Philip Hobday became Dean of Wakefield in January 2026, having been part of the Cathedral team since September 2022.  Ordained in 2006, he has been a parish priest in east Kent and in Reading, and taught theology while serving as a university chaplain in both Canterbury and Cambridge.  He has served on several school governing bodies and is currently Chair of Governors at Trinity Academy Cathedral, which serves some of the city’s most diverse and deprived communities.  He studied History at Oxford before studying Theology at Cambridge (where he trained for ordination at Ridley Hall) and then Nottingham, and has a doctorate from Durham University on the sixteenth-century Church of England theologian, Richard Hooker.

Matthew is a lawyer advising corporate, third sector and trustee clients on pensions law and trusts law since 2004.  He also advises on PPP/PFI projects and on property issues. He has been a Member of the Leeds Diocesan Board of Education since 2017 and was a trustee director of the Wakefield Diocesan Board of Education between 2012 and 2014.  He was a Trustee of a pre-school playgroup between 2004 and 2009, responsible for finance and HR matters. He has been involved with church governance since 2005, as a member of his PCC, on Deanery Synod, on Diocesan Synod, and on several Diocesan Boards and Committees. He is currently the Chair of the House of Laity of the Leeds Diocesan Synod and a member of the Leeds Board. He is also involved with various non-Church third-sector groups, including Amnesty International, the European Movement, and groups in the pensions industry.

Jonathan is the CEO and Diocesan Secretary for the Diocese of Leeds. He has responsibility for the governance and administration of the Diocesan Board of Finance. This includes the management of £200m of assets, overseeing all aspects of Diocesan operations and leading the delivery of the Diocesan strategy. Prior to this role, Jonathan was a senior civil servant in the Ministry of Justice, most recently undertaking the role of National Services Director of Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service. Jonathan brings an established track record of improving processes and efficiency as well as leading the process to introduce new digital ways of working for users across the country. He provides expertise in good governance, risk management and programme management as well as general leadership experience.

Baroness Eaton DBE DL has been a Life Peer since 2010 sitting on the Conservative benches. In 1984 she was co-opted onto the Education Committee of Bradford MDC. In 1986 she was elected to Bradford MDC and continued to serve on the council until 2016. From 2000 until 2006 she was the first woman Leader of the Council. Baroness Eaton has a wide range of interests in her work in the House of Lords including culture, education, communities, housing, families and social services.

Malcolm is the Bishop of Wakefield, and chairs both the Diocesan Board of Education and the Growing Younger Programme Board for the Diocese of Leeds. Prior to moving to Wakefield in June 2025, Malcolm served for 11 years as Archdeacon of Sheffield and Rotherham in the Diocese of Sheffield, where he held several key responsibilities. He has also served in ordained ministry in Liverpool and Walsall, holding a variety of roles including parish ministry, pioneer ministry and Anglican Chaplain of Liverpool University. Malcolm is a member of the College of Archbishops’ Evangelists and has served on the Church of England’s General Synod and Mission and Public Affairs Council. He is deeply committed to evangelism, inclusion and social justice, and to supporting all followers of Jesus, especially young people, to grow in faith and become more confident in living it out.