Prof. Peter Mathieson
Principal and Vice-Chancellor, University of Edinburgh
Professor Peter Mathieson MBBS(Hons)(London), PhD(Cambridge), FRCP(London), FMedSci assumed the office of Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Edinburgh in February 2018. He was formerly the 15th President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Hong Kong.
Peter Mathieson went to a state grammar school in Penzance, Cornwall and was the first member of his family to go to university. He read Medicine at the London Hospital Medical College and qualified with First Class Honours from the University of London in 1983. After junior medical posts in London, he obtained a research training fellowship from the Medical Research Council (MRC) to study at the University of Cambridge. He was awarded a PhD by the University of Cambridge in 1992. He became Director of Studies for Clinical Medicine at Christ’s College, Cambridge following his PhD.
Previous posts include: foundation Professor of Renal Medicine at the University of Bristol, Honorary Consultant Nephrologist, North Bristol NHS Trust, Head of the University Department of Clinical Science at North Bristol, Director of Research & Development for the North Bristol NHS Trust and Dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry at the University of Bristol.
Alison Angus
Head of Lifestyles, Euromonitor International
Alison Angus is Head of Lifestyles at Euromonitor International, a global strategic market intelligence company. Alison heads up the lifestyles research focused on understanding consumer behaviour, attitudes and shifting trends, interpreting these into informative and useful insights to support business and its strategy planning.
Alison has worked in research for nearly 20 years, covering nearly 30 industries from FMCG such as food, drink and beauty, to home entertainment and electronics and service sectors such as manufacturing, consumer finance and retailing. She brings extensive knowledge and expertise on research and analysis techniques and methodologies, managing projects, and producing informative and insightful analysis.
Ingrid Bengtsson-Rijavec
Chief Financial Officer, Malmö University
Ingrid Bengtsson-Rijavec is currently the CFO of Malmö University. The university, formed in 1998, employs 1,700 staff and faculty members and serves 24,000 students. Ingrid Bengtsson-Rijavec has been part of top management in Region Skåne Regional Council for 10 years, holding various executive positions. With 34,000 employees, the Regional Council of Skåne is one of Sweden’s biggest employers.
She is an experienced CFO and Health Director with a demonstrated history of working in the hospital & health care industry. Skilled in Negotiation, Budgeting, Business Planning, Analytical Skills, and Coaching. Previously she was with PwC and the Regional Council of Skåne.
Eleri Connick
Student President, University of Edinburgh
Eleri graduated from her Philosophy degree in July 2018, and since then has been representing Edinburgh students full time in her role as President of Edinburgh University Students’ Association for the 2018/19 academic year. She was previously Vice President of Edinburgh University Sports Union, and held various committee roles within the Boat Club. Eleri wants to focus her life on people, education and storytelling, and is extremely invested in ensuring more young people are able to access a transformational education. Education is fundamental to empowering individuals, reducing poverty, and driving gender equality. Especially, an education which goes beyond the classroom and promotes extracurricular activities which allow students to fully soar.
“It is an honour to be representing the incredible students of Edinburgh, because we are a community who is hopeful, is tackling stigma, and breaking world records; we are more than just students – We Are Edinburgh!”
David Hall
Registrar and Chief Operating Officer, Leicester University
Dave has had twenty years’ experience in the university sector, which comes as some surprise, because after he left school he joined the army. Consequently, he did not go to university until he was in his early twenties as a student at the University of Reading, where he gained a first-class honours degree in History and Sociology.
His first experience of university management was as President of the Students’ Union at the University of Reading. He went on to work for the University as an Accommodation Manager and Editor of the Students’ Union’s Alternative Prospectus.
In 1991, he joined the Administration at the University of Warwick as an Administrative Assistant supporting the Distance Learning MBA programme. He left Warwick ten years later as Director of the Research and Development Services Office.
In 2001, he joined the University of Birmingham as Academic Registrar, where he led a team of over 250 staff and handled a budget of £13.25m. He was in charge of marketing and recruitment, and had overarching responsibility for all aspects of the student experience, resource allocation academic quality, and corporate planning. He was heavily involved in sharpening the institution’s focus on the wider student experience and in developing the strategic image of the University.
He joined Leicester as Registrar and Chief Operating Officer in 2006.
Kate Hunter
Partner, Perrett Laver
Kate is a Partner and co-Head of Perrett Laver’s UK Higher Education practice, providing senior level executive search support across Board, Vice-Chancellor, senior leadership, academic and professional services appointments. She has worked in partnership with a wide range of universities and cultural organisations including the Universities of Bedfordshire, Bristol, Nottingham, Liverpool and Worcester, Queen Mary, University of London, Imperial College London, the Royal Academy of Music, Guildhall School of Music and Drama, Tate, the Royal Opera House, the National Theatre, the National Gallery and Edinburgh International Festival.
