CITY AND GUILDS COLLEGE ASSOCIATION
CGCA ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 2026
Date: Saturday
6th June 2026
11:30 (UK time)
Location: The Skempton Building (aka Civil Engineering Department) on Imperial Colleges’ South Kensington Campus.
Room 427 (4th Floor).
The CGCA Annual General Meeting (AGM), 2026 will start at 11:30 am (UK time) on Saturday, 6th June, in room 427, Skempton Building (aka Civ Eng) on the Imperial South Kensington Campus. (Note: the room will be open from 11:00 am)
This year’s AGM will see The Venerable Roger Preece, our current Senior Vice President take over as President from Professor Kelvin Higgins. Kelvin is stepping down after two years at the helm of City & Guilds College Association.
Roger is an alumnus of Imperial College and Oxford University and was one of the founders of Capco where he led strategic projects for financial services internationally. His banking operations and technology experience included product development, IT Director roles and COO roles at a number of financial services companies including Sumitomo Bank, Bank of America and NatWest/RBS.
In recent years, he has been working in the not-for-profit sector as a Church of England priest, Archdeacon, Chair of St Rocco’s Hospice and a Director of a Multi Academy Schools Trust. In 2019 he was appointed by Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II to be the 68th Master of the Royal Foundation of St Katharine, one of the oldest charities in the world (est 1147), that runs a retreat centre and meeting space in central London. Roger conducts retreats here and also oversees significant community work in East London. He is also a partner in Energising Leaders a coaching mentoring practice.
The agenda for the AGM will include:
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A review of the last year by Kelvin
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Presentation of the Accounts for 2025
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The hand-over of Presidency to Roger
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Election of Honorary Secretary and Honorary Treasurer for 2026 - 27
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Election of CGCA Officers for 2026 – 27
If you wish to stand for any of the election roles and join the team that runs CGCA, please contact the Hon Sec, Nigel Cresswell, with your name, contact details and role(s) you wish to stand for. (email guildshs2018@outlook.com or simply reply to this newsletter)
A ZOOM session will be available for those unable to attend in person. Details will be posted on our website and social media closer to the day.
The AGM should conclude by 12:00
New President’s Talk
Starting at 12:30, in the Eastside Bar & Restaurant area, your new President, Roger Preece will deliver an informal talk on
The Power of Mentoring to enrich, encourage and inspire
How to be a good mentor and how to be a good mentee and attract good mentors into your life
One of the joys of being an alumni of Imperial is having the chance to share your knowledge, wisdom and experience with current students and recent graduates. As a Mentor, it is fascinating to be alongside a younger person and to see the world through their eyes. To learn from them the latest trends and technologies and to allow them to share some of their latest, up to date learning. Mentoring is incredibly rewarding, because a small amount of effort can really make a difference to someone’s development and opportunities.
As a student or recent graduate, the world after university can be very uncertain and challenging. Identifying a chosen job path and being able to find the right opportunities is not easy. In the world of AI powered job applications and AI recruitment process, the need for personal connections is even more precious. As a younger person how do you find people who can help? How do you approach them and how do you make it easy to be supported. There are some basic principles that will help you build a network of great relationships that will support you in your career journey.
This lecture will explore the tips and techniques of being a great mentor and also ideas around how to be the perfect mentee.
After the talk, there will be an opportunity to have lunch and to mingle with students and alumni sharing their experience and ideas. There is no obligation to offer or receive mentoring, but some alumni might like to offer some one- off meetings to start the process.
Roger Preece is an executive coach/mentor with Energising Leaders an international partnership of ex Board room execs who are passionate about leadership and inspiring energy at all levels in an organisation. He graduated in 1983 from Imperial Elect Eng and was mentored by Rod Rhys Jones – a CGCA alumni. Rod encouraged him in his search for a role in the City of London and introduced him to a friend who helped him get his first interview with an investment bank. See https://energisingleaders.com
If you as an alumni are interested in perhaps being able to come and spend time on the day with students or maybe on another occasion offer a one off meeting or maybe a few mentoring sessions – please could you drop and email to roger.preece@energisingleaders.com – with your areas of interest, degree subject and particular topics you are happy to share knowledge around .
The Venerable Roger Preece
The Great Exhibition Road Festival (and CGCA/RCSA Alumni Lounge)
As always, Imperial is heavily involved in the Great Exhibition Road Festival. The entire South Kensington Campus will be taken over by the Festival, with entertainments, food stalls and displays of activities/research within the College.
For all the details of the Festival, please see https://www.greatexhibitionroadfestival.co.uk/
In support of alumni attending the Great Exhibition Road Festival, RCSA and CGCA are jointly sponsoring an Alumni Lounge in the Eastside Bar and Restaurant on the ground floor of Linstead Hall, in Prince’s Gardens. This is open to current students, staff, alumni and their guests across Imperial. You will need your College ID, Name, email, Department and start year to register on arrival.
The Lounge will be open from 10:00 to 17:00 and will have tea/coffee, breakfast pastries and sandwiches available. There will also be a cash bar.
Please drop in and see us when you want a break from the Festival activities.
Eastside
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