About CET
CET
History
Discover the history of the Commercial Education Trust
Our People
Meet our Trustees, Advisors, Staff and Honorific Office-Holders
Contact CET
Get in touch with us
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Commercial Ability
Organisational Know-How
Business, Finance, Processes & Tools, Systems
Workplace Attitudes and Behaviours
Accountability, Empathy, Being Entrepreneurial, Resilience
Essential Transferable Skills
Aiming High, Attention to Detail, Communication, Problem-Solving, Staying Positive, Teamwork
Sector-Specific Know-How
Sector-specific understanding required for the individual's specific role.
Basics for Life
Literacy, Numeracy, Digital Skills, Personal Finance
About Commercial Ability
Discover Commercial Ability
Commercial Ability in Action
Worked examples of Commercial Ability in action
Resources
Resources relating to Commercial Ability
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Grants
Grants
Our Grants Policy
Information on what we fund
The Grant Application Process
Practical information for grant applicants
Historic Grants
Browse our historic grants
David Coughtrie Leadership Awards
The David Coughtrie Leadership Awards
Discover the David Coughtrie Leadership Awards
Nominate a Commercial Ability Leader
Nominate someone for a David Coughtrie Leadership Award
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CET
Meet our People
About CET
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Darragh O'Sullivan
BA (Hons), MBA, FCIArb
Chair, Board of Trustees
Darragh O’Sullivan is the Chair of CET. He is the founder of DOS & Co., a family office consultancy. He acts as private counsel to family offices, entrepreneurs and the young wealthy in their legal, operational and reputation-management affairs.
Anne O'Hagan
MA (Glasgow), PGCE (Secondary)
Chair, Grants & Development Committee
Anne is Chair of the Grants and Development Committee at CET. Born and educated in Scotland. She graduated with an MA in Modern Languages from the University of Glasgow and completed her PGCE (Secondary) at Jordanhill College of Education.
Diane Betts
Chair, Finance & Administration Committee
Originally an accountant, Diane has almost 30 years’ leadership experience in not-for-profit organisations that provide specialised social support, often to those who are disadvantaged, vulnerable, or who live with additional needs.
Nicholas Martel
Trustee
Nick is passionate about commercial education and supporting people in their careers and the workplace. He has been involved with CET as both Trustee and Advisor for four years, following twelve years of active engagement with the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Jonathan Fingerhut
Trustee
Jonathan is Managing Partner at Fingerhut Consulting and Strategic Marketing for Schools and has a has a well-rounded business/marketing track record spanning 30 years on both the client and consultancy sides.
Sacha Wilson
Trustee
Sacha is recognised as one of the UK’s leading lawyers for advertising and digital media. He is a Partner at Harbottle & Lewis (one of the UK’s best known media & entertainment law firms) and head of the firm’s Advertising & Marketing group.
Nigel Standing
Trustee
Nigel Standing, a Trustee at CET since 2024, leverages his extensive experience in industry, corporate learning, and governance to drive impactful support and growth.
Dann Cleveland
Trustee
Dann joined in 2024 and has previously worked in senior finance roles across HSBC, Schroders, Clifford Chance, and News UK and is a School Governor at two schools, a Primary and a Secondary school.
Larissa Howells
Trustee
Larissa Howells has over 20 years’ experience in the charity sector. Starting as a volunteer community artist working with children and young people in Lambeth, she has gone on to oversee the implementation of many large-scale public engagement programmes within disadvantaged communities around the UK.
Susanna Kalitowski
Trustee
Susanna is a senior policy, public affairs and research leader with two decades of experience of working in partnership to achieve meaningful change at a variety of organisations. For the past eight years her focus has been on delivering policy impact for membership organisations in the education sector.
John Hillier
Former Trustee
Senior Advisor and Honorary Fellow
John Hillier is a former trustee of the CET and serves as Senior Advisor and Member of the CET Trust’s Grants and Development Committee. As Chief Executive of the National Council for Vocational Qualifications from 1990 to 1997, he was responsible for the development and introduction of NVQs and GNVQs.
Darren Scurville
Advisor
Darren is a Director and founder of Nice Chaps Ltd. Nice Chaps is a brand and communications agency that has specialised in providing strategic marketing, creative, branding, advertising and communications services to clients across the B2C and B2B sectors since 2015.
David Khanna
BA (Hons), MIoD, MIWFM
Advisor
David is Director and a co-founder of Arolite Ltd. Arolite provides comprehensive, end to end support and management of commercial catering equipment for multi-site organisations across the UK.
Mahad Ali
Executive Director
Mahad is a Governor at Derby University and was the Director of Programmes at Career Ready, a national social mobility charity, where he managed a team of twenty regional managers overseeing the delivery of 11-19 programmes to 69,000 young people every year.
Sadia Mirza
Operations Director
Sadia's professional journey is diverse. Originally trained as a qualified engineer, she ventured into roles within manufacturing, investment management, and sports businesses before dedicating her skills to the noble cause of charitable work.
Grace Cole
Grants Administrator
After her studies, Grace had a brief career in recruitment before going on to spend 11 years working within the derivatives space for various investment banks, most notably for Lehman Brothers and the subsequent unwind of the company.
Honorary Fellows & Chairmen Emeriti
Our Honorific Office-Holders
Anne Robins
Trustee:
2016
-
2024
Honorary Fellow
Robin Booth
Trustee:
2012
-
2022
Chairman Emeritus and Honorary Fellow, Secretary of the Trust 1990-2012
David Coughtrie
Trustee:
2011
-
2020
Chairman Emeritus and Honorary Fellow
Chris Atkin
Trustee:
2010
-
2020
Honorary Fellow
Jolyon Larkman
Trustee:
2005
-
2014
Chairman Emeritus
John Hillier
Trustee:
2002
-
2011
Senior Advisor and Honorary Fellow
David Guile
Trustee:
-
Honorary Fellow
Former Trustees
Some of Our Former Trustees
Anne Robins
Trustee:
2016
-
2024
Alun Evans
Trustee:
2016
-
2024
Edward Brunel-Cohen
Trustee:
2018
-
2024
Joe Seet
Trustee:
2023
-
2024
Robin Booth
Trustee:
2012
-
2022
David Willetts
Trustee:
2012
-
2022
Chris Atkin
Trustee:
2010
-
2020
David Coughtrie
Trustee:
2011
-
2020
Jolyon Larkman
Trustee:
2005
-
2014
John Hillier
Trustee:
2002
-
2011