The Rt Hon Greg Hands
Greg Hands’ own education provided a strong foundation for a distinguished career in politics. Born in America to British parents, he first went to school in New York before moving back to the UK with his family when he was seven years old. He went on to study Modern History, German, Czech and Slovak at the University of Cambridge. His commitment to the country was evident even then, as he also attended Charles University. In the summer of 1989, he organised a university exchange scheme between Cambridge and Charles University. This academic background has contributed to his understanding of national and international affairs. After Cambridge, Greg pursued a career in Finance, and worked on trading floors in London and New York.
Parliamentary Career
He has had a long-standing involvement with the English College, serving as a Governor from 2009 to 2015. He stepped down to focus on his work as a UK Member of Parliament and Government Minister. Throughout his parliamentary career, Greg held numerous ministerial roles across various government departments. These included Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Minister of State for Trade Policy and Minister of State for Energy, Clean Growth and Climate Change. He also served as Chairman of the Conservative Party. These positions provided him with extensive experience in economic policy, international relations and strategic leadership.
Links to the Czech Republic
Greg’s association with Central Europe is equally long-standing. He speaks German, French and Czech, a testament to this connection and his appreciation of the rich culture and history of the area. He is a frequent visitor to Prague as a speaker at CEVRO and GlobSec, further cementing his ties to the Czech Republic. A patron of the Czech National Trust and of the Friends of Czech Historic Buildings, Greg is keen on preserving the country’s heritage. In June 2025, he took on a new role, as a Strategic Adviser to Daniel Křetínský and the EP Group. Based in London and Prague, he focuses principally on the EP Group’s operations in Germany and the UK.
Public Service
Greg’s personal links to the Czech Republic, combined with his extensive political and governmental experience, make him a valuable addition to ECP’s Board of Governors. He hopes to be able to use this experience in public service, his understanding of international affairs and his strong regional connections to support the College’s mission. He is particularly keen to contribute to the College’s strategic development, strengthening connections between the UK and Czech Republic. This will help further ECP’s reputation as a leading academic school.
Mgr Johana Heřmánková
Johana Heřmánková joined the English College in Prague’s Education Committee in 2018 as a co-opted member. With a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Philosophy from the Faculty of Arts at Charles University, she co-edited the book Filosofie v podzemí – filosofie v zázemí: Podoby filosofie v českých zemích v době normalizace a po sametové revoluci (Philosophy Underground and Overground: Forms of Philosophy during normalisation and after the Velvet Revolution in the Czech Republic and former Czechoslovakia), which examines the underground philosophy seminars during the communist era and the resurgence of philosophy in Czech academia after the revolution.
Teacher of Philosophy
Johana’s passion for education led her into teaching. She taught philosophy at the Lauder School of Prague and interpretation and analysis of literary texts at the Jaroslav Ježek Conservatory and College. Johana then became involved in developing in-service training for philosophy teachers at the Faculty of Arts, Charles University. She is currently on maternity leave from Post Bellum, where she has further focused on the normalisation period, as well as the dark 1950s, as an editor of the project Memory of Nations and its journal.
Research Programme
A strong believer in the value of collaboration between academia and schools, Johana founded Projects in Applied Economics for Talented Students, a research programme for upper secondary school students, based at CERGE-EI (the Centre for Economic Research and Graduate Studies – Economics Institute). She has also focused on educational policy, strategy, and pedagogy, which led her to study Educational Sciences, specialising in Educational Leadership, at the University of Jyväskylä in Finland.
A strong believer in the value of collaboration between academia and schools, Johana founded Projects in Applied Economics for Talented Students. This is a research programme for upper secondary students, based at CERGE-EI (the Centre for Economic Research and Graduate Studies). Her focus on educational policy, strategy, and pedagogy also led her to study Educational Sciences, specialising in Educational Leadership, at the University of Jyväskylä in Finland.
Johana was appointed a Governor of the English College in May 2025. With her experience of both the Czech and Nordic education systems, she aims to contribute to ECP’s discussions on academic matters and to supporting its mission of providing a first-class, British-style academic education in the Czech Republic.
The Governance of the English College in Prague
The English College in Prague is an o.p.s. – a public benefit organisation. It therefore has no shareholders and cannot be said to be ‘owned’ by anyone. All its surpluses must be used for the benefit of the school. It currently has 15 Governors, who are not paid for the experience and professional expertise they bring to the College. They all view their contribution to its continued development as a public service.
The importance of Stewardship
The Governors’ main responsibility is to put in place a long term strategy for the school and to ensure its delivery. It is as a result of their careful stewardship of the ECP’s finances over the thirty years since the school opened, that the English College has been able to buy from reserves built up over those thirty years the freehold of the Sokolovská site, thus securing its permanent home. It has also been able to take out a loan from ČSOB to enable the retention of top flight architects and construction company. Not only will this renovate the existing building, it will also create a wonderful new extension that will ensure first class facilities for both students and staff for years to come.
It is therefore a very exciting time for Greg Hands and Johana Heřmánková to be joining the Board of Governors and we look forward to working with them for the benefit of ECP’s students and staff.