CEO Leadership Announcement
After 10 years as the CEO of BEST, Dr Alan Lee has announced that he will retire at Easter 2027.
Under the inspiring and unique leadership of Dr Alan Lee, who was also the founder of BEST, our trust has grown into a thriving family of 11 schools and 5 nurseries.
As one 10-year period comes to an end, we come to the start of another. We are now in a strong position to move forward and build, with confidence and hope. It has been the greatest privilege of my career to serve the BEST community over the last 10 years, thank you.(Dr Alan Lee, CEO)
The past ten years have been characterised by unrivalled success. BEST has more than doubled in size, delivered Good or Outstanding grades in all of our nurseries and schools and secured long-term financial sustainability. We provide an excellent education for children and young people from aged 2-18 years and proud to be one of the largest employers in our area.
Dr Lee will be retiring after an incredible 38 years of service to education in both Bedfordshire and Liverpool. We look forward to celebrating Dr Lee’s many years of contribution to BEST over the coming months.
2026 has been a special year for us, as we celebrate our 10th Anniversary. As we look ahead to the next ten years, our Trustees are now seeking to appoint a new CEO who will build on the excellent legacy that Dr Lee has created.
Ilona Bond, Chair of Trustees, shared the announcement this week;
"Through Dr Alan Lee’s leadership, we have grown as a trust and are living out the mission ‘to grow the BEST in everyone.’ It is a testament to his leadership that we have in place a strong group of Principals and a Central Team, who absolutely uphold the ethos of our Trust.
We want to ensure that we appoint someone who will live out the ethos and values that are BEST and are what make us distinctive as a Trust.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank Alan for his exceptional service, hard work, dedication and care for all the young people in our academies over the past ten years and wish him every happiness in his retirement."
Dr Lee will continue in his role for the next two terms, whilst the recruitment process is underway. There will be a handover period to ensure that there is a smooth transition to the new CEO. We will continue to keep the community updated.