Rowena took up her first position as a trust CEO in 2017, building on her background as a management consultant and leader across the public, charity and private sectors. Rowena has been CEO of Astrea since July 2020.

Since that time, a significant turnaround has been achieved, with all Astrea schools are now rated ‘Good’ by Ofsted and academic outcomes improving steadily year on year. Rowena has prioritised the development of a culture of collaboration and expertise, whether in curriculum, pedagogy, behaviour or business support.

Rowena is a passionate advocate for building coherence and collaboration in a sector that can sometimes tend towards competition; she is a CEO mentor, a member of the DfE Regional Advisory Board and CST Policy Advisory Group, and is Vice Chair of the Queen Street Group, with a particular interest in policy shaping, financial and business efficiency and leadership development.