SATRO, the Guildford based education charity, is delighted to announce
the appointment of Howard Railton as the new Chairman of Trustees
Dr
Beccy Bowden CEO of SATRO has announced that Howard Railton has been appointed
as the new SATRO Chairman of Trustees. In addition, Dr Bowden is delighted that
the outgoing Chairman, James Dubois, will join Jon Tickle and Dr Matt Perkins
of e2v as Patrons of SATRO.
Dr
Beccy Bowden commented, ‘I am delighted that Howard has agreed to take on the
role of SATRO Chairman as we enter our fourth decade of inspiring young people
about their future careers. I know that
our cause is one he feels passionately about. I am also very pleased that James
will remain an active supporter by joining our Patrons and taking the lead on
our fundraising activities. The last few years have seen the need for
inspirational programmes for young people grow and grow – whilst the funding
climate has been tough for all small charities. Without the hard work,
dedication and active support of our Trustees and Patrons we would not be able to
continue to grow and develop and we are indebted to them for everything they do
for us’.
In
June 2014, Howard Railton retired as Director of Projects for Air Products’
Global Engineering Organisation, Europe. Whilst there he was providing
Organisational Management, Safety and Leadership consultancy and worked with
various organisations to promote a greater interest in education and jobs in
science and engineering in the UK. Howard
graduated from Bristol University with an Honours Degree in Mechanical
Engineering and he is a Chartered Engineer and a Fellow of the Institution of
Mechanical Engineers. He is a Liveryman
of the Worshipful Company of Scientific Instrument Makers who are devoted to
promoting science and engineering in the City of London.
Mr
Railton, Chairman of Trustees added “It is a great honour to be asked to take
on this role. James has done a fantastic
job and I hope that I can continue the momentum he has created. Enabling young people from all backgrounds to
achieve their very best potential is a wonderful part of SATRO’s role. Inspiring them with a passion for science, technology,
engineering and mathematics is key to meeting a critical and worsening national
skills shortage in those areas.”
Our new Patron, James Dubois initially
worked with Beccy for three years as her Coach/Mentor during which time he
helped her to shape the Board of Trustees to be fit to compete in a new world
of Charity competitiveness. Beccy suggested that James might like to tackle the
role of Chairman, which is a role he undertook with relish for three years.
During that time, he oversaw SATRO’s biggest challenge - the survival of SATRO
which had just lost all its central State funding (almost half total income).
Due to the generosity of various
funders and the careful financial skills of the Trustee Board the financial
deficit has steadily reduced. The published results for the year ended March
2015 showed a surplus which was a major achievement.
Over the period of James’
tenure, he has met many students who have had the benefit of being awakened and
inspired by our staff and volunteers which confirm the vital work SATRO
does. James thanks all the staff and the
Trustees for their many and varied contributions he believes that if we can
give something back to the community then that is only as it should be.
James hopes to concentrate as a SATRO
Patron on the role of liaising with major donors to keep them informed and
in-touch, continuing to donate generously of their time and money whilst also
spreading the word to their wider networks of additional potential financial
supporters.
James is a Fellow of the
Institute of Chartered Accountants, and qualified in 1968 with top insolvency
firm, Cork Gully. In 2012, 40 years in
public practice, he retired as Managing Partner of Body Dubois, a firm of
Chartered Accountants specialising in different aspects of wealth creation,
working mainly with owner-operated companies, professional partnerships and
divisions of multi-nationals providing high levels of service on a personal
basis. He continues to work with the
Firm as a Consultant. He continues to
serve as a Director or Consultant to various Companies and also some Pension
Trustee Boards. Until 2011 he ran a Footdown Coaching/Mentoring Group for Chief
Executives and Business Owners assisting them to improve their business and
personal performance, involving Group mentoring issues as well as one-to-one
personal coaching. James has served as
Chairman of Trustees since 2013 until 2015.
