Learning and Skills Network (LSN)

John Stone – Chief Executive
Prior to joining LSN, John was Principal of Ealing, Hammersmith and West London College – one of the UK's largest colleges formed as a result of a successful merger in 2002. John’s career previously took him to Merton Technical College; Kilburn Polytechnic; Kingston College of Further Education; Bournemouth and Poole College; and Swindon College where he was Vice-Principal.

Colin Kerr – Chief Operating Officer
Colin joined LSN in March 2009 and is responsible for all corporate services and performance management. He is a member of the Executive Management Team. Colin was previously Director of Finance and Corporate Services at the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust (SSAT) and played a key role in SSAT’s turnover growth from £12 million to £100 million over a period of six years. He started his career with Deloitte Haskins & Sells, being based in Glasgow, Boston and London.

Martin Spencer – Commercial Director
Martin is Commercial Director at LSN. Martin is responsible for the development and implementation of LSN’s commercial strategy and the leadership of all sales, marketing and commercial activities. Prior to joining LSN Martin worked for KPMG Consulting, Detica, Mouchel and Fujitsu Services in a variety of general management and commercial leadership roles. Martin has 20 years experience of working with public sector bodies, helping them to deliver efficient and effective services.

Trevor Carson – LSDA Northern Ireland Director
Trevor joined LSDA in 2002 where he was instrumental in successfully establishing LSDA Northern Ireland and has overseen its steady growth since May 2003. Prior to joining LSDA, Trevor was based at the Association of Northern Ireland Colleges (ANIC) for four years as Curriculum Development Officer. There he managed a range of curriculum development projects and other initiatives. Before joining ANIC, Trevor taught at the Boys Model School in Belfast and the Belfast Institute for 18 years. He also spent three and a half years as Development Officer at the Belfast Education and Library Board.

Stephen Bartle – Business Development Director
Stephen joined the Further Education Development Agency (FEDA) in 1999 as Business Development Manager, where he was instrumental in FEDA’s and then the Learning and Skills Development Agency’s (LSDA’s) growth during a period of sustained expansion. Stephen was appointed Business Development Director for LSN in April 2006, with a focus on managing the organisation’s entry to a competitive market environment and diversifying the business. He previously worked as a management consultant at NJM, where he specialised in project funding.

Sarah Swann – Information Services Director
Sarah has worked in Information Services for over 20 years, in health, education and not for profit sectors.  She joined LSN in December 2009 and is responsible for managing and developing the new Information Systems department and delivering LSN’s Information Strategy to meet the new challenges ahead. Prior to her role at LSN she was Head of Information Services for a learning and skills organisation. During this time she was responsible for building the IS team and developing the strategies to meet the growth and development of the organisation, including the delivery of a major new website, technical infrastructure and customer focused service.

Suzie Webb – Assistant Director, Development
Suzie leads the LSN Development Centre and has overarching accountability for both Development and Marketing. Working closely together, these functions enable LSN to respond rapidly to develop and deploy new products, services and programmes and is critical to ensuring that LSN’s offer is focussed on what the customer needs. Suzie has over 15 years of experience working in education, both in the UK and internationally. She started her career as a secondary school teacher and then moved to spend six years working internationally in education development for Cambridge International Examinations, before returning to the UK to become Head of Product Development at OCR. Immediately prior to joining LSN, Suzie was an Area Director for the Learning and Skills Council for three years.

Alan Goulbourne – Assistant Director, People & Services
Alan joined LSN in October 2004 and is responsible for the People and Services division.  He is a member of the Executive Management Team.  Alan has extensive experience of competitive tendering and the design,  development and implementation of large scale national workforce development programmes. Prior to LSN, Alan was a policy advisor at DCSF for 12 years. He played a key role in the establishment of the Young Apprenticeships and Increased Flexibility programmes.

Sarah Lane – Assistant Director, Organisational Development
Sarah joined LSN in January 2004 and is the Assistant Director of the Organisational Development Team. She has substantive experience of project management and is responsible for managing the delivery of a wide range of funded programmes and commercial contracts.

With over 20 years experience in the education and training sector Sarah has worked mainly in Further Education and secondary schools having held a variety of posts at senior and executive levels. She has also been responsible for the implementation and management of training schemes for large private companies.

Neil Flynn –Sales Director
Neil is the Sales Director at LSN. He is responsible for the development and implementation of LSN’s sales strategy and the leadership of all sales activities. Neil’s previous role with LSN was as an Interim Head of Public Services, developing the strategy that has led to LSN’s increasingly successful presence in this new market.

Neil has previously worked for a number of IT and Consultancy companies including IBM, Thorn EMI Software, Capita Advisory Services and Computershare and has held Sales Director positions in four separate organisations. For the last 10 years Neil has specialised in providing services to the Public Sector, including the NHS, Police, Bank of England and Local Authorities, with the objective of helping these bodies deliver better services with less resources.