Al Kingsley

Alastair John Kingsley MBE is a British writer, education technology advisor and business executive. He is the group chief executive of Software company NetSupport and chairs the Business Board of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority, the local enterprise partnership for the region. He was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire in the 2025 New Year Honours for services to education.

Early life and education

Kingsley was born in September 1969. He is based in Peterborough, where he later became ACTIVE in school governance and local public life.

Career

Kingsley is group chief executive of NetSupport, a United Kingdom based education technology company, a role noted in regional economic and higher education coverage and in public board profiles. He was appointed chair of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority’s Business Board in August 2023, having served as a board member since January 2020. In that capacity he also sat on the board of the Oxford to Cambridge Partnership, which brought together leaders from local government, business boards, universities and transport partners across the region. The partnership listed him as a board member representing the region’s business boards prior to its closure in May 2025.

Within education governance, he has been a trustee of Hampton Academies Trust since its incorporation in 2014. He previously worked at Richard Barnes Academy and later at Dogsthorpe Infant School. He is listed by the Department for Education as a member of the East of England advisory board. At industry level, he chairs the British Educational Suppliers Association’s Educational Technology Special Interest Group.

Writing

Kingsley is the author of My Secret #EdTech Diary published in 2021, which has been reviewed in the schools press and in an academic journal. His My School Governance Handbook followed in 2022 and has been covered in sector magazines. In 2023 he published My School and Multi Academy Trust Growth Guide with Hachette’s education list. His 2025 title The Awkward Questions in Education: The Elephants in the Room from AI to Teacher Retention was issued by Routledge and has been noted by education book reviewers.

Honours

He was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire in the 2025 New Year Honours for services to education.