Governors

Sir Mark Harford was appointed Chair of the Board of Governors in 2023. He lives close to the School and his three children were all Cheam pupils between 2011 and 2017, as were both his grandfather and great-grandfather many years earlier. Mark was appointed to the Board in 2019 and prior to his becoming its Chair he chaired the Finance Committee for four years.

In 2019 Mark retired from a 35-year career in business and finance the majority of which was in private equity, initially at Bridgepoint and then at Vitruvian Partners where he was one of the five Founding Partners. His commitments now include a range of private investment, board and charity activities including Cheam and the sport-for-good charity Chance to Shine, where he also serves as a trustee.

Nick joined the board in 2016.  He has degrees from Imperial College and Cambridge University and teaches Mathematics at Eton College. He is a House Master at Eton and has particular interests in partnerships and outreach, along with boarding, academic technology, pedagogy and research.

Peter Allen lives locally to Cheam and is a chartered accountant with three grown up children. He has held a series of executive and non-executive roles in industry and in particular in the life-science sector.  He was also a governor of St Mary’s Calne for a period of ten years.

Heyrick Bond Gunning is the CEO of S-RM, a global intelligence and cyber consultancy. Before S-RM, he was a Managing Director at Kroll – prior to which he consulted for DHL in Iraq in 2003 and 2004, following the end of the Iraq War. From 2000 to 2003, Heyrick was the Head of Client Engagement for Mergermarket (Acuris). He started his career with 5 years in the British Army. Heyrick is a Cheam old boy, has a BA in Geography and Archaeology from the University of Manchester, is an INSEAD alumni and the author of his one and only book, Baghdad Business School.

James Dahl is Master of Wellington College. He grew up in the North-East before reading Classics at Jesus College, Cambridge where he also represented the university in both cricket and rugby. He commenced his teaching career at Brighton College under Anthony Seldon and then moved to Repton to serve seven years as a housemaster. He joined Wellington in 2013, initially as Director of Admissions & Marketing and then Deputy Head Pastoral before being appointed the College’s 15th Master in 2019. James has a passion for holistic models of education and the transformative power of coeducation and boarding.

Claire Hamilton-Russell is a solicitor and partner at CH-R Family Solicitors, a specialist family law firm that she established in 2013. Claire started her career as a lawyer at City firm Travers Smith Braithwaite before moving to Farrer & Co where she became a Partner in the family team in 1998.

Claire has a daughter and a son both of whom attended Cheam. Claire joined the Governing Board in 2023.

Rob Harris is a former Cheam parent whose three children were pupils between 2006 and 2019. He was appointed as a governor in early 2023 and now chairs the Teaching & Learning Committee. Rob has had a 30-year career in the asset management industry, holding various board, investment and business roles. Previously CEO and Co-Founder of Majedie Asset Management, he is now CEO of Evenlode Investment.

Stuart Miners is a parent of four Cheam pupils, former and present.  He joined the board in 2019 and is a member of the Finance and Marketing, Development and Admission committees. Stuart started his career with Ernst & Young before moving into private equity investing with Bank of America and 3i Group plc.  He is currently owner and executive Chairman of a global chemical logistics and trading company and a non-executive director of Foster + Partners, the world-renowned architectural studio.

Louise Moelwyn-Hughes is the Master of Marlborough College and Cheam’s Governor with responsibility for Safeguarding. She read Classics at Magdalene College, Cambridge. Her first teaching post was at Marlborough College where she taught Classics and Arabic. She went on to become the Senior Deputy Head of The Perse School, Cambridge and then Head of St Edmund’s School, Canterbury before returning to Marlborough as Master in 2018.

Tara Reeve is Director of Admissions at Downe House and was formerly a Housemistress. She brings knowledge of the Prep School sector through a previous role as Prep School Liaison. Tara is also a keen linguist, having taught Russian for many years and having graduated with a First in Russian Lang. and Lit. from Edinburgh University. Prior to joining Downe 16 years ago, Tara was a Senior Producer for BBC News working for the Today Programme, Radio 5 Live and the Russia bureau. Tara has had a long relationship with Cheam since the eldest of her three daughters started as a pupil in 2006.

Yen is a senior partner in the London office of global law firm Latham & Watkins. Over a 25-year career, initially in her native Australia and later in London, Yen has advised corporate, bank and investor clients on financing structures across multiple sectors. Yen is mother to two children at prep school in London and she also has a passion for social mobility and the role played in this by Early Years education.

Yen was appointed to the Cheam Board of Governors in 2024.