Oasis Community Learning has named its new CEO, after a four-month search for long-serving chief John Murphy鈥檚 successor. John Barneby has been selected to move into the top job on a permanent basis, having been the 54-school trust鈥檚 interim boss for the last three months. He took the temporary job at the beginning of September in the wake of Murphy’s decision to step down from the position he held for nine years. In a joint statement, Oasis board chair Caroline Taylor, Oasis group CEO Dave Parr and Steve Chalke, the charity鈥檚 founder, said they were 鈥渕oved鈥� by Barneby鈥檚 鈥渧ision for the future鈥�. 鈥�Leading is one of the most exciting jobs in education, so we are not surprised to have had such a talented field of candidates. 鈥淭his is an exciting time for Oasis, as we continue the search for our new chief education officer who will work alongside John, giving us both the organisational and educational leadership necessary to transform our schools and to play a key role in the Oasis mission to build stronger communities.鈥� New Oasis Community Learning CEO has IT background The search for Murphy鈥檚 replacement was led by specialists from Saxton Bampfylde, a leadership advisory firm. OCL said the process took four months and involved 鈥�16 steps鈥�. Some interview panels included pupils from the trust鈥檚 academies, while others featured regional directors, school principals, Chalke and board members. Former Oasis chief John Murphy Barneby鈥檚 LinkedIn page shows he worked as a technical services manager for European Electronique between 2005 and 2008. He was then employed as OCL鈥檚 head of IT services, before being promoted to COO in 2014 and becoming interim CEO earlier this year. 鈥淭his year will be my 15th year at Oasis and I can honestly say that I feel more committed than ever to delivering our vision for education and healthy communities, by creating places where everyone is included, making a contribution and reaching their God given potential,鈥� Barneby said. 鈥淲orking in education is such a privilege and seeing the difference our amazing teams are making to bring greater equity and life choices to our students feels more like a mission for life, than a job.鈥� OCL is England鈥檚 fifth-largest trust, behind United Learning Trust, Reach2 Academy Trust, Academies Enterprise Trust and Harris Federation.