Publishing.

Sonal Desai is a passionate and experienced leader in Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). With over 18 years in education and experience working in local authorities, she is committed to fostering inclusive practices that ensure the best outcomes for SEND students. Sonal has joined us as the board's Inclusion Champion, to provide strategic oversight of our work in this important area - collaborating with the Board and Executive Team to monitor SEND provision, challenge policies, and support school visits.

Bridget Harrison Currently Director of Education at ACT multi-academy trust, Bridget started out as a teaching assistant and has since worked as a SENDCo, deputy head, and headteacher across schools in Suffolk and Cambridgeshire. Previously an HMI, Bridget has conducted inspections and contributed to national work on school improvement. She is passionate about inclusive, high-quality education and is particularly focused on leadership development and raising outcomes for all students.

Troels Henriksen has a strong background as a Chief Financial Officer in private equity-backed and corporate entities and Chartered Accountancy. He is highly dedicated to his charity work, which includes volunteering with The Newman Holiday Trust - a charity that each year provides holidays for over 120 children and young people with complex behaviours and special needs.

Mark Kamlow is currently Senior Lawyer (Legal Policy) for the Solicitors Regulation Authority, providing strategic legal advice on a wide range of governance, compliance and corporate/commercial issues. Before this, Mark was a lead social care solicitor at Leicester City Council, working with an expert team providing legal advice to social workers on adult and child social care, mental capacity and mental health matters. He brings a wealth of experience in the areas of safeguarding and child protection to our Board.