Our team
The single most important factor in Westbourne’s success is the people. For us, this means a team that share not just a passion for the future of education, but display the drive and energy to consistently secure the very best outcomes for our students, tomorrow’s future leaders.
Executive Team
Mark Peters, Chairman
Mark has over three decades of experience in business strategy, management and operations, and has worked in the education sector since 2001. Prior to becoming Chairman of Westbourne in 2006, Mark founded and ran a strategy and private equity advisory business for seven years, during which time he worked with the BBC, the UK Government and the broader education sector to create a £300m programme to build and deliver digital learning resources to schools across the UK. He has led the development of Westbourne to make it one of the UK’s most successful schools. Mark holds an MBA from INSEAD, a Graduate Diploma in Applied Corporate Finance & Investment from the Securities Institute of Australia (FINSIA) and a Bachelor of Engineering (Honours, 2:1) from the University of Sydney. He attended James Ruse Agricultural High School.
Marie de Tito Mount, Chief Executive Officer
Marie has over two decades of strategic leadership, entrepreneurship and business development experience. Prior to joining Westbourne in 2018, Marie founded, led and successfully exited a digital agency in the high-value travel sector. Previous roles include Managing Director, The Big Domain, Head of Proposition Development at Cendant Corp and commissioned military service in the British Army.
Aseet Patel, Co-founder and Director, Westbourne International School Mumbai
Aseet has worked in business strategy, management and operations across the globe for almost four decades. He has worked in marketing & sales, business strategy consulting, operations strategy consulting and in business operations. He was a managing partner in Accenture and held responsibility for strategy consulting capability development for communications and high-tech sector clients in the UK & Ireland. Aseet later acquired, ran, diversified and grew a small group of timber merchants in Queensland, Australia. Over the last few years, Aseet has been actively managing a private investment and trading portfolio. Aseet holds a B.Econ (Hons) degree from the University of Queensland and an MBA from Columbia University. He attended Brisbane Grammar School.
Rachel Rees, Principal, Westbourne School
As the Principal of Westbourne School in the UK, Rachel is focused on leading the school to continued success.
Rachel is a bold, experienced, highly-engaging and values-driven leader with a strong track record in academic achievement and strategic school leadership. She provides an abundance of energy, expertise and vision to help deliver our mission.
Rachel previously served as Acting Head at Monmouth School for Girls during the merger of the girls and boy schools, becoming Head of Senior School at the fully merged co-educational Monmouth School. Her earlier roles include Senior Deputy Head and Director of Sixth Form. With over 25 years of teaching and leadership experience across both the independent and state sectors, she brings a powerful combination of academic rigour, pastoral depth and classroom expertise. Rachel also holds a Master’s in Educational Leadership and Management.
Rachel’s wealth of experience offers an invaluable addition to both Westbourne School here in the UK and Westbourne’s global leadership team.
Patrick McGing, Principal, Westbourne College Sydney
Patrick McGing brings a wealth of experience with over 20 years in senior educational leadership, including 5 years as a Principal of Georges River Grammar and 7 years as a Regional Director of OneSchool Global (OSG) overseeing 12 schools and colleges in NSW with similar operating models to Westbourne.
Patrick also led Teaching and Learning for OSG supporting over 2000 teachers in 130 schools across 21 countries. Patrick’s formal qualifications include a focus on gifted education in both his Honours degree and his Masters in Education from UNSW. He has a passion for STEM and has introduced practical, hands-on STEM programmes in all schools he has led. He has long been a member of the Association of Heads of Independent Schools in Australia as well as a member of the Association of Independent Schools (AIS) NSW Consultative Committee.
Patrick is uniquely placed to further enhance our academic standards and embed our links with our UK and Singapore colleges – and soon to be Mumbai – and make these links deliver further value and a global perspective for all of our Westbourne International students.
Dr Vahagn Vardanyan, Principal, Westbourne College Singapore
Dr Vardanyan has a PhD in Political Geography from the National University of Singapore, an MBA, a Master of International Affairs, a First-Class Honours in Economics, and a Cambridge International Diploma for Teachers and Trainers. A dedicated IB educator, he has around two decades of experience as a principal and leader in IB schools. Dr Vardanyan will spearhead our world-leading approach to assessment, further improving academic standards and a culture of high achievement.
While being immersed in the IB for 20 years, Dr Vardanyan spent the first 10 years of his career in leadership positions in the banking and finance industry. His ‘real-world’ experience is exceptional.
Stuart Ayres, Vice Principal (Senior School)
With a decade’s experience as a senior leader, Stuart has led both pastoral and academic achievement in state and private sector schools. Having a master’s degree in Computing, Stuart’s chief passion is harnessing technology to improve learning and he has been recognised in the Ed Tech 50 for his pioneering work in this field and spoken in numerous forums. His focus is using ed tech to underpin pedagogy, boost achievement and enhance student well-being to create a rounded approach to learning that meets the needs of the 21st century.
Joanne Chinnock, Vice Principal (Prep & Middle Years)
Joanne has taught at Westbourne School for over a decade, instrumental in developing the Prep department into one of Cardiff's leading private primary schools. Having read Geography at Bristol University, taught in the US and London, Mrs Chinnock has worked with children across the Nursery, Prep and Senior Schools. With her own son currently studying at Westbourne, she is a passionate advocate of igniting young minds and developing our leaders of the future.
Join our team
Current vacancies are advertised via our Linked In page. We are always looking for world-class talent, to register your career interest in Westbourne International please complete the form below.