Melanie Renowden
Interim CEO
Melanie has worked for nearly 25 years in education in the public and voluntary sectors. Before joining Ambition in 2011, she was Education Director at Business in the Community and Head of ‘Science Year’, a DfE STEM programme for schools. She is a former trustee of Teach First and is currently trustee of a primary multi academy trust.
Matt Hood
Chief Education Officer
Matt leads all programmes at Ambition Institute. He is a former teacher, school leader, government policy advisor and the founder and CEO at the Institute for Teaching. Matt is also a trustee at The Brilliant Club, a school governor and a member of the DfE’s expert advisory group for teacher recruitment and retention.
Steve Porter
Chief Operating Officer
Steve has spent the last seven years as COO in several charities all focused on serving young people from disadvantaged backgrounds. He is also a former PwC consultant, listed record-company CFO/COO and CEO of PRS for Music.
Ian Anderson
Interim Chief Partnerships Officer
Ian has worked in non-profits for over ten years, managing programmes to address disadvantage for children and communities in the UK, India and East Africa. Before joining Ambition in 2015 he worked for Ark and the Gatsby Foundation. He is a former strategy consultant and has been a school governor since 2007.
Anna Ambrose
Director of School Partnerships Operations
Mehrun Begum
Director of Technology
Karen Blackwell
Interim Director of HR
Sir David Carter
Executive Director of System Leadership
Rachel Cook
Director of Marketing & Communications
Marie Hamer
Executive Director of Learning Design and Teaching
Stephen Jones
Director of School Partnerships (South)
Raksha Pattni
Director of School Partnerships (North)
Jacqui Penalver
Director of Organisational Change
Tom Rees
Executive Director of School Leadership
Karen Rose
Executive Director of School Partnerships (National)
