Beyond King’s

During his time at King’s, OV George Blakeway (H 76-86 and Old St Alban’s) took full advantage of the sporting opportunities, putting his skills to Captaining the 1st XV, playing in the Tennis 1st VI, and being a loyal member of the late Marc Roberts’ (Hon OV) Tigers XI!  This while managing his responsibilities as Head of House and a member of the CCF – not forgetting his A-levels in English, Geography and Economics.

After King’s, Loughborough University called, where George read Management. A short career as an Army Officer followed, after which he built commercial experience with Mobil, Gulf Oil and Coca-Cola while playing semi-professional rugby with Worcester Warriors.

George moved into Learning & Development as Director of Training at an international consultancy. In 2002, George took the entrepreneurial plunge and founded The Fruitful Group, an organisation specialising in performance improvement predominantly focusing on team performance, leadership and management. As George explains, “Time spent in the military, professional sport, and industry, has led to a fascination with how teams develop performance and gain competitive advantage.”

George has successfully turned this fascination into a flourishing business, working with a diverse spectrum of clients including the Foreign & Commonwealth Office, International Hotel Group, HSBC, Netflix, Sky, Sodexo, Reckitt and The McLaren F1 team.

Not one to rest on his laurels, George continues to push his personal limits and competed in the 2019/2020 Clipper Round the World Yacht Race on the yacht Ha Long Bay. The team finished this 7,000 mile leg (London to Uruguay) on the podium in a very credible third place!

Alice recently completed her PhD at Oxford, testing a new treatment for pancreatic cancer. Her research involved using new models of cancer to try to bridge the gap between early preclinical testing and clinical trials. Prior to this she worked on stem cell models of Parkinson’s disease during her undergraduate degree in Biomedical Sciences, also at Oxford.

Alice’s love for research began while she was still at King’s, spending a couple of summers working at Birmingham University researching blood clotting proteins. During term time, while studying for her A-levels in Biology, Chemistry, Maths and English Literature, Alice was also a committed Head of School and Captain of Boats, learning early on how to manage her time and prioritise.

Alongside her academic research Alice worked with startups, VCs, and family offices. She is pursuing a career aiming to support ambitious companies translating complex science into real-world impact. She currently works in strategy for two Oxford spinouts: one using gene sequencing to identify new targets to treat muscle wasting diseases and another developing mRNA vaccines.

Liberty is at the cutting edge of “FemTech”, where technology is used to address and support women’s physical and mental health.

Having joined the King’s community in Year 2 at King’s St Alban’s, Liberty recalls how friendly all the teachers were during her journey through King’s St Alban’s and the senior School. Studying Chemistry, Physics, Maths and Further Maths for A-level, alongside her EPQ, Liberty learned considerable time management balancing her studies with her role as the Senior Scholar, time on the Charity Committee, qualifying for her Gold Duke of Edinburgh Award, and not forgetting the year Liberty co-founded and ran a Girls Engineering Club to encourage more girls to consider engineering careers. This was in addition to many hours training and competing with the Boat Club, where Liberty was in the 1st crew and, in her final year, Captain of Boats.

Following King’s, Liberty headed to Imperial College London to study Biomedical Engineering, where she found her passion for FemTech, keen to build engineering solutions to empower women and their health. With a first class degree under her belt, Liberty now works for a Neurotech Women’s health company called Samphire Neuroscience, which builds wearable neurotechnology to treat symptoms of various women’s health conditions. Her role specifically is as a software engineer, focusing on the Samphire App, which accompanies their wearable device “Nettle”.

An 11+ entrant and King’s Scholar, OV Lindsey Matthews (Cl 81-88) triumphed in academics at school, securing a place at Cambridge with A-levels and S-levels in Maths, Further Maths, Physics and Chemistry.

In addition to his studies, Lindsey also enjoyed spending time with the photography club and 6th form cinema club, scoring for the cricket team and supporting behind the scenes in the Theatre.

Having completed his MA in Natural Sciences and Computer Science at Cambridge, Lindsey began his career in financial markets by joining SBC (soon to become UBS) in 1992.

Lindsey remained with UBS for 28 years in various roles, including Global Head of Investment Risk and European Chief Risk Officer of UBS Asset Management, Co-Head of UBS Delta (a risk software platform for clients) and a Senior Advisor to UBS Wealth Management.

He now has over 30 years’ experience in financial markets, now as Chief Risk Officer for the Universities Superannuation Scheme. Lindsey has also served as Chair of CFA UK and became a governor of CFA Institute in 2024, the industry body for the global investment management profession.  He is also a Visiting Fellow at Henley Business School.

