Executive Leadership Team
Debra Rutley, CEO
Debra is a National Leader of Education, and Aspire has grown in both size and impact under her leadership. Debra has taken on a new Alternative Provision Unit each year since 2012, all five of which have now been judged as Outstanding by Ofsted. She has project managed the development and opening of a brand new school in 2013, including securing the funding and sign up of local head teachers and Buckinghamshire County Council.
You can read a profile on Debra by Schools Week here.
Cecilie Gianneri - Chief Finance and Operations Officer and Lead Coach
Cecilie is a qualified accountant who supported several commercial companies in all areas of finance (marketing/sales/logistics) and strategy between 2003 and 2013, lastly working as finance lead for Marks and Spencer on a large capital project in the Midlands. In 2013, she completed her Master NLP practitioner qualification and moved into mainstream secondary school finance and leadership. Alongside this, Cecilie coached private clients and ran early morning meditation groups. Alongside working for Aspire, Cecilie is a volunteer coach for the charity Grit and has recently completed her MsC in Applied Positive Psychology and Coaching Psychology.
Andrew Burton - Executive Head of Aspire Schools
Andrew joined Aspire in February 2023 having served for over 20 years in mainstream and PRU/Alternative Provision (AP) settings in the UK. He began teaching in 2002 as a Modern Foreign Language teacher and gained experience as a Head of Year. In 2008, he moved to London and held positions of Key Stage 4 Phase Leader and Assistant Head in two mainstream secondary schools. In 2014, Andrew moved into AP and worked for a large multi academy trust in inner London, taking up the post of Head of School from 2015, before taking his first Headteacher role at a Local Authority maintained PRU in Staffordshire in 2018. His last role was as Executive Headteacher of the City of Manchester Learning Partnership, a federation of the primary and secondary PRUs in Manchester. This strategic role involved the redesign of the PRU/AP offer in the city and his work has meant there is now a refreshed and sustainable model for the area. Andrew has completed an MA in Educational Change Management and has achieved his NPQH with Ambition Institute. He is an Intermediate Team Teach tutor and has delivered support to mainstream Schools and PRU/APs on managing and understanding behaviour.
