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Chair of Council - Dr Sally Howes OBE
Dr Howes has a PhD in hydrology, an early career in international satellite programmes and has worked in aerospace, digital, cyber, government and higher education sectors, most often at the at the boundaries between technology, research and commercial business.
She has performed a diverse range of roles including software engineer, programme manager, entrepreneur, strategy consultant, chief executive, member of the Senior Civil Service, business mentor and visiting professor. All of this experience is now applied to support those leading major programmes in government and Parliament, helping them to address complex digital transformation and governance challenges.
Non-executive roles have included the Chair of the UK Space Agency, Council Member of Surrey University and Chair of Surrey University Research Park. She is currently an Independent Director of the Copyright and Licencing Agency and an external non-executive member of Parliaments Joint Investment Board.
She was awarded an OBE for services to the UK space industry in 2004 and an Honorary Fellowship for the Institute for Project Management in 2019.
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Deputy chair of Council and Independent member - Jeremy Clayton
Retired Civil Servant. Most recent posts: Director, Government Office for Science, Director Research Base (BIS), Director Science and Innovation Strategy and International (BIS). Currently trustee of UEA Students Union and of the Campaign for Science and Engineering.
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Vice-Chancellor and President - Professor David Maguire
EA - vco.ea@uea.ac.uk The Vice-Chancellor and President is the principal of the University. He provides academic and administrative leadership to all elements of the institution. He also undertakes certain important ceremonial and civic duties.
Professor David Maguire joined UEA as Vice-Chancellor & President in May 2023. He is the principal administrative and academic officer of the University and de facto chief-executive.
Prof Maguire has more than 25 years’ experience in higher education, having worked at eight universities in the UK and the USA, as well as prominent roles in the public and private sector.
He was Vice-Chancellor of the University of Greenwich from 2011 to 2019 and Interim Vice-Chancellor of the University of Dundee in 2020 and at the University of Sussex from 2021-2022. Directly prior to joining UEA David was Interim Principal at the Dyson Institute of Engineering and Technology.
David has a BSc (Hons) degree in Biology and Geography from the University of Exeter and a PhD from the University of Bristol. His research interests centre on Geographic Information Systems and Higher Education policy. He is the author of over 100 papers and seven books.
He has expertise in strategic planning in large and complex organisations; research, innovation and knowledge exchange; learning and teaching; advanced IT development and commercialisation; and international engagement.
He worked for a global technology company, Esri, for 20 years in the field of Geographic Information Systems and is a former Chair of the Board of Jisc – the UK digital, data and technology agency focused on tertiary education, research and innovation. He was also a member of the Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI) advisory board and the Universities UK Board.
In his spare time David enjoys squash, walking and guitar music.
Honours and Awards
2016 Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (PFHEA)
2009 Doctor honoris causa, University of Agronomic Sciences and Veterinary Medicine, Bucharest
1998 Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society (FRGS)
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Provost and Deputy Vice-Chancellor - Professor Christine Bovis-Cnossen
EA - vco.ea@uea.ac.uk Professor Christine Bovis-Cnossen is the Provost and Deputy Vice-Chancellor who joined UEA from Canada. Prof Bovis-Cnossen leads on strategic, financial, , and operational planning of the academic aspects of the University. This will involve the development and delivery of the University’s academic strategy, to maintain and improve UEA’s success as a leading dual intensive research and teaching institution.
With extensive experience in higher education both in the United Kingdom and Canada she was in Canadian universities for nine years from 2012 to 2021 serving as Provost and Vice-President Academic with responsibility for academic and budget priorities.
Her experience also includes 21 years in universities in England and Scotland; latterly holding the role of Dean of Arts, Social Sciences and Management, with corporate responsibility for internationalisation, at Queen Margaret University (QMU) in Edinburgh. She holds degrees from McMaster University, Wilfred Laurier University, and achieved her PhD in Sociology from the University of Hull. Her PhD thesis and subsequent research included a NATO Research Fellowship focussing on the integration of women into non-traditional roles in the military.
She is a former member of the Scotland Committee of the UK’s Equality and Human Rights Commission and has pioneered initiatives in equality, diversity, and inclusion in HE in the UK and Canada.
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Interim Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Research & Innovation) - Professor Julian Blow
Julian joined UEA in 2024 from the University of Dundee, where he had been Dean of the School of Life Sciences. Under his leadership Dundee was ranked the top university for biological sciences research in both REF2014 and REF2021, and was recognised for a range of successful enterprise initiatives in the biosciences.
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Senior Independent member of Council - Dr Andy Wood OBE DL
Andy Wood joined Adnams in 1994, he joined the Board in 2000 as Sales and Marketing Director becoming Managing Director in 2006 and Chief Executive in 2010. He has a DBA from Cranfield University and Honorary doctorates; in Business from Anglia Ruskin University, in Science from Cranfield University and Civil Law from the University of East Anglia. He was also awarded an OBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours 2013 and between 2014 to 2016 was HRH The Prince of Wales’ Ambassador for Responsible business in the East of England.
