Rachel Howarth took up post of an indepenedent member of the College Council in August 2025. 

Rachel is the Group People Officer at Whitbread plc, which is the owner of Premier Inn, the UK’s biggest hotel brand employing over 38,000 people in 1,000 Premier Inn hotels and restaurants across the UK, Ireland, Germany, and the Middle East.

Rachel was previously the Group HR Director with SSP Group PLC for six years, and the Managing Director of the Netherlands division alongside her HR role. During this time, Rachel led a global team delivering people strategy for 40,000 employees across six continents, in 35 countries. Prior to SSP, Rachel spent 16 years with Tesco Plc, in operational and human resource capacities in the UK and internationally. Rachel commenced her career as an officer in the Royal Air Force, specialising in logistics and supply chain.

She is an experienced Remuneration Committee Chair and has been a governor of a large North London Comprehensive school for the past five years. Her career has given her the opportunity to be a passionate advocate for social mobility and supporting young adults as they commence their future careers.