It is announced today that, having served a full term of nine years as a trustee and eight as Chairman of The Prince’s Teaching Institute (PTI), Sir Harvey McGrath has now been succeeded by Keith Breslauer, Managing Partner of Patron Capital, who is already a trustee of the PTI and has been a member of the Development Committee for the Prince’s Teaching Institute since 2009.
The PTI has grown in strength since Sir Harvey was appointed as the charity’s second Chairman, eight years ago. From a reach of 40,000 pupils then, the PTI now reaches over 500,000 pupils through its numerous CPD Days, Subject Enrichment and Leadership Residentials and membership programmes for both primary and secondary schools.
Keith Breslauer founded Patron Capital in 1999, and the business has since evolved into one of the leading opportunistic real estate managers in Europe, with its main advisory offices located in the UK and Luxembourg and operations in Germany, Italy, Spain and Poland. Patron represents approx. €3.4 billion of capital across several funds and related co-investments.
Keith has long been a supporter of educators and projects to improve education, as such initiatives have a multiplier effect and directly reach the areas in society where support is most needed. He is a long-term benefactor to Young Enterprise, the UK’s largest business and enterprise education charity, and promotes their volunteer programmes, allowing Patron staff paid time off to participate. Keith has been a member of the Advisory Committee for the Chicago Booth School of Business Social Enterprise Initiative since 2006, and Co-chair of its UK/European Advisory Board since 2012. Further for the last nine years he has funded, and when possible, participated in projects to build new schools in areas of need across the world.
Keith is a Guest Lecturer at Chicago Booth (University of Chicago Business School), Said Business School (University of Oxford), Imperial College Business School, NYU Stern School for Business and Harvard Business School.
Sir Harvey McGrath, said: “I am delighted that Keith is taking over chairmanship of the charity. In Keith we have a dynamic and committed Chairman with deep experience of both business and charities, and who I am sure will lead the organisation very effectively’.
Bernice McCabe and Chris Pope, co-directors of the PTI said: “Working with Harvey over the last eight years has been a privilege, and we are all very sad to see him step down as Chairman. He leaves an organisation that has grown hugely since he joined and we have been grateful for his dedication and experience. However, we all look forward to welcoming Keith as our new Chairman, whose passionate support and advocacy over the past seven years has been a source of inspiration for us all.”
Keith, who will become Chairman of the PTI from today, said: “We cannot address the issues of inequalities in our society without improving the quality of teaching in our schools. The PTI’s growth, together with consistently outstanding feedback from thousands of teachers, proves the necessity of its work. It is an honour and a privilege to succeed Sir Harvey as its Chairman.”