The Challenge

Project mange the merger of Henley and City Colleges Coventry, providing the key link between respective Principals, leadership teams, Boards, and key stakeholders.  Develop an overall plan for the merger and coordinate internal and external resources to ensure delivery within required timescale and budget.

What we did

Managed the end to end merger process, ensuring all legal and statutory requirements were met, public consultation completed, Board actions executed as needed, and key stakeholders engaged as needed in support of the planned merger.

Operational support included the coordination of cross colleges work streams to plan integration of systems and processes ready for merger, recruitment of new SLT, development of new governance arrangements, underpinned by a detailed project plan and risk register to ensure key deadlines were met and the merger was delivered on time and within budget.

Result

Henley and City Colleges merged as planned on 1st August 2017, with all statutory requirements met, name change to Coventry College approved, new Principal and SLT in place, and operational work streams ready to transition to integration and ‘business as usual’ post-merger.

Craig brought clarity, organisation and constructive challenge to the merger process. He reconciled competing systems and personalities, and it was largely down to Craig’s considerable acumen and personal skills, that the complex project was landed on time and to the satisfaction of both colleges. I would recommend Craig Bentley’s services wholeheartedly.
Ray Goy

(Former) Principal, Henley College Coventry