Jeff is a retired educational publisher with 40 years’ experience and knowledge of UK and international education. He was formerly Managing Director of Longman Education, a leading publisher for schools and further education in the UK, and for many years served as Chair of the UK Educational Publishers Council. During his career he also managed publishing companies in Spain, Italy and France.  Advisory and consultancy roles have included the British Council, the International Baccalaureate Organisation, the Publishers Association, the Royal Society of Chemistry and the Council of Biologists. His commitment to the further education sector is demonstrated by his 6 years of service as a Governor of Harlow College, Essex.

Jeff lives in Morebath, a village north of Tiverton on the fringes of Exmoor, where he is Chair of the Parish Council. He is married with two grown up children and four grandchildren. His interests include golf, walking, gardening and photography.

Martin is a Chartered Accountant and partner in the local firm of Glover Stanbury. After graduating from University College of North Wales Bangor with a degree in Accountancy and Financial Management, Martin trained and qualified with an international firm of Chartered Accountants in the Midlands.

After marriage to Linda in 1984 he moved to North Devon, joining the Bideford office of Ernst & Whinney. Following the change to Ernst & Young, a management buyout of the North Devon offices and merger, the firm metamorphosed into Glover Stanbury where he is a Partner.  Based in Bideford, Martin’s non-client responsibilities include HR, training and Health and Safety.

The firm uses the College for staff training and Martin has previously lectured at the College and the College’s Business Development Centre. Martin’s daughter attended Petroc and is now working having graduated.  A Past President of Bideford Chamber of Commerce an active Rotarian and Past President of The Rotary Club of Bideford. Martin was also a Governor at St. George’s Infant School in Northam from 2000 to 2013.

Shaun is a former student of the College, having studied business studies and received a BTEC national award for completing his examinations whilst being in hospital recovering from an illness. The College and lecturers were extremely supportive during this time and, without their help Shaun does not think he would have continued with his studies and gone to University.  After University, Shaun returned back to North Devon to start a career at Bray Leino in 1993.

Shaun previously worked across the Bray Leino group in market research, digital learning and advertising for the past 20 years working for a range of clients in the corporate and family-owned sectors.

A native of Middlesex, Ro came to Devon in 1964.  She is married to a local farmer and they have three adult sons, one of whom attended the College’s Food and Fashion Department. Three grandchildren have also benefitted greatly from time spent at Petroc.

Ro was elected as a Parish and District Councillor in 1976, serving 15 years on the North Devon District Council and 27 years on the Fremington Parish Council.

She chaired a number of NHS organisations both locally, Devon wide and nationally for 26 years, between 1980 and 2006.

Ro’s other interests include being a member of the Westward Group  Board, Church activities (she is currently churchwarden of St. Mary’s Bideford), equine sports, choral singing and is an enthusiastic member and past President of the Rotary Club of Barnstaple.

David, a native of Northumberland, has recently moved to Devon following a professional life in Further Education.

David was Principal of a large Further Education College in Manchester before becoming Chief Executive of the Association of Colleges (AoC) in London.  AoC represented over 95% of all Further and Sixth Form Colleges in England and is responsible for promoting the work of Colleges with all political parties and funding bodies. Since retiring from AoC, David has run his own successful consultancy firm specialising in providing interim management of colleges who, following Ofsted inspection, need to improve.

David has spent 5 years as Chair of the Governing Body of the Co-operative College in Manchester.

David dreams of travelling the world and becoming a good golfer!

Diane joined Petroc in November 2011 as Vice Principal/Director for Finance and Funding and was appointed Principal in 2015.

Diane is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants (ICAEW). She started her career with Deloitte and has held senior finance roles in private sector engineering and service companies.

Diane has worked in the education sector since 1997, when she qualified as a teacher, with a PGCE in Mathematics. Diane has experience of teaching on a wide range of programmes including industry focused qualifications such as Accounting Technician (AAT), HND/C in Business and CIMA. Prior to joining Petroc, Diane was Finance Director at New College Swindon; she has also worked for two of the Government’s Further Education funding agencies.

Andrew is a former student of North Devon College, having studied A-Levels in the Maths and Science department. After leaving the College Andrew went on to obtain a BSc(Hons) degree in mathematics at Southampton University. Following graduation Andrew took up employment with KPMG Peat Marwick Mclintock and qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 1991.  

Following qualification Andrew joined a small regional firm of Chartered Accountants for a short while prior to joining Mole Valley Farmers Ltd in 1994 where he was employed for over 20 years as Group Finance Director/Company Secretary seeing the business grow from £60 million to over £420 million turnover with over 70 locations throughout the UK.

Andrew lives in Braunton. He is an active member of his local church and has in the past served on the North Devon committee of the Prince’s Trust. Other hobbies include gardening, playing the organ and motorsport.

Laura Mae has recently been appointed as a Student Governor and is the Student Sabbatical Officer at the college for 2016/2017.

Born in Buckinghamshire, Lindy moved to Bideford as a child, attending local schools. After leaving school, she joined TE Connectivity formally known as Tyco Electronics and AMP of Great Britain where she progressed, over a 20 year period, from shop floor to Plant Manager. 

A former student of the college, Lindy gained her qualifications whilst working full time. 

In 2013, Lindy joined Condition Monitoring Group (CMG) based in Torrington as Operations Manager. Through both TE Connectivity and CMG Lindy has a long relationship with the College with both firms using the College for Engineering Apprenticeships, Business and Leadership Development.

