National Awarding Organisation, NCFE, has strengthened its strategic management team with the appointments of a Managing Director and a Commercial and Finance Director for its Awarding Organisation.
Esme Winch has been appointed as Managing Director and will take up her post in January 2016. This is following three years as Principal and Chief Executive of Loughborough College, during which she led on the formation and implementation of a£30m modernisation and strategic development plan which led to significant growth and success for the College.
Prior to this, Esme was Group Director of NCG, and her 35-year career has also included a management buyout of Paperchase and senior roles at high profile companies such as Timberland, Laura Ashley and Polo Ralph Lauren’s Parisian office.
In her role as Managing Director – a new post that has been created due to the ongoing growth of the organisation – Esme will oversee day-to-day operations in awarding, working closely with NCFE’s Chief Executive David Grailey.
Esme Winch commented: “I am delighted to be joining NCFE at a time of such rapid change and development in the education sector and for Awarding Organisations. NCFE’s well-recognised strengths underpin an ambitious and confident outlook on the future. I am eagerly looking forward to contributing to its further growth and evolution.”
Also joining NCFE is Phil Murray, a chartered accountant who brings more than 20 years of experience to the role of Commercial and Finance Director.
Phil starts his new role following a four-year period at manufacturing company Romag Ltd, where he held the position of Deputy Chief Executive Officer and led the business’s acquisition. Previous senior roles he has held across the North East have included Group Finance Director at Gentoo Group and UK Financial Controller at both Blacks Leisure Group and Formica Corporation.
As Commercial and Finance Director, Phil will play a key part in the organisation’s ongoing growth and diversification and will be responsible for the corporate services directorate at NCFE.
Phil Murray said: “I’m pleased to be working with an award-winning organisation that has such a strong reputation nationally for awarding and customer service. I was keen to join NCFE as I recognised it was an organisation that was looking to grow, and that although there are of course challenges within the FE sector, there are also opportunities for consolidation.
“The recent acquisition of specialist Awarding Organisation CACHE is a major milestone in NCFE achieving its ambitions. I’m looking forward to helping NCFE to grow and develop further in the coming years, and to being part of this forward-thinking organisation’s exciting vision for the future.”
David Grailey, Chief Executive of NCFE, said: “Esme and Phil are joining the organisation at a very important and interesting time for us. We have just acquired CACHE, which will allow us to expand the depth and breadth of our portfolio to meet demand from centres and learners, and our new directors’ extensive experience will be crucial as we move forward with this as well as other developments and projects we have in the pipeline.
“We’re thrilled to welcome Esme and Phil to NCFE and are confident that they will play a significant role in our ambitious short-term and long-term plans for growth, helping our strategic management team to drive NCFE forward.”
For more information, visit www.ncfe.org.uk or call 0191 239 8000.