Corporation Members - John Peel OBE (Chairman)
John is Chairman and a member of Central Sussex College Corporation since its inception in 2005 (when it completed a successful merger with Haywards Heath Sixth Form College) and was re-elected for a further three-year term in July 2009. He was previously a member of the Corporation of Crawley College from 1999 and Chair for its final two years,( leading the merger team). In 2005 he also completed a five-year stint on the Council of Sussex University and remains on its Court. He is a member of the Steering Group (led by the University of Brighton) attempting to set up a University Centre in Crawley.
John was awarded an OBE in June 2005 for his services to export while working at Varian Medical Systems UK in Crawley. During the 18 years he spent as Managing Director with the radiotherapy manufacturer he took the business from a loss-making £3 million turnover to a highly profitable £65 million turnover. He retired from Varian in September 2005.
A member of CADIA (the Gatwick Diamond Business Association) since 1986 and its Chairman from 1992 to 1993, John remains a co-opted member of their Executive Council representing Education and Training.
John was a member of the Board of the South East England Development Agency (SEEDA, the RDA for the South East) from December 2002 until December 2008. He chaired SEEDA's Major Projects Committee from 2006-8.
John was Chairman of Sussex Enterprise from October 1999 until June 2003, elected to the board of the British Chambers of Commerce in 2000 and to the post of Deputy President in 2004, retiring from both positions in June 2005. He has been a Director of the West Sussex Economic Partnership from its inception in 2002 and took up the position of Chairman of West Sussex Economic, Skills and Enterprise Board in October 2008. In September 2010 he led the successful Expression of Interest for the "Coast to Capital" Local Enterprise Partnership and was confirmed as its Chairman in March 2011. The LEP has only one target, to create 100,000 jobs in the Coast to Capital area.
In 1998 John was elected as a Director of EEF South and was its President for 2002-4 and 2005-8. He became a Council Member of the EEF in 2000, a Deputy President in 2002 and helped drive the merger to form EEF Ltd in October 2008, retiring from its board in May 2009 and its Audit Committee in 2011.
John and his wife Pamela have lived in Edenbridge (Kent) for over 25 years and they have a grown-up son and daughter. John enjoys performing opera, and has a passion for excellence in workforce training, communication & empowerment and growing small businesses. To that end he was Business Champion of Crawley's Diamond Enterprise Hub for four years - turning a dream into a physical reality for 75 companies in that period. In 2001 he helped create the Gatwick Airport Trust and in 2002 was a patron of the Brighton Anne Frank Exhibition. He has been a Trustee and Chairman of the Edenbridge and Westerham CAB.
Early in 2002 John joined the Duke of Richmond's team exploring the possibility of setting up a Community Foundation for Sussex. This idea became a fact in 2006. John is a Founding Member and became Chairman of the Sussex Community Foundation in March 2008 since when the charity has raised £7 million for the small charities and groups working to improve the life of all communities in Sussex.
