QA Group appoints Sir Charlie Mayfield as Chairman

QA Group, the UK’s leading IT and business skills training and education provider, today announces that Sir Charlie Mayfield has joined the Board as Non-Executive Chairman.

Sir Charlie is Chairman of the John Lewis Partnership (“JLP”). He originally joined JLP in 2000 as Head of Business Development and joined the Board as Development Director in 2001. Sir Charlie was the Government-appointed Chair of the UK Commission for Employment and Skills from 2010 to 2016. He is also non-executive chairman of the Productivity Leadership Group.

William Macpherson, Chief Executive Officer of QA Group, said: “I am delighted to welcome Charlie to QA, and I look forward to working closely with him as we continue to develop the business. QA has experienced a phenomenal amount of growth and success over the last 10 years, rapidly expanding to become the UK’s leading IT education and skills provider. Charlie’s broad experience in leading the John Lewis Partnership, as well as previously chairing the UK Commission for Employment and Skills, makes him a great fit for our business and his oversight and guidance will be invaluable to QA as we continue to invest and grow our business.”

Sir Charlie Mayfield commented: “I have always been passionate about better development of skills in the workplace to support both personal progression and corporate productivity and QA’s work is focused precisely on this area. I’m really looking forward to working with William and the rest of the QA team to address the skills gap and provide more services to a growing customer base.”

Notes to editors: In accordance with John Lewis Partnership policy, the director’s fee for this appointment will not be retained by Charlie Mayfield but remitted to the Partnership.

Sir Charlie Mayfield – Biography

Sir Charlie Mayfield is Chairman of the John Lewis Partnership (“JLP”). He joined JLP in 2000 as Head of Business Development, responsible for business strategy and development for both John Lewis and Waitrose. Sir Charlie joined the Partnership Board as Development Director in 2001 and was responsible for developing JLP’s online strategy. He became Managing Director of John Lewis in January 2005 prior to taking up his appointment as Chairman of the Partnership in March 2007.

Sir Charlie was the Government appointed Chair of the UK Commission for Employment and Skills from 2010 to 2016 and is President of the Employee Ownership Association.

Sir Charlie began his career as an officer in the army. He joined SmithKline Beecham in 1992 and became Marketing Manager for the Lucozade brand, before moving to McKinsey & Co in 1996.

Charlie was knighted in June 2013 for services to business.

About QA Group

QA is the UK’s leading learning organisation providing training, consultancy, apprenticeships and post graduate degrees on a range of technical, business and leadership subjects. With over 22 UK training centres – including their Apprenticeships and Consulting Academies – and a range of online learning options, QA offer an unparalleled set of learning solutions to both private and public sector organisations.