Our people

Ben is passionate about learning and education and sees it as a powerful tool to drive social mobility and economic growth. He enjoys using his experience in leading large vocational and commercial learning businesses to support business and education leaders to build human-centred, tech enabled learning that gives people the skills they need to succeed in a fast-changing world.

Heather has over 20 years’ experience in the education and skills sector, building and growing the UK’s number one apprenticeship training provider; Lifetime Training Group. At Paragon Skills Heather supports our executive team in the creation of effective business strategy, the delivery of our goals and objectives and in ensuring the needs of all stakeholders are balanced in decision making. She is passionate about supporting young people start their careers with an apprenticeship, the quality of delivery and expanding our programme offering. 

Mark works to build a great team, a strong brand and a reputation for quality apprenticeship delivery. He is a natural and impassioned leader, he has worked extensively in business development and operations. His success comes from truly understanding the drive and the worth of the teams he leads. Mark leads the strategic direction of our business with great energy and passion, inspiring a united Knovia team

Ian has been instrumental in leading the operational and quality transformations within the business. His efforts have resulted in a values-driven team focused on delivering an outstanding teaching and learning experience to every learner, every time. This commitment is demonstrated by Paragon Skills’ strong Grade 2 – Good Ofsted rating and above-average success rates across all sectors, which have increased year on year for three successive years. 

David ensures the efficient delivery of value for money and ROI for our stakeholders and our employer partners. His proactive approach combines analytical and financial acumen, and he is skilled at reporting financial information in a way that is accessible for all. His success in doing this is vital to the goals and objectives of our business and his broad experience within fast moving, multi-site organisations, means he is ideally placed to contribute to our energetic working culture. 

Chief Commercial Officer

Matt is an accomplished executive to lead organisations in achieving industry-leading performance and setting new standards in education with a multifaceted skill set encompassing pedagogic development, business strategy, leadership, coaching, partnership development, and organisational development. He possesses a deep understanding of the importance of learner satisfaction, program completion rates, and career/employability outcomes in today’s rapidly evolving educational landscape. By combining and leveraging his strategic vision with a focus on learner success, Matt is ready to drive innovation and set new standards for career focused education.

Jen Bramley is Chief Executive Officer of Babington – one of the largest and longest-established apprenticeship providers in the UK.

Jen has more than 15 years’ experience in the education and training sector.

Prior to her appointment as CEO, Jen served as Executive Director of Customer Engagement, and latterly Chief Operating Officer where she was responsible for successfully building initiatives to drive service delivery, quality, compliance, customer operations and safeguarding across Babington’s extensive provision. Besides playing a critical role in shaping the strategic direction of the business in 2023, Jen led the Company’s engagement with Ofsted, resulting in a Grade 2 (‘Good’) outcome for Babington across all inspection categories.

Jen is a highly experienced, purpose-driven, and dynamic leader with a passion for people, and is a lifelong advocate for the place and potential of Skills and Education to transform lives and careers. Jen serves on the governing board of her local primary school and is delighted to represent Babington as an active member of both AELP and St Martin’s Group.

Michelle is a passionate operational leader who believes that high-quality education and training can transform lives. As Managing Director of Shaping Lives, she plays a pivotal role in shaping business operations and driving the strategic direction of the organisation’s national apprenticeship offer, ensuring it delivers meaningful impact for learners and employers alike.

With deep experience across operations and HR in the FE sector, Michelle brings a unique blend of strategic thinking and hands-on leadership. She is committed to building high-performing teams that consistently deliver outstanding teaching and learning experiences, as reflected in Shaping Lives’ strong Ofsted Grade 2 rating and steadily rising learner success rates.

James is driven by a belief that great businesses are built through strategic clarity, operational discipline, and a deep commitment to people. With a proven track record as a CEO and Managing Director, he has led organisations through transformative growth journeys, combining commercial insight with a people-first leadership style to deliver sustainable success.

James specialises in guiding companies through complex change, whether scaling operations, navigating digital transformation, or unlocking new market opportunities. Central to his approach is a focus on empowering teams, fostering innovation, and building cultures where individuals thrive and businesses outperform.

Lorraine founded Tempdent over 25 years ago as a small dental startup company.  In that time Tempdent has transformed the dental training & recruitment sector through its delivery of high quality training and placements, which have enabled Tempdent to become the  leading national dental apprenticeship training provider in the country.  Lorraine is a passionate and results driven leader who brings to Knovia her vast experience of building and growing a business with both a strategic outlook and a fine eye for operational detail.