OV Dr Jonathan Cox (W 80-83) joined King’s to study Biology, Maths, Physics and Chemistry A-level, alongside enjoying rugby and athletics. His passion for science then led to a BSc and a PhD in Chemistry at Durham University.

Moving to Cambridge, Jonathan was a postdoctoral research assistant in the Chemistry Department. Onwards to the MRC Centre for Protein Engineering, where, with 2018 Nobel Prizewinner Sir Greg Winter, Jonathan cloned human antibody genes for therapeutic antibodies.

In 1993, he became a lecturer in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Bath and has been there ever since. At Bath, amongst other things, Jonathan invented a colourful educational magnetic model of DNA, and discovered various tricks that sharks use to detect scent. The shark work is on display at the Natural History Museum, London. Jonathan added, “Currently I am developing a shark-inspired device to detect tiny concentrations of chemicals involved in disease, security (e.g. explosives) and well, anything!”

A sports journalist and broadcaster by trade, OV Louise Gwilliam (K 03-10) is currently Talent Director at Crowd Network, a Manchester-based company that creates multi-platform content for athletes, brands, clubs and governing bodies. Louise co-founded the company in 2020 with three former BBC colleagues and has since launched successful shows such as For The Love of Rugby, For The Love of Cricket and most recently Long Story Short with former England footballers Jill Scott and Karen Carney.

Among her responsibilities at Crowd are setting the company culture, bringing in new talent both on and off-air and further expanding Crowd’s female-led content. Louise is passionate about promoting gender equality in sports, challenging the status quo in audio, video and beyond and encouraging authentic investment in the women’s sports space.

At King’s, Louise was Head of Kittermaster House and involved in all sports including hockey and athletics. Her main love, though, was Netball, and as part of the 1st VII, Louise helped the team to the U19 Schools Nationals Finals. Louise went on to read French and History of Art at University College London, where alongside her studies, she began her career in sports media starting out as a runner on BBC Radio 5 Live’s 606 football phone-in with Ian Wright and Kelly Cates.

Louise has undertaken a number of roles since leaving University including reporting on the 2015 Rugby World Cup and working as a talent assistant for Tongue Tied Media. Louise joined BBC Sport as a full-time broadcast journalist in 2017, working across the BBC Sport website and driving their rugby and women’s sport coverage. This culminated in a two-year stint as 5 Live’s Rugby Union producer where her highlight was working at the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan.

In 2020, Louise started Crowd Network and has since used her platform to encourage more diversity into the sports media world, both on and off camera.

OV Alex Wenyon (Cr 07-14) is currently Head of Global Marketing and PR at Friisberg, a management consultancy specialising in C-suite executive search. Her expertise in branding, stakeholder engagement and strategic transformation has contributed to her rapid progression into this global leadership role.

Alex began coxing at King’s in 2009, a passion that went on to shape much of her life. During her time at school, she served as Captain of Boats and Head of Creighton House, took part in Young Enterprise, performed with the Dance Company, appeared in dramatic productions and supported the Charity Committee, all while completing A levels in Business, Drama and Classics.

After King’s, she continued coxing at Oxford Brookes University while studying Business and Marketing Management. Her placement year with Harley-Davidson marked the beginning of a flourishing career and coincided with significant developments in her rowing. Competing for Moseley Boat Club, she secured several race wins and including the Thames Challenge Cup at Henley Royal Regatta, alongside fellow OV Rufus Tilt. She was subsequently selected to represent Team GB as a cox.

Alex went on to win gold at the Gavirate International Para Regatta in the PR3 Mixed 4+. Racing against strong international crews the GB boat not only secured victory but also set a new world’s best time. She achieved this while maintaining a full-time professional career, training within GB High Performance programmes, demonstrating resilience, discipline and commitment.

Professionally, Alex’s trajectory has been equally impressive. After her placement with Harley-Davidson, she joined Nissan Motor Corporation on the Sales and Marketing Graduate Scheme, rising through several promotions to become Campaign Management Controller. She later moved into the communications sector as an Account Manager at Performance Communications, supporting major clients including Triumph UK, Michelin, FIAT, Stellantis and CUPRA, delivering integrated marketing and PR strategies across digital and traditional media.

A sabbatical in Sydney gave Alex the opportunity to establish a freelance PR consultancy while coaching at UTS Haberfield Rowing Club. In January 2025, she returned to the UK to join Friisberg & Partners International as a consultant, progressing quickly to her current role as Head of Global Marketing and PR.

