Central Team
Chief Executive Officer
Des Callaghan
dcallaghan@romerocat.com
Des has over 20 years’ experience of senior leadership in Catholic secondary schools including 13 years as headteacher. He has also been an executive headteacher supporting another high school and has previously played a key role in establishing a local multi academy trust where he was chair of the board of directors.
He has experience as chair of the governing body for several schools including a mainstream 11-16 academy, two alternative provision academies and a special school for pupils with social, emotional and mental health needs. He is also a current Ofsted schools inspector.
Des became the CEO of Romero in 2018, taking on the role permanently in 2021. He oversaw the formal establishment of the Trust and welcomed in the first schools in 2019.
Chief Financial Officer
Liz Fleming
efleming@romerocat.com
Liz is a CIPFA qualified accountant with over 10 years experience of working in the public sector, 3 of these years were spent working in education in a large secondary school within the Trust. Liz was appointed full time CFO in June 2021. Liz is passionate about the development and growth of the Trust, having been involved with its formation Liz wants to continue to drive forward the ethos of the Trust whilst ensuring that sound financial management is in place within all the academies in the Trust.
Finance Managers
Mandy McFadden
mmcfadden@romerocat.com
Mandy is a CIMA qualified accountant who joined the Trust in May 2022. Mandy has worked in the Education sector for the past 19 years in a sixth form college and is excited to now further her experience in primary and secondary schools.
Andy Cain
acain@romerocat.com
Andy has over twenty years’ experience of Public Sector finance. He started his career within Local Government where he worked predominantly supporting schools, children’s centres and nurseries before working as a financial consultant with a newly formed Multi Academy Trust for the last seven years. Andy joined the Trust in February 2023
Head of HR
Kelly Forrest
kforrest@romerocat.com
Kelly is a Chartered member of CIPD and has worked in Human Resources for over 23 years, 18 of these years working within the Education sector. Kelly is committed to leading on the provision of a forward thinking, responsive and professional HR service by recruiting, developing and retaining the highest quality of professionals in all of our teams across the Trust and in each school and being an employer of choice.
HR Advisor
Zoe Robinson
zrobinson@romerocat.com
Zoe has 3 years’ experience as a qualified HR Advisor. Zoe has provided HR assistance at one of the Trust schools and joined the Trust in May 2022. Zoe is excited to be supporting the Head of HR on HR initiatives and projects as well as being committed to support schools on HR Policies & Procedures.
Trust Governance Professional
Helen Whitaker
hwhitaker@romerocat.com
Helen has 20 years' experience of working in education and training and has 8 years' experience of Clerking/Governance. Helen previously worked as a Headteacher’s PA/Operations Manager for a Trust school for 6 years before joining the Trust, gaining knowledge of Governance, GDPR, policy and website compliance. Helen joined the Central Team in September 2022. Helen’s role as Governance Professional includes Trust Governance, GDPR, website compliance and policy compliance.
Business Support Officer
Lauren Lang
llang@romerocat.com
Director of Education - Primary (from September 2023)
Sarah Price
sprice@romerocat.com
From September 2023, Sarah takes up the role of Director of Primary Education. She has 20 years primary teaching experience, including 7 years as a headteacher. Since September 2021, she also works as an Ofsted Schools Inspector.
Director of Education - Secondary (from September 2023)
AWAITING PHOTO
Mike Wright
mwright@romerocat.com