Current Governors - Biographies
Current Governors - Biographies
Anne Boden previously, Head of EMEA, Global Transaction Services at RBS, responsible for cash, liquidity and trade business across 24 countries. Prior to joining ABN Amro in 2006, Anne was Chief Information Officer and a member of the Board of directors of Aon Ltd. Anne joined Aon to manage the acquisition strategy of this Fortune 500 insurance broker. Previously, Anne was at UBS where she held senior management positions in Zurich within European Corporate and Institutional Banking, including heading strategy and planning for the region. Anne began her career at Lloyds Bank, and then moved to Standard Chartered Bank where she was Head of Process and Systems, UK. This was followed by several years as a strategy consultant for Price Waterhouse where she worked with leading banks in developing product strategies. Anne is a Pension Trustee for the RBS AA Pension Scheme. Anne is frequently quoted on: European payment legislation, Corporate Governance and the role of the Treasurer and doing business in Central and Eastern Europe amongst other topics. Anne holds a BSc in Computer Science and Chemistry from University College of Swansea and an MBA from Middlesex University.
Peter Cheeseman graduated from Oxford with a degree in Modern History and then read for the Bar. He decided against practice and instead spent his career in publishing in Australia and the UK, holding various positions in newspapers, business magazines, and consumer, educational, and professional books. In the last two decades he worked as Commercial Director for several divisions of Reed-Elsevier in the UK specialising in Accounting and Finance, Corporate Strategy, Business Re-engineering, and Mergers and Acquisitions. His final position was CEO of their international legal publishing business covering operations in 21 countries outside of North America. Since retirement he has taken on a wide range of voluntary activities, in particular being a Justice of Peace, an adviser with his local CAB, and the Trustee of two charities concerned with counselling and family mediation.
Dr Tracey Cockerton is the Associate Dean responsible for Academic Development in the School of Health and Social Sciences (HSSc). Tracey was first appointed to Middlesex in 1990 as a lecturer after completing her PhD in Psychology at Southampton University where she also studied for her first degree in Psychology. Tracey is now a Chartered Occupational Psychologist and Coaching Psychologist and an active member of the British Psychological Society. Tracey has published a number of peer-reviewed articles and book chapters, written commissioned reports and presented her research at various conferences in her field of occupational psychology. Her administrative and management roles include Psychology Programmes Set Leader, Psychology Academic Group Chair and Quality Assurance Co-ordinator for the School of Social Sciences. Tracey has also served as a Governor for her secondary school.
Bipin Desai is a qualified civil engineer and worked for Bechtel as a Senior Vice President holding several executive positions including Managing Director of Oil Gas and Petrochemical business for Europe, Middle East and South Asia regions. He has varied experience in managing large scale projects and corporate functions in various disciplines including business development, procurement, information technology and human resource management. He was a non-executive director of Bantral, a Canadian engineering company, Bechtel Limited and SABCO a Saudi joint company. Since retirement he has acted as advisor to several senior management teams of international companies on major projects execution methodology, risk management cost control and work process improvements.
Andy Doyle is currently Group HR Director, ITV. He joined ITV in 2007, from the construction and support services industry. He now leads all of ITV’s HR activity, with a key focus on supporting the company through a period of massive structural change. Throughout his career, Andy has supported and led organisations in delivering significant change and has extensive experience in developing solutions that have driven real commercial value. He has held a both HR and General Management roles in both the UK and internationally, in sectors as diverse as leisure retailing, technology, construction and real estate. Andy is a graduate of Loughborough University, a member of the CIPD and a Chartered Director.
Professor Michael Driscoll was appointed as Vice-Chancellor of Middlesex in 1996. Following a degree in economics from Trent Polytechnic (now Nottingham Trent University) in 1973, he began his career at Sheffield University as a Research Assistant. In 1977 he was appointed as a Lecturer in economics at Birmingham University.
He joined Middlesex as Head of School of Economics in 1989 and became Dean of Middlesex University Business School in 1991. He was appointed Pro Vice-Chancellor and Head of the Hendon Campus in 1993. Professor Driscoll became Deputy Vice-Chancellor in 1995.
Dr Dina Gray was formerly Director of Intellectual Capital at AIT Group plc and recently completed her doctorate at Cranfield School of Management. She qualified as a teacher and spent five years in the Royal Army Educational Corps working on computer systems. She then took an MSc in Computing Science at Imperial College and worked for SCO and Cap Gemini, moving to AIT to develop its intellectual capital. Dina currently works as a strategic consultant for a variety of clients, is a visiting fellow at Cranfield University and directs the Cranfield MSc in Managing Organisational Performance.
Stephen Hand is an independent consultant specialising in IT strategic plan development, sourcing strategy design, service improvement programme design and implementation, and contract dispute resolution, mediation and arbitration. Until 2010 he spent 10 years as Group IT Director for Lloyd’s Register where he was responsible for all aspects of IT strategy and operation across its network of 240 offices in 120 countries. Stephen’s career in IT began in the rail industry in the early 80s and moved through senior IT roles in investment banking and insurance. He is a Chartered IT Professional and a Fellow of the British Computer Society. He is also a member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and Immediate Past Chair of the Advisory Board of CIO Connect (formerly the National Computing Centre’s Corporate Services Division). He writes and speaks regularly on IT topics in particular the management and outsourcing of IT in global organisations.
