PRESS RELEASE : Partnerships for Schools Board member appointments extended until closure [January 2012]

The press release issued by the Department for Education on 23 January 2012.

Education Secretary Michael Gove has extended the appointments for three Board Members of the Government’s delivery agency, Partnerships for Schools (PfS).

Richard Baldwin, Stella Earnshaw and Brian Rigby will serve on the Board from now until PfS closes and becomes part of the new Government Executive Agency – the Education Funding Agency. They will serve until 31st July 2012 to allow for liquidation to take place. Erica Pienaar will remain as the fourth Board Member, for the same period of time.

Richard Baldwin has also taken over from Mike Grabiner as Chair of the Board of Directors this month.

Richard Baldwin was first appointed as a PfS Board member in January 2005, and was reappointed in January 2008 for a further three years. Richard has a strong background in the private sector including the construction industry. He was previously a non-voting member of the BSFI Investment Committee. More recently, Richard chairs a national Centre for Innovation in Health and Social Care and is a Visiting Professor to the Centre for Research and Innovation (Construction and Property Management) at the University of Salford.

Stella Earnshaw is the Chair of the PfS Audit Committee. Stella was originally appointed to the PfS Board in 2005, and her appointment has now been extended three times. Stella has held various board positions in the public and private sector, Stella is also Vice Chair of the West Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust.

Brian Rigby was first appointed to the PfS Board in 2005. His appointment has been extended three times. Brian is a Visiting Fellow of Warwick Business School. He has previously been the Director of the Procurement Group for HM Treasury and enjoyed a long career in senior management with BT.

Erica Pienaar was first appointed to the PfS Board in 2010, to serve until 2013. Erica’s term of office will now run until PfS is liquidated. Erica Pienaar is the executive head teacher of the Leathersellers’ Federation of Schools. She began her career as a science teacher in 1973 and has taught for 36 years in South East London. Erica is also a National Leader of Education (NLE), a Non-Executive Director at James Allen’s Girls School, and a Freeman of the Company of Educators.