Our Governors

Janey Howell, who is originally from Antigua, is a British businesswoman and public official. In March 2024, she was appointed as the High Sheriff of South Glamorgan, a ceremonial position representing the monarch in judicial matters within the county. During her tenure, she selected City Hospice, the only provider of home-based specialist palliative care in Cardiff, as her charity of the year.

Professionally, Janey serves as the Joint Managing Director of BCB International, a Cardiff-based company that manufactures life-saving equipment for global defence markets. Additionally, Janey is a Trustee of Bullies Out, the charity providing support and information for those affected by bullying behaviours; a Trustee of the Museum of Cardiff and the Project Director of Government House Antigua. She is also a proud mother to three young women who all attended Howell’s School.

I was a pupil at Howell’s and have maintained links with the school through the Hywelian Guild. I started my work in lighting in the school hall, working on the school plays, before graduating from University with a BA(Hons) in Lighting Design. I continue to work in event and television lighting today.

My time at Howell’s gave me the confidence to work in such a male dominated industry and I have worked on some of the largest global events, including Olympic and Paralympic Ceremonies in London, Sochi, and Rio, and Commonwealth Games Ceremonies most recently in Birmingham, as well as many other Award Ceremonies and live events. I am particularly proud to have won an Emmy Award as part of the Lighting Creative Team for the Sochi Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony. More recently, I am spending time at home caring for my young son.

Emma is a proud Hywelian along with both her son and daughter. A business graduate who completed the M&S graduate training programme before fulfilling a variety of roles within their London stores and head office before returning to Wales where she now heads up her family’s business, Leekes Retail.

Emma sits on a variety of national buying groups including Minerva, a leading group within the furniture industry where she acts as a board advisor, Fortis, the premier group for builders’ merchants, kitchen & bathroom retailers where she was the first female principal to join and CIH, an electrical buying group, as well as being a member of CBI Wales. She is also a Freeman of the Furniture Maker’s Company, the livery guild and charity for the furniture industry. Membership of these organisations has enabled her to develop a strong understanding of the challenges and opportunities within the retail industry and in turn to influence direction.

She supports several charities and has been on the Appeal Board for NSPCC Wales for 15 years, an Ambassador for Rhondda Netball, a charity which works to develop the aspirations of young girls growing up in the Rhondda Valleys through the medium of sport and is an active supporter of Cwtch Mawr, a community donations hub offering support for families facing poverty.

Chloe Smith is the co-founder and Chief Operating Officer (COO) of bigmoose, a Cardiff-based mental health and social support charity originally launched as bigmoose Coffee Co. alongside her father, Jeff Smith. She is also a proud Hywelian, who has remained closely connected to the school as a mentor to young students.

Professionally, Ian worked for British Telecommunications, specialising in long-distance transmission and was part of the team who undertook the 21st Century programme for BT, moving from analogue to digital communications. As a General Manager for BT Openreach, he led large operational teams in North Wales and the Midlands, before retiring in 2017.

Currently, much of his time is spent supporting the work of Llandaff Cathedral as a volunteer, and he is also a trustee for the Cathedral. He is also a magistrate and presiding justice, hearing cases in the Cardiff Magistrate Court.

He is very proud to be a governor at Howell’s. His daughter benefitted greatly from her education at the school, from the age of 7, and his family has taken much pleasure in maintaining close links with the school.

I have been a Mathematics teacher at Howell’s for 36 years, having joined the school in 1989. My academic background includes a BSc (Hons) in Mathematics and Statistics from Exeter University, followed by an MSc in Medical Statistics from Southampton University. Throughout my career at Howell’s, I have had the privilege of teaching our wonderful students, including several generations of families, experiencing first-hand the continuity and warmth that make the school truly unique. The family feel and kindness of Howell’s are both central to its ethos, and I have cherished being part of such a nurturing and high achieving environment.

Since retiring, I have enjoyed the opportunity to spend time exercising, reading and travelling with my family. My involvement with my local Parkrun has led me to become an ambassador for ‘5K Your Way,’ an initiative aimed at encouraging people affected by cancer to engage in physical activity.

I am immensely proud to serve as a governor at Howell’s. In this role, I am looking forward to maintaining my close connection with the school and supporting the many events that take place throughout the year.

After degree studies in Music and Theology, Ian Yemm trained at the Royal Academy of Music and the Royal College of Music and enjoyed a successful career as a professional singer and voice teacher. For nearly ten years, he was Coordinating Chaplain at the University of the West of England, Vice-Chair of the Bristol Diocesan Board of Education, and an elected member of the General Synod of the Church of England. After training for ordination at the St Padarn’s Institute in Cardiff, he completed curacy in Cowbridge and first incumbency in Radyr. He is a Vocations Adviser and Spiritual Director and has a Masters degree in Christian Spirituality.

Ian has recently been elected to the Governing Body of the Church in Wales, and installed as Canon Precentor of Llandaff Cathedral, where he has particular responsibility for Worship, the Music Department, and the Cathedral Choir. He is married to Bernhard, who has worked as a Doctor in the NHS for over twenty years.

Mrs Judith Fulgoni studied Business Studies at The Polytechnic of Wales after completing her education at St David’s Ursuline Convent Brecon and Christ College Brecon. She is a Company Director with over 35 years’ experience in the retail sector, e- commerce and in later years, property development.

As the mother of two past Hywelians, she has always valued the importance of a sound academic education, together with extracurricular activities to give pupils the chance to realise their true potential.