Lindy is an active member of the North Devon Manufacturers Association and is a local STEM Ambassador. Married with two boys aged 13 and 10 she enjoys supporting them in their chosen sports and volunteers as a race Commissaire with British Cycling. Other interests include a lifelong love of horsemanship and skiing holidays with the family.

Lee started his working life in the Royal Signals serving in both the UK and Germany before moving back to North Devon. He then worked in various employment such as Jewellery repairs and Beach Lifeguarding before completing a level 3 Music Technology Diploma at North Devon College and a BA (Hons) Degree in Music Production at Leeds College of Music. He then went on to work as a sound engineer before becoming a Lecturer at the college and has now been employed at Petroc for the past 10 years.

His current role sees him teaching Music Technology and Performance related subjects between Level 2 and Level 6 as well as being involved as a school liaison with all the feeder schools' Music Departments. He has a strong passion for music and has been an active musician playing in various bands throughout his adult life and enjoys seeing student’s progress through the college and into the working world of which some have now become successful musicians, technicians and music managers. He has also enjoyed watching the progression of the Factory from its humble beginnings to become an 800 capacity venue, which is not only one of the biggest working venues in the South West giving students a unique working experience, it is also a facility where young people in a remote area can access and learn all about the industry they want to progress in without having to move to a City.

Lee’s interests include producing music, playing gigs, surfing and surf life saving and he maintains his Beach lifeguard qualification so he can help out with coaching on surf ski’s whenever possible. He currently lives in Barnstaple is married and has three boys that will soon be applying for courses at Petroc.

Kevin moved to Devon from the South East in 1986 to work with Mid Devon District Council. A Cockney by birth, the move to the West Country was the 7^th council Kevin had worked for. During 30 years with Mid Devon Kevin carried out a number of different organisational and management roles, culminating with 5 years as Chief Executive.

Other roles and interests include trustee and treasurer for Devon Communities Together, Tiverton Rotary Club, travelling and walking. Kevin is married with 6 grown up children and one grandchild.

Dr Ruth Williams moved to the South West in 1973 to study for a degree in Chemistry at Exeter University. She went on to gain a doctorate in chemistry from Exeter and was then employed  first as a researcher and academic in Chemistry, moving into Adult Education in the 1988 where she led the development of Exeter University Access to Higher Education courses in Science and Technology, in partnership with the Further Education sector including Exeter, Cornwall and Weymouth Colleges. In 1991, she joined the academic staff of the Open University to manage the delivery of their science programme in the South West region (some 2000 students and 100 tutors) and to contribute to the production of new modules in chemistry and analytical sciences.  She continued active research in collaboration with Exeter University until the closure of their Chemistry department in 2005.

More recently, as Programme Director for Analytical Sciences, she was responsible for the development of work based learning modules in analytical sciences, involving employers including South West Water in the design of these modules. She is a Fellow of both the Higher Education Academy, and the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC). Ruth has served as an external examiner for Plymouth University (BSc Chemistry) and Staffordshire University (BSc Forensic Science), and was a governor on the Board of Somerset College until the College’s recent merger with Bridgwater College.

Amy is a student on the Level 3 Health and Social Care programme at our Mid Devon Campus.

Prior to joining Petroc in 2016, Bettina was the Clerk of the Corporation at Somerset College for 18 years until Somerset College’s merger with Bridgwater College. Before that Bettina worked in the University/HE Sector in a variety of Registry based management roles, including student administration (enrolments and exams), Awards Ceremony organisation, degree programme validations and research administration. 

In November 2014, Bettina was elected as the South West Representative for FE College Clerks on the National Clerks Network Committee, and is also an Association of Colleges Mentor for newly appointed Clerks in the Sector. 

Bettina is an avid live music lover and is Trustee and Vice Chair of Stogumber Festival, a small annual three day music and arts festival in the West Somerset village where she lives. Other interests include travelling, visiting historical buildings and nature sites and going to the theatre.

Stuart is the Chief Executive of Applegate, an online procurement business with offices in Barnstaple and Plymouth. Applegate runs a business and management degree apprenticeship programme and an annual business academy in conjunction with Petroc. Stuart is also Patron of the Pilton House Trust and a Director of the Heart of the South West Local Enterprise Partnership and he has sat on 12 boards over the years. He is passionate about degree apprenticeships and has also studied theology, worked in banking and has travelled to many exotic corners of the world.

Iain lives in Braunton, is married to Merry and they have two sons. He currently leads the Strategy and Performance Team at North Devon Homes, and before that he worked for the University of Exeter and the National Foundation for Educational Research. He is a passionate believer in the transformative power of education and is keen to continue to contribute to education in the place he lives. Iain is also a musician who has released a couple of albums, and gigs regularly in a band. He enjoys surfing and cycling and is also a member of Croyde Baptist Church.

Jenny was born in North Devon and studied A-levels and Business Studies at North Devon College (now Petroc). After a brief spell in the private sector, she joined North Devon Council and then moved onto Torridge District Council where she qualified as an accountant. She is now Head of Paid Service, known elsewhere as Chief Executive. Jenny is keen to provide young people of the area with the same opportunity she has had to live and work in North Devon.

David has spent most of his life working in media, starting with selling advertising space and ending up running commercial operations across Asia Pacific for the Economist Group. He studied German and Law at Edinburgh University and used that grounding to move into business – this is why he is passionate about education. David co-founded The Kaleidoscope Trust – a charity which lobbies for LGBT rights – and is a trustee of North Devon Sunrise and sits on Fremington Parish Council. In his spare time he loves walking his dog, Archie, on the beach.