David Watson OBE, CEO
David is a highly experienced leader, with previous roles including Headships in both Birmingham and Manchester, a number of leader and director-level positions at national and regional level, as well as being an Ofsted inspector. He has previously held CEO roles at both Changing Live in Collaboration Trust, and most recently at Venturer’s Trust. He was awarded an OBE in the 2019 New Year’s Honour’s List for his services to education.
Throughout his career, David has successfully delivered sustained improvement in both pupil and Ofsted outcomes. He also has a keen interest in developing leadership programmes to encourage and nurture highly effective leaders and staff, alongside a values-led approach to driving strategy, where all stakeholders play their part.
Georgina Spirrell, Chief Financial & Operations Officer
Georgina joined SAST in 2024 and leads our shared services including finance, HR, IT, Estates and Health and Safety.
Paul Lavis, Director of Education (Interim) 
With over 30 years of experience in primary, middle, and secondary education (across Sussex, Dorset and Somerset), Paul has consistently demonstrated his ability to move schools from “Requires Improvement” to “Good.” His leadership of a school improvement team that has transformed schools across the trust is testament to his deep understanding of educational leadership and his ability to drive whole-school improvement across sectors.