In 2010 Andy founded and was Chairman of the New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership, he has co-authored a book on Lean and Green Business Systems which was awarded the Shingo prize for Operational Excellence in 2013.
Andy is a non-executive director of companies operating in the retail and financial services sectors and is a Governor of Norwich School.
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Treasurer - Mr Simon George
Simon has nearly twenty years’ experience working as a senior officer in local government; he was the Executive Director of Finance & Commercial Services at Norfolk County Council, a position he had held for the past six years. Simon’s primary role is to ensure the council’s long-term financial health and his remit includes; financial management, audit, pensions, and making the most of the council’s property assets. Prior to moving into the local government sector he worked at the BBC for 10 years in senior finance roles across TV, radio and new media (Including being part of the launch team of BBC News Online).
Simon has a wealth of experience in trustee/director roles; he has been a trustee at The Nancy Oldfield Trust for the past four years and Norwich City Community Sports Foundation for the past three years. Previously he has been Chairman of Directors for Equinox Enterprises LTD (Great Yarmouth Borough Council’s property company) and was Vice Chairman and Chairman of local children’s charity Break for over 11 years.
He is a Norwich City FC supporter and season ticket holder and enjoys sailing on the broads with his family and Alpine walking.
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Independent member of Council - Prof Lu-Yun Lian
Lu-Yun Lian, PhD, MBA, is an internationally renowned structural biologist and biochemist and has published over 185 peer-reviewed papers. Her research focuses on the biophysical studies of the proteins pertinent for mitochondrial function and neurological diseases. She was, until November 2021, Professor of Structural Biology and Director of the NMR Centre at the University of Liverpool.
Her main management contributions at the University of Liverpool centred on early career researchers, providing a leadership role in championing programmes focussed on the career progression of this important group of staff.
Prof. Lian has also held senior positions at the Universities of Manchester and Leicester, after completing a fellowship at the University of Oxford.
She has extensive senior management experience including membership of the Governing Council of the University of Liverpool and was a Non-Executive Trustee and member of the Audit Committee at the BBRSC Babraham Research Institute, Cambridge. Prof. Lian has also served on numerous major research grant awarding panels including the European Research Council, the British Council, BBSRC, the Daphne Jackson Trust.
She is currently an Honorary Professor at the Universities of Manchester, Liverpool and East Anglia, is also the chief scientist at Gemini Biosciences and runs her own independent consultancy.
What spare time she has is devoted to her home, garden and boating activities with her husband, Michael.
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Independent member of Council - Gillian Maclean
Gillian joined Council in 2016 and has been the Chair of the Audit Committee since 2020, prior to that being a member of it.
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Independent member of Council - Thomas Mather
Thomas Mather joined the UEA Council in 2022 and is a member of the university's Audit Committee. Thomas has sixteen years of financial services experience globally, specialising in internal audit and governance, and working extensively with boards and regulators. He works at Vanguard as Global Department Head of Audit for the finance, investment management and product divisions, and contributes to the firm's wider diversity and inclusion efforts. Prior roles were at JPMorgan, Citi, BlackRock, Barclays Global Investors, and Credit Suisse.
Thomas holds a BSc.(Hons) Geographical Sciences (Bristol University) and is a Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst, and Certified Information Systems Auditor.
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Independent member of Council - Dr Jonathan Paine
Dr. Jonathan Paine is an investment banker and academic. He is currently a Senior Advisor at Rothschild & Co., where he has worked for the past 25 years as a specialist in the telecoms, media and technology industries. He is also a Supernumerary Fellow of Wolfson College, Oxford, where he chairs the Development Committee and sits on the Investment Committee. He has served as a non-executive director on the boards of a major housing association, an NHS Trust and a children’s charity. He holds a D.Phil from Oxford University and is a published author of works on the economics of literature. He is also the Treasurer of the International Dostoevsky Society.
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Independent member of Council - Francis Tengenesha
Francis Tengenesha is an investment professional who has been a member of the investment team at West Yorkshire Pension Fund (WYPF), one of the UK’s largest pension funds by assets under management, since 2017. In this role, Francis is directly responsible for the WYPF’s private equity and infrastructure investments and sits on the advisory boards of several UK and global private equity and infrastructure partnerships. Before the WYPF, Francis worked in fixed income (bonds) fund management and started his career in the investment office at Coutts Private Bank.
Additionally, from 2017 to 2020, Francis Tengenesha served on the Board of Governors and as a member of the Education Standards Committee at Bradford Forster Academy (BFA). At BFA, Francis Tengenesha was responsible for providing strategic leadership in collaboration with the headteacher and the executive staff.
Francis Tengenesha graduated with a BSc (with honours) in Economics from Brunel University, has an MBA (with distinction) from Warwick Business School in the UK, and studied at Shanghai International Studies University in China. He Is fluent in Chinese Mandarin.