Kate also leads the firm’s global Philanthropy and Engagement practice and has advised a range of organisations on the appointments of chief executives, senior fundraising and marketing and communication leadership positions. These include the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals Charitable Trust, LSE, INSEAD, the Royal College of Art and University College London.
Prior to joining Perrett Laver, Kate was Executive Director for CASE Europe, a global membership association with a focus on advocacy, training, research and data to support advancement in educational institutions. Kate holds a BA (Hons) in French and Spanish from Goldsmiths, University of London and is a Member of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations.
Dave Kenworthy
Director of Digital Services, University of London
Dave Kenworthy has over 17 years of experience of leading the delivery of commercial IT services including software, infrastructure, platform and professional services.
At CoSector, Dave leads the Digital Services team, circa 60 staff, responsible for delivering high quality, cost-effective IT and digital solutions to over 300 UK institutions, and over one million HE & FE users. Dave’s key focus at CoSector, in a rapidly changing digital world, is to continuously embed solutions and processes which enable our customers to enrich education and learning through innovative and sustainable services, and ultimately enhance the student experience.
Prior to joining University of London in 2012, Dave spent over 10 years in software engineering at global engineering firm, Bühler. Dave moved from a graduate position to leading the software team and in doing so transformed the full software lifecycle – producing more reliable, better-functioning software delivered, tested and released efficiently through automation.
Dave holds a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Modern History, Economic History and Politics from Royal Holloway, University of London 2:1 (Hons) and a Master of Science (MSc) in Computer Science (Distinction)
Riitta Silvennoinen
Chief Human Resource Officer, Aalto University
Riitta Silvennoinen, MSc (Econ.), MBA, is responsible for Aalto University’s human resource management and people practices.
Before joining Aalto she worked over 20 years in ICT industry, the latest position being Nokia’s VP, Global HR Center of Expertise.
She has extensive experience in strategic HR management roles in a multinational context.
Sarah Smith
University Secretary, University of Edinburgh
Sarah Smith joined the University of Edinburgh as University Secretary in March 2013. Her role involves responsibility for a range of student and staff facing professional services; strategic thinking; and being Secretary to the University Court.
Sarah previously worked in a range of senior Civil Service roles in both the Scottish Government and in Whitehall, including as Director Learning & Head of Policy Profession; and Director Strategy & Ministerial Support in the Scottish Government; Head of East Asia and Pacific Programme in Department for International Development; and Team Leader roles in international aviation and shipping in the Department for Transport.
Sarah graduated from Oxford University with a MA (Hons) in Philosophy, Politics and Economics; from Imperial College, London with an MBA; and completed the Advanced Management Programme at Harvard Business School. She has a Certificate in Counselling Skills from the University of Edinburgh and an Advanced Diploma in Executive Coaching with the Academy of Executive Coaching.
Stephan van Galen
Secretary-General, University of Groningen
Stephan van Galen has been the Secretary-General of the University of Groningen since September 2015. Previous to that he worked as a senior policy officer at the Association of Universities in the Netherlands (VSNU), and later he became General Secretary of the Accreditation Organisation of the Netherlands and Flanders (NVAO).
Stephan read Imperial History at King’s College London and continued his studies in Leiden and London at the School of Oriental and African Studies (University of London), resulting in a MA in South Asian history. The topic of his Leiden PhD thesis (defended in 2008) was “Arakan and Bengal. The rise and decline of the Mrauk U kingdom (Burma) between 1500-1700”.
Russell Ashworth
Executive Coach
After graduating with a BA(Hons) in Politics with History and the University of Central Lancashire, Russell began his career in higher education in 1988 at Liverpool John Moores University where he had a number of roles including Senior Administrator in the Quality Assurance Unit, Head of Student Recruitment and Head of Collaborative Partnerships.
In 1998 he moved to the Victoria University of Manchester and UMIST to lead the development of the Federal School of Business and Management, through which business schools of the two Universities collaborated. Following the merger in 2004 and the foundation of the University of Manchester, Russell became the Director of Faculty Operations in the new Faculty of Humanities, a role that he undertook from 2004-2016. He then set up a new Programme Management Office before retiring from the University at the end of 2018.
While at the University Manchester, Russell trained as an Executive Coach and now undertakes coaching and professional and development support on a freelance basis.
Gerry Webber
Facilitator, HUMANE
Gerry was the University Secretary at Edinburgh Napier University for almost 20 years until he retired in December 2017. Prior to that he was the Director of Planning at the University of Edinburgh and earlier still worked at the University of Newcastle Upon Tyne both as a research administrator and a Faculty Registrar.
He now works as a charity trustee and as a charity worker in addition to which he is an independent member of the Project Board overseeing the £25m refurbishment of the King’s Theatre in Edinburgh when he isn’t working for HUMANE.