Corporate

Debi Donnarumma

Debi is the Principal and Deputy CEO of Coventry College.

Debi has worked in Further Education for 20 years. Having started as a teacher of sport, she has held various roles in several colleges including Leicester College, Henley College Coventry and Loughborough College, becoming a Vice Principal in 2010.

Sue Noyes

Sue is an enthusiastic and experienced Board member and qualified Coach, having had a variety of roles in the NHS, the private sector and as a Trustee in charities.

Sue now holds a number of roles – she is a qualified Coach, with her own business focussed on career and executive coaching. She is also Chair of the National Ambulance Staff Charity based in Coventry. Sue is currently a Non-Executive Director at Birmingham Women’s and Children’s NHS Trust too, where she Chairs the Finance and Resources Committee.

She recently held the role of Chief Executive of the East Midlands Ambulance Service for two and a half years, where she drove a major organisational improvement programme, with a major focus on improving staff wellbeing. A Chartered Accountant by background, she was also a Finance Director for over ten years in a number of different NHS organisations.  Including a number of mergers and reorganisations.

Peter Matthews

Peter is retired, having had a long career in Coventry and Warwickshire in production engineering. His background is in engineering, senior management and strategic planning. He is our Chair of the Audit Committee and our health and safety link governor. Peter was on Henley College’s Corporation and the City College/Henley College Shadow Board ahead of merger.

Tony Minhas

Tony is Managing Director at Foleshill Metal Finishing, an established manufacturing company in Coventry. He is also a magistrate for Coventry and Warwickshire Magistrates’ Court. Tony chairs our Resources’ Committee, and was on Henley College’s Corporation and City College/Henley College Shadow Board ahead of merger.

Anne Brennan

Anne is the 14-19 curriculum adviser for Coventry City Council. She has long-standing experience in education provision in Coventry. Anne chairs our Standard’s Committee, a role she also fulfilled as governor at Henley College Coventry before merger.

George Trow

Experienced chief executive who worked in colleges for over thirty years.George has been a Principal in two large colleges. Trained originally as a chef then became a lecturer and senior manager. Passionate about how colleges can transform lives and create opportunities. Enjoys travelling and good food.

Rebecca Keeves

Rebecca is a barrister practising in Birmingham. Originally from a village in Cambridgeshire, Rebecca moved to Coventry in 2005 to attend university where she completed a BA(Hons) in History and Psychology. Rebecca thereafter attended the College of Law (now the University of Law) and completed the Graduate Diploma in Law and the Bar Vocational Course whilst working at a local financial institution. After being called to the Bar in 2010, Rebecca has held a number of positions in the law, both self-employed and employed, and completed an LL.M in Legal Professional Practice (specialising in Commercial Law) and an MSc in Law, Business and Finance together with the Legal Practice Course and Higher Rights of Audience in both civil and criminal law. Rebecca was the first generation in her family to attend university and has faced various challenges along the way that resulted in her taking an unusual route to the bar, seeing her qualify as a Fellow of CILEx and a solicitor as well as a barrister. As well as her day-to-day work, Rebecca is involved with various universities and schools to assist with mentoring students and providing advice to anyone who is considering a career in the law.
In addition to her work, Rebecca enjoys participating in amateur dramatics and is the current chairperson of her main group. She also, albeit very much in private, loves to play the piano and the ukulele.

Diane Crookes

I was born and raised in Coventry, not far from the City site. I live in Coventry and have three children and three grandsons.
I have worked at Coventry College (previously City College) since 2005. For most of that period, I have delivered functional skills English, mathematics and ICT as part of vocational apprenticeships. At present I am delivering functional mathematics to full time students. This has given me the opportunity to engage with staff and students from most of the schools across the college.
For the 10 years previous to being employed by the college, I worked with the Retail Motor Industry (ReMIT), co-ordinating apprenticeships within the motor trade across the West Midlands. Some of this involved dealing with the college from a ‘customer’ point of view, as many apprenticeships were sent by ReMIT to City College for their off the job training.
My first career was as a police officer in the West Midlands Police Force and I served the whole time in Coventry, both at Stoney Stanton Road and Little Park Street stations.
I have always given 100% when helping students achieve their goals and believe that this also reflects the efforts of the great majority of existing teaching staff at the college. I believe close links between teaching staff, governors and management are not only desirable but are absolute necessities where the future of the college is concerned.
I am delighted to able to get involved in the development of any future college strategies which establish not only a growth in student numbers and popularity, but also confirms Coventry College’s reputation as a deliverer of quality education within the sector.

Anthony Gribben-Lisle

Anthony is an independent consultant and interim senior manager working in the Education and Skills Sector. He has over 20 years of experience in leadership and management in Further Education, and specialises in strategic planning, information management and the use of digital technologies. Anthony is a member of the Finance and Resources Committee.

Jemma McKenzie

With over 25 years’ experience in HR, Jemma joined SSP Limited in March 2017 and is responsible for global human resources. Jemma previously worked for the Royal Institution for Chartered Surveyors as Head of HR for six years, where she was key in leading change to support the organisation in becoming one of the Sunday Times 100 Best Companies to Work For. In her early career, Jemma worked with Domestic & General Insurance to set up a 24/7 contact centre service for its Domestic Appliance insurance product and spent 10 years with TUI Travel (Lunn Poly, Thomson Holidays, First Choice), leading the HR support for its retail outlets and contact centres.

Henry Seaton

Henry has worked in the Education & Training arena in the Midlands for forty years, and is currently Head of Education & Employability and member of the senior management team at the English Football League Trust. Previously, Henry spent nine years with government agencies, first the Learning & Skills Council, as its Director of Learning in the Black Country, and then with the Skills Funding Agency as its lead for the £400m West Midlands ESF Skills programme, and for Quality & Intervention, serving on national ESF, 14-19, NEET, and Quality groups. Before joining the LSC, Henry spent twenty-five years teaching and managing in further education colleges with roles including deputy principal, director of quality & standards, higher education manager, and A Level manager, and taught English to a wide range of students, foundation through to post grad. Henry trained as an Adult Learning/OfSTED inspector.