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Independent member of Council - Jeanette Wheeler
Jeanette Wheeler is a Solicitor practising employment law with almost 25 years of experience of advising a wide range of employers and senior executives. She is a Partner at Birketts LLP where she heads the firm’s 35 strong Employment and Immigration team of lawyers and she also sits on the firm’s Partnership Board. Jeanette is Deputy Chair of the New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership and she sits on the Norwich area Chamber Council. She has previously held the post of Chair of the Norwich Business Women's Network and from 2013 to 2015 Jeanette was President of the Norfolk and Norwich Law Society.
In 2013 Jeanette was co-opted onto the BIS Business Challenge Panel, a government review of employment legislation aimed at rolling back employment law red tape on employers. Jeanette is experienced at providing media commentary and is regularly asked to speak or participate in public discussions or lectures on legal or business related topics. She specialises in large scale restructuring exercises, TUPE, disciplinary matters, whistleblowing and grievances. She is also particularly interested in the diversity challenges arising in the workplace.
Previously Jeanette travelled extensively to the USA for speaking and business development engagements and was invited by Ernst & Young to sit on its Silicon Valley General Counsel roundtable alongside the GCs of some of the largest companies in the world.
Jeanette is recommended and named as a 'Leading Individual' by Legal 500 [UK 2022] Jeanette is ranked in Band 1 by Chambers [UK 2022].
Jeanette joined the UEA Council in 2019.
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Member appointed by the Senate - Professor Laura Camfield
I joined the School of International Development (now School of Global Development) as a Lecturer in August 2010 and now work as a Professor of Development Research and Evaluation and Head of School. I have been a member of Senate since 2019 and joined Council in 2022 as one of the Senate Representatives. I have two children, aged 6 and 12, and have worked on poverty and social mobility with the Young Lives (Oxford University) and Gender and Adolescence: Global Evidence (ODI) longitudinal studies of children and adolescents.
My research and teaching interests centre around methodologies for doing good, ethical research and generating data for evaluation. I am also a trustee of the Costa Foundation https://www.costafoundation.com/ and the main professional organisation in my field, the Development Studies Association https://www.devstud.org.uk/
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Member appointed by the senate - Dr Usha Sundaram
I joined Norwich Business School in July 2013 and I have been a member of Council since 2021. I am a Lecturer in Business Management and Marketing and I am the Senior Academic Advisor for Norwich Business School. I teach across business and marketing subject areas including marketing, consumer behaviour, digital marketing and social media, and innovation and technology.
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Member appointed by the support staff - Kristopher Harper-Allison
Kristopher Harper-Allison is a Placements Administrator and has over 20 years of experience working in HE at UEA and he is also Chair of the Standing Committee of the Assembly a role held since 2011. He holds a Master of Horticulture from the Royal Horticultural Society, is the Treasurer of the Norfolk Record Society and Branch Chairman of the Chartered Institute of Horticulture for the Eastern Region. He recently completed a fixed-term appointment as a Company Director and Trustee of Plant Heritage. Kristopher is a keen horticulturist and holder of a National Plant Collection.
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Student Union Nominee - Serene Shibli-Sexton
Hi there! I’m Serene Shibli and the new Campaigns and Democracy Sabbatical/fully-time officer at UEA(SU) and sit on council as one of two student representatives. As the C&D officer, alongside leading on and facilitating student campaigns, I was elected to manage the Student Union democratic processes, ensuring student voices are heard and their decisions represented and upheld in the Union and the University. I have been a part of the UEA community for just over four years now and am proud to have recently completed a BA in Politics with plans to continue onto an MA … eventually.
Alongside my studies, I have maintained an active role in student politics, supporting and leading various campaigns on campus while holding a number of different elected union positions. For fun I am a keen dancer and a member of the Latin dance society, specialising in Cuban Salsa and Bachata! And a member of a Cambridge University reading groups where we read and discuss political theory, it is very nerdy and very fun!
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Student Union Nominee - Taylor Sounes
My name is Taylor Sounes and I am one of two Student Representatives. This is as part of my role as the Undergraduate Education Officer at UEA Student’s Union, where I am elected to be the voice of all undergraduate students across campus and work with UEA to improve all aspects of their education and experience while they study here. I recently graduated with a BSc in Politics and Economics after 3 years of hard work. As part of my time as a student I was also involved in a wide range of extracurricular activities, from being a course rep to being Treasurer of the Kayak club for a year. Outside of UEA, I have been a Scout since I was 11 and am still involved in the movement to this day – now as an adult volunteer with my local scout group.
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Chief Resource Officer and University Secretary - Ian Callaghan
EA - vco.ea@uea.ac.uk As Chief Resource Officer and University Secretary, Ian Callaghan is responsible for the University’s governance, finance and planning, HR, commercial services and health and safety.
He joined UEA in January 2005 as Planning Accountant and held the roles of Director of Planning, Director of Finance, Planning & Governance and Acting Registrar and Secretary before taking on his current position.
Ian graduated from Sheffield University in Geography and has worked in financial and general management roles in various organisations including Barclays Bank, KPMG and Sainsbury’s.
Independent Member of Council - Bill McCluggage
Independent Member of Council - David Hansom