SPOTLIGHT ON...

Read the full interviews on our website at rgs.foundation

SIMON BASSETT (RGS 1989-1996)

Marketing recruitment expert, Simon, is Founder and CEO of tml Partners, the leading marketing headhunter in the UK. He leads a global team that has engineered hundreds of senior marketing appointments with brands such as Aviva, innocent Drinks and The Princes Trust. Simon provided students with insights into building your personal brand: your reputation; your social currency.

ADAM GOSNOLD (former parent)

Very few people work for the same company for over 35 years, fewer still work their way up from school leaver to Managing Director! Adam talks about the challenges and achievements of his career in the water, energy, transport and telecommunication sectors, from maintaining essential infrastructure services during the pandemic to introducing apprenticeship schemes and renewable energy solutions.

BEA LAWSON née Walcot (RGS 1982-1984)

RAF Group Captain (Colonel OF-5), Bea Lawson née Walcot, is the Defence Attaché at the British Embassy in Vietnam. Sparked by her time in the CCF, she has put her gift for languages and love of travel to maximum use during her exciting and varied 33 year military career which includes highlights such as commanding RAF Stations Brampton, Wyton and Henlow, two operational deployments to Afghanistan (2007 and 2013) and, in Cyprus, as Chief of Staff for personnel, logistics and infrastructure supporting air operations against ISIS.

FRANCINE DE STOPPELAAR (current parent)

Healthcare has been at the forefront of the news for the last few years, therefore, we were fascinated to speak to Francine, who currently works as Director of Pharmacy at the Cleveland Clinic in London. She has been integral in developing this new hospital, which boasts the very latest in medical innovations and state-ofthe-art technology.

Want to network with like-minded individuals? Join the RGS Professionals group via LinkedIn (Reigate Grammar School Professionals) or by emailing foundation@reigategrammar.org.

Planning For The Future At Penny Group

13 OCTOBER

We were thrilled to get the RGS Professionals back together on Thursday 13 October, two years since our last event.

The Penny Group were our hosts for the evening, located next to Cannon Street in the heart of the City of London, a great venue to drop in after work. Penny Group are a fully Chartered Financial Planning practice with a raft of nationwide clients. Our huge thanks go to Michelle Davey (RGS ’13), Senior Administrator, for her help in organising this successful event.

It was great to see so many familiar (and new) faces, re-connecting and engaging with each other in the backdrop of The City from high on the seventh floor. Penny Group highlighted the importance of relationships and networks in business and identified a similar ethos and culture to the one that is engrained at RGS and the Reigatian community. They took the opportunity to talk through the financial steps you should have in place to plan for the future, with pensions and mortgages featuring heavily as you would expect –a hot topic!

Just before the evening drew to a close there was an important announcement to make:

The RGS Professionals group has been under the guidance of its Chairman, Mark Elsey (RGS ’78) for the past ten years. He was at the forefront of this group when it was launched back in 2012 with our first event, and has been ever since. Mark has been a key driver in helping grow the membership to over 2,000.

We have held over 50 events under his tenure, from golf days to high up in the clouds at The Shard with numerous business cards exchanged, professional relationships developed and plenty of advice, mentoring and work experience given.

In his new role as Chairman of the Reigate Grammar School Board of Governors, Mark felt that it was appropriate for someone else to lead the charge of the Professionals group and guide it into its second decade. On behalf of the group, thank you Mark for your support, guidance and help over the past ten years.

We are therefore delighted to announce that Matt Lowe (RGS ’97) was installed on the night as the new Chairman of the RGS Professionals group.

Matt Lowe is Founder and Chief Executive at performance-io, the leading digital performance and benchmarking agency specialising in healthcare marketing. Partnering with brands from Fortune 500s to start ups, Matt strives to challenge the status quo with smart, agile marketing fuelled by revolutionary data and insights. We are hugely excited about his appointment as Chairman and the passion and energy he will bring to the roll. Matt is a proud Reigatian and had this to say on the appointment:

“Mark, huge congratulations on the establishment and growth of the RGS Professionals group. You leave it thriving and I am hugely proud, excited and privileged to take over the baton. I’m looking forward to standing on the shoulders of giants and having some fun along the way!”