A director of an insurance giant and the former chief executive of an awarding body have joined the board of governors at Suffolk New College.
Richard Brame, who heads the WTW (formerly Willis Towers Watson) Bill to Cash function and Chairs the WTW Ipswich Management Group, and Carol Snape who was the chief executive of Gateway Qualifications, both have connections to the college.
Mr Brame, from Ipswich, studied an accountancy programme (at Suffolk New College) 41 years ago.
And Carol – who lives in Langham in Essex, studied an HNC course at the educational establishment that now has four campuses based across the county of Suffolk.
The duo have joined a strong organisation whose chair of governors is the Ipswich icon Terry Baxter, who has been an integral part of the town’s business community for over 30 years.
(Other governors include the director of Jimmy’s Farm and former student, Stevie Shepherd, head of people and skills at Sizewell C, Sarah Hancock, and the CEO of Dance East, Brendan Keaney OBE).
Richard initially joined for six months but hopes his involvement as a governor will continue beyond that. He said: “I will sit on the main board, on the academic standards group – and I’m a link governor for English and maths. I’m Suffolk born and bred, I have two grown-up children, and the county is hugely important to my family and I. In my job, I work closely with young professionals, and it’s humbling seeing some of those guys at the beginning of their careers. I’ve wanted to engage more with local schools and colleges for some time, and it’s a really good leadership team at the college. They have been really engaging, and when they approached me, I didn’t hesitate in saying yes.”
Richard – who is also Chair of the Suffolk Chamber of Commerce People and Skills Group, sits on the board of Ipswich Central, is a Suffolk Business Ambassador and is on the board of FIPS (Financial Insurance and Professional Services Group), is excited by his new role. He continued: “My connection with the college goes way back, and when I see some of the things that it is trying to do, it is inspiring – and if I can support them in any way then I will.
Richard said if he could study anything at the college,e it would be either music or performing arts and his message to other businesses and business leaders is to support your local college.
He added: “we all need to work with our local college as we are supporting our local economy. We need to create jobs for people and we need people to have the right skills sets to move into those jobs. Invest and connect with local schools and colleges and create your own pipeline is what I want to say. Create your own future recruits – I think that is a message to us all.”
Carol Snape was born in Ipswich and after completing her HNC at Suffolk New College in her forties, she went on to study on an MBA in business at the University of Essex.
Carol said: “I feel honoured to be able to contribute to the future of the college. Education is crucial, and every step of my career has been aligned to education. It (education) gave me the kickstart to a career leap that saw me become chief executive of Gateway Qualifications. During my decade with them in this senior post, we were able to increase our turnover by £5m.”
Carol – who had her own business for ten years, worked for Essex County Council, City University, and The University of Essex continued: “I’m passionate about learning – personally it’s changed my life. If I hadn’t come back to college (later in life) I wouldn’t have gone on to do what I did. I’m also passionate about giving opportunities to disadvantaged people who have not had life opportunities.”
So how did this opportunity come about?
Carol said: “After retiring, Alan (principal and CEO of the college) suggested that I should get involved. I looked more closely at the opportunity of becoming a governor and it really aligns with what I am passionate about. So here I am. I want to contribute to giving people opportunities in the same way I had. I have a real connection with the college and Alan and the team are amazing. You can feel the positivity every time you come here.”
In terms of what she wants to bring to the college. Carol said: “I want to bring experience, common sense, and I will be making sure the college continues on the fantastic trajectory that it is on. I’m looking forward to the opportunity.”
And in terms of a message to others in terms of why they should work with their local college, Carol – who likes gardening, travel and spending more time with family and friends in her spare time – added: “Suffolk New College is your local college so my message to others is that the college is the hub of the community – so come and have a look and see what goes on here – it’s amazing.”
Terry Baxter, who became chair of governors in July 2024, said of these new appointments: “We are incredibly grateful for the time, effort and commitment that all of our governors give us. They lend their expertise to us for free and work tirelessly in order to support the outstanding work and development of Suffolk New College. We already have an incredible amount of talent in terms of our board of governors, and the skills and experiences of Richard and Carol will further strengthen our future ambitions.”