Colin Hughes is Director, Business & Professional, of Guardian News and Media, the B2B division that focuses on services to the media, education and public service professionals, in which role he is a board director of GNM. Having started his career as a journalist at the Sheffield Star in 1979, he worked at the Press Association and The Times before joining the Independent in 1986 as Political Correspondent. He went on to become Policy Editor, Education Editor, and US Correspondent, and spent his final five years at the Independent as Managing Editor of the Independent and Independent on Sunday, and Deputy Editor of the Independent. He joined the Guardian in 1998, and founded Learnthings Ltd, the Guardian’s digital learning business, in February 2000. He was appointed Managing Director of Guardian Professional in March 2006, and Director, B&P in November 2009. He is also a non-executive board director of Excelsoft, an education technology company based in Mysore, India, and is a former chair of governors of both Gospel Oak Primary School, Camden, and Yerbury Primary School, Islington. Colin attended Bulmershe Comprehensive School in Reading, Berkshire, read English Literature and Language at Hertford College, Oxford, and is a graduate of the Advanced Management Programme at Wharton Business School, the University of Pennsylvania (autumn 2005). He is co-author of Labour Rebuilt: the New Model Party (Fourth Estate 1990) and editor of What Went Wrong Gordon Brown? (Guardian 2010).
Arthur Husk joined Middlesex University from UCW Aberystwyth to become Drama Set Leader of the then BA Humanities degree in 1981. He is currently a Principal Lecturer in Drama and Programme Leader of the BA Theatre Arts in the School of Arts and Education. Along the way he has been a Curriculum Leader, Academic Group Chair and Head of School. Arthur has wide experience in Quality and Academic Standards issues, having served on the University’s Academic Standards and Quality Committee for 13 years, been a CNAA Specialist Advisor, a Subject Advisor for the Open University Validation Service and a HEFCE and QAA Subject Assessor, as well as an external examiner at 7 HEIs to date. Arthur’s main research interest is in Comic Performance and he has given papers on Stand-Up Comedy at a number of international conferences. Since 2006 Arthur has been Chair of the Middlesex UCU Branch.
Ali Ismail is the elected Chair of the MUSU Student Government.
Manoj Kumar is the elected President of MUSU.
Professor Martin Loomes is Pro Vice-Chancellor and Dean of Engineering and Information Sciences at Middlesex University. He has spent many years researching at the cusp of Computer Science, Psychology, Philosophy and Mathematics, with a particular focus on the ways in which theories, explanations and models interact within this space. This has included consideration of the role of diagrams and multi-modal artefacts within collaborative spaces. More than ten major projects have been funded by EPSRC, Industry, and the EEC across a wide range of application areas including Helicopter Flight Assistants, Gas Turbine Controllers and Air Traffic Management. Martin has a particular interest in the multi-disciplinarity of Visual Analytics, and the ways in which terms such as theories and models are used across interfaces between disciplines, and also in the ways that the formal and informal are blended in tackling problems.
June Mulroy is Executive Director of Delivery for The Pensions Regulator. This involves being responsible for all regulation administered by the Regulator. She has a degree in Psychology and is a Chartered Accountant. Her career has been mainly in financial services, but also included posts as Finance Director in two hospitals and Chief Accountant of UNESCO. Her career has included postings in the USA, Canada, Poland, Luxembourg, France and Switzerland. She is currently studying for an OU degree.
Sir Michael Partridge joined the Board in May 1993. After education at Merchant Taylor’s School and St John’s College, Oxford, he joined the Civil Service in 1960. He was Principal Establishment Officer of the Department of Health and Social Security from 1981-1982 and Deputy Under Secretary of State responsible for the Police Department of the Home Office from 1983/1987. In 1987 he was appointed a Permanent Secretary responsible for the health side of DHSS and in 1988 he became the Permanent Secretary at the Department of Social Security when the DHSS divided into separate departments of Health and Social Security. Sir Michael was Chair of the Governors from 1996 to 2001, and is a Pro-Chancellor of the University and Honorary Fellow of St John’s College Oxford. He has been a member of the Court of the University of York and of the Council of the University of Sheffield, and a Governor of Merchant Taylors’ School. He was a non executive director of the Norwich Union (later CGNU plc and Aviva), and the Epworth Investment Management Trust. He was a Trustee of the Methodist Ministers’ Pension Trust, and a member of the Methodist Church’s Central Finance Board, Investment committee and committee on Ethical Investment. He was a non-executive director of The Stationery Office and is Chairman of its pension scheme. He is Vice-Chairman of the Magdi Yacoub Research Foundation, and is Chairman of the Governors of Heathfield School, Pinner.
