HOWARD RAILTON TO BECOME NEW CHAIRMAN OF TRUSTEES FOR SATRO

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.