Since retiring from competitive coxing, Alex has continued to champion women in sport. She has helped to launch a new female sports podcast, Only Dead Fish Go With the Flow, aiming to inspire women and girls to stay involved in sport and address the significant dropout rate among girls.

OV Steve Perera’s (Cr 86-93) journey began at King’s thanks to an Assisted Place – an opportunity that proved transformative. Growing up on a housing association estate in a single-parent family, the transition was significant, but sport quickly became his anchor.

He represented the school in athletics and the 1st XV rugby team, and was a committed member of Creighton House, captaining the tug-of-war team to consecutive victories in the Sixth Form.

After leaving King’s, Steve pursued a career in financial planning, driven by a desire to help people make confident long-term decisions about their money. Today, Britannic Place, the Worcester-based Chartered financial planning firm he founded, celebrates its 20th year. Under his leadership, the firm has earned national recognition for its technical expertise, client-centred approach and consistently high professional standards.

Recent accolades include being named Leading Adviser Practice at the Schroders UK Platform Awards and winning Micro Wealth Management Firm of the Year at the MoneyAge Awards for the third time in four years. Britannic Place is also one of only three small Chartered firms in the UK to be recognised as a VouchedFor Top Rated Firm for four consecutive years and was recently named in the Citywire Top100.

​Lifelong learning has always been central to Steve’s career. In addition to numerous industry qualifications, he recently completed an MSc in Finance at the University of Gloucestershire, graduating with a Distinction – demonstrating his commitment to staying ahead in a fast-moving profession.

Steve also contributes to the wider Worcestershire community. He recently became a Director of Worcestershire Ambassadors, an organisation dedicated to promoting the county as a great place to live, work, invest, visit and do business. The Ambassadors have raised more than £1.25 million for local causes.

King’s has remained a constant throughout Steve’s life. All three of his children have passed through the school, and he is regularly seen on the touchline supporting his youngest at senior school fixtures. His connection with Worcester Rugby Football Club is equally long-standing: from making his debut at 13 to coaching his son’s team to victory in the North Midlands Cup, matching his own success in the same competition as a youth player. Britannic Place now proudly supports the club as a main sponsor.

From a life-changing opportunity at King’s to building a nationally recognised financial planning firm, Steve’s story reflects resilience, purpose and a commitment to giving back to the communities that shaped him.

Few scientists can claim to have reshaped our understanding of plant diversity on a global scale. OV Professor Bill Baker (W 85-90), a systematic biologist of international renown, has spent his career unravelling the evolutionary story of flowering plants, from the intricate taxonomy of palms to the grand architecture of the angiosperm tree of life.

He is currently Senior Research Leader at Kew, where he has worked since 1998, and Honorary Professor at Aarhus University, Denmark.

Some OVs may remember hearing from Bill when he returned to King’s in 2011 to give the Barnabas Address.

A King’s Scholar, Bill took Physics, Chemistry and Biology for A-level alongside his duties as a School Monitor and Head of House, somehow finding time for theatre productions and fencing too! Bill’s hard work earned him a place at Oxford, in Pembroke College, to read Botany. Having achieved his degree, Bill went to the University of Reading where he secured his MSc in Plant Taxonomy and then his PhD in Botany.

Bill’s fascination for the natural world, demonstrated by his academic journey, has evolved into a lifelong commitment to plant science. Today, his work spans taxonomy, phylogenetics, evolution, biogeography and conservation, drawing on biological collections at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. His approach is holistic: herbarium specimens, cutting-edge genomic tools and fieldwork converge to answer fundamental questions about plant diversity.

For over three decades, palms have been at the heart of Bill’s research. These iconic plants, vital to tropical ecosystems and human economies, have served as a model group for exploring taxonomy and evolution. His work has clarified relationships within this complex family and illuminated their role in global biodiversity.

Perhaps Bill’s most ambitious endeavour is leading Kew’s Tree of Life Initiative. This groundbreaking project aims to sequence all 13,600 genera of flowering plants using the Angiosperms353 genomic toolkit. The goal? To complete the angiosperm tree of life – a resource that will transform our understanding of plant evolution and open new frontiers in comparative biology.

Bill’s vision extends beyond taxonomy. He explores how phylogenetic data can inform pressing global questions: How have biomes evolved? What drives speciation? How can we manage natural resources sustainably? Recent studies under his leadership have tackled these challenges, demonstrating the practical power of evolutionary science.

From the herbarium shelves of Kew to the forests of the tropics, Bill’s research not only deepens the knowledge of plant diversity but also equips us to address the ecological and economic challenges of the future. In mapping the tree of life, Bill is charting a course for science that is as visionary as it is vital.