Ross Porter is the University’s Points Based Immigration Systems Monitoring Officer and is responsible for ensuring that the University complies with government regulation related to the issuing of student visas. He is based in the Student Services Team at Hendon Campus. Ross joined Middlesex in July 2010 and was elected as non-academic staff member to the Board of Governors shortly thereafter. Prior to joining Middlesex, he spent several years working at Bournemouth University, firstly in the Enrolment Team before moving to Academic Partnerships. He first started working in the Higher Education Sector in 2004. Ross holds a BA (Hons) degree in French, German and European Studies from the University of Bath and is a qualified English Language (EFL) Teacher. He has spent time living and teaching in both France and Germany.
Alan Riddell
is a regeneration and public affairs consultant. Until July 2007 Alan was Director of Local Development and Renewal at the English Department of Communities and Local Government (CLG), and Director of the Neighbourhood Renewal Unit.
Alan has a long history of involvement with regeneration, housing and the community sector, both in the civil service and with not-for-profit organisations. He was Secretary of the Nolan Committee, Principal Private Secretary to two Secretaries of State, and more recently Chair of the Ministerial Advisory Committee on Sustainable Access to Inshore Fisheries.
Dame Janet Ritterman was Director of the Royal College of Music London and former Principal of Dartington College of Arts. As pianist and accompanist, she specialised in working with singers, in chamber music performance and in the training of gifted performers. She has produced national reports on orchestral provision and opera training, has delivered addresses on music and music education at national and international conferences and is engaged in research into aspects of music pedagogy and repertoire. She has taught in schools, colleges, universities and Saturday music centres, and has designed and run undergraduate and postgraduate courses in music and in music education. Her first post in higher education was at Middlesex, where she joined the staff in 1975, and contributed to the development of the BA in Performing Arts. Now an Associate Fellow and a member of the Advisory Council for the Institute of Musical Research of the University of London, she continues to play a part in higher education, and serves on several trusts and other national organisations connected with music, the arts and education. She was appointed DBE in the 2002 Queen’s Birthday Honours for services to music.
Ann Robinson OBE was Principal of Woodhouse College, a London Sixth Form College, from 1998 - 2007. The College was awarded Beacon Status in May 2003 and ‘Designated Outstanding’ status by Ofsted in 2006. Prior to this she was Vice Principal in a general Further Education college. She has a background in the development of FE Teacher Training both here and as a consultant in West Africa.
Following her retirement from the College, Ann worked as a Director at the Association of Colleges, representing the position of FE colleges to senior civil servants and politicians. She served on various national Boards associated with FE matters.
Ann was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by Middlesex University in July 2004 and the OBE in 2006.
Nik Rochez
is a leading insurance lawyer with over 30 years experience specialising in insurance and reinsurance litigation. He has served as Chairman of Domestic & General Group plc between 2002 and 2007. During this period D&G grew substantially, achieving FTSE 250 status before being sold to private equity buyers. Previously he was Managing Partner and then senior litigation partner at Davies Arnold Cooper prior to joining Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP. More recently he has taken up a non-Executive role with Aviva UK, where he chairs the risk committee. He is also Chairman elect at the Royal School of Needlework. Nik has a law degree from Middlesex University and a Masters degree in business law from City University. He returned recently as a guest speaker to celebrate 35 years of law at Middlesex. He is an accredited mediator having studied with the Harvard Law School team.
Linda Spence is the EMEA Head of Talent for HP Enterprise Services. Prior to HP she worked as an interim AVP HR Merchandising for TJX Europe. Prior to this position she held various senior HR roles in Leadership Development, Talent Management and Recruitment, working in Central Europe and Eurasia for Coca-Cola, and as an independent HR consultant in the retail sector. Linda was HR Director for Budgens Stores from 1990 – 1995, and started her career in Personnel with Sainsbury’s. She holds a degree in Modern Studies from Lanchester Polytechnic (now Coventry University). She was a Governor of Middlesex Polytechnic (University) from 1990 to 1997.
Peter Thomas
is Director of Transforming Whitehall at the Institute for Government. The Institute is an independent charity with cross-party and Whitehall governance working to increase government effectiveness. He leads the Institute’s work on Transforming Whitehall, working closely with senior leaders in Whitehall as they strive to make Whitehall better and different – not just cheaper. This includes longitudinal evaluations of the change journey of a number of major departments, and a major collaboration with senior leaders and cabinet office on the future of the Civil Service. From 2009 to 2011 Peter was Director of Strategy and Change in the Ministry of Justice; the third largest department in government with over 80,000 staff and budget of £9bn. As Director in the Cabinet Office he led the Capability Reviews Programme from its inception to the start of the second cycle of reviews. Previous roles include: Director and then interim Head of the Prime Minister’s Delivery Unit; Associate Director of Public Services Research and Director of Performance Development at the Audit Commission; Director of Policy and Regeneration at the City of Westminster Council.
He was a founding board member of the Improvement and Development Agency – which was set up by and for local government in 1999 to work with and for it, to help it do better.
