East Kent Colleges Group welcomes new Chief Executive Officer

East Kent Colleges Group (EKC Group) has welcomed its new Chief Executive Officer.

Taking over from Graham Razey OBE, Lucy McLeod, who was the Group’s Deputy CEO, has started her role as Chief Executive Officer.

Lucy McLeod joined the organisation in 1998 and has supported Graham Razey since he joined in 2010.

Following a rigorous recruitment process, she was identified as an outstanding candidate to lead East Kent Colleges Group to further success, building on the £50m capital investment programme in facilities and curriculum developments.

She has now been firmly in post since the end of April, and has appointed her new Deputy CEO and Assistant CEOs.

“Our Group has had such a tremendous impact on me over the years, inspiring a genuine passion for education and our students, and the opportunities we afford them,” she said.

“I feel so incredibly privileged to have been chosen to lead the organisation after Graham stood down.

“We have done some amazing things through the years, delivering meaningful positive change in the communities we serve and achieving ‘Outstanding’ at our most recent Ofsted. I can’t wait to see what we can do in our future together.”

Her new Deputy CEO is Victoria Copp-Crawley, while her Assistant CEOs are Dan Shelley, Nick Holbrook-Sutcliffe and Paul Sayers.

After more than a decade in charge, Graham Razey OBE stood down in April.

Mr Razey joined the organisation in 2010 as the principal of what was then Thanet College in Broadstairs.

During his 14 years in the role, Graham Razey has helped the Group to achieve many milestones such as its ‘Outstanding’ Ofsted rating in 2023. This achievement also saw the Group become the first General Further Education college to achieve the highest rating in all categories since a new enhanced inspection framework was introduced in July 2022.

Speaking about his time with the Group, Graham Razey said: “It has been a true honour to serve EKC Group and its communities over the past 14 years. Watching the organisation go from strength to strength has been a huge privilege.

“Together, we have achieved incredible things, and I am extremely proud of every single person who has played a part in that.

“I am confident that Lucy will lead staff and students to a bright future and allow EKC Group to continue to provide incredible opportunities to the communities that we serve.

“I wish them all the best, and would like to thank the Group, our Governing body, the students past and present, our local communities and our key stakeholders for their support during my time with the organisation.”

Speaking ahead of Graham Razey’s departure, Chairman of the Full Governing Body, Charles Buchanan, added: “Whilst there is no doubt that we will be sad to lose Graham, both the whole Full Governing Body and I are tremendously excited for our Group’s future.

“We are confident that under Lucy’s leadership, it is set to be a bright one.”