Board of Governors

Meet our Governors

Our current Governors have all made notable contributions to business, academic and public life. They contribute their professional, specialist and general management skills to drive the development of the University. Members of the Board bring an independent view to their work so they can hold the Executive to account.

Meet the inspiring individuals who volunteer their time and expertise to Middlesex.

Interim Chair of the Board of Governors: Matt Lewis 

Matt Lewis retired from KPMG in March 2016 having worked there for 30 years and been a partner for 20 years. He worked in a number of industry sectors, including Fast Moving Consumer Goods, Retail, Leisure, Engineering, Defence and Business Services. His clients were predominantly large international listed groups. As well as audit, Matt supported clients on many significant transactions, including IPOs, mergers, acquisitions and disposals.

Matt chairs the Audit, Assurance and Risk Committee and the Remuneration Committee. Matt is also a trustee of the Weald and Downland Museum in Sussex.

Mostaque Ahmed

Mostaque is currently the Chief Financial Officer and Director for Corporate Services at the London Fire Brigade. He oversees six departments: Finance; General Counsel; Procurement & Commercial; ICT/Digital; Property & Fleet; Performance Improvement.

Mostaque started his career in the private sector with Ernst & Young and the Royal Bank of Scotland, before joining the Civil Service. During his time in Whitehall, he worked across several government departments including HM Treasury, Cabinet Office, Department for Transport and the Home Office.   Mostaque was the Managing Director of Finance, Portfolio & Performance for the House of Commons and served as Finance Director at the House of Lords. For eight years (until July 2025) he chaired the Governing Board of a primary school in Brent. 

Simon Darling

Simon Darling is the Managing Director of growth agency Jack & Anna. Clients include multinationals and startups within FMCG, telecoms, financial services, retail and healthcare sectors in both turnaround and high growth situations and PLC and private equity environments.

Simon started his career in Finance at Unilever. He has been Marketing Director at eBay, VP Marketing at Skype and Chief Commercial Officer at Trainline. He has founded two startups, one of which, Fonepark, was acquired by an AOL-backed company. He has a First in Economics from Cambridge University and is a prize winner and Passed Finalist with CIMA.

Professor Mandeep K Dhami

Professor Mandeep K Dhami is based in the University's Department of Psychology. She has previously held academic and research positions in the UK (University of Cambridge, University of Surrey), Canada (University of Victoria), USA (University of Maryland) and Germany (Max Planck Institute for Human Development), as well as visiting posts in Spain and Australia. Mandeep has also worked as a Principal Scientist for the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (UK Ministry of Defence), and has work experience in British prisons.

Mandeep is an internationally recognised expert on human judgment and decision-making, risk perception and uncertainty communication. She has authored over 145 scholarly publications and is lead editor of the book ‘Judgment and Decision Making as a Skill’. Her research has received several international awards including from the European Association for Decision Making, American Psychological Association (Division 9), and NATO Science & Technology Organisation. Mandeep was awarded Fellowship of the Psychonomics Society, and the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues. She regularly advises Government bodies nationally and internationally on evidence-based policy and practice in the criminal justice and defence & security domains.

Mandeep was previously Chair of the Ethical Standards Committee for Cambridgeshire Police Authority, and Executive board member of the Restorative Justice–City of Victoria Program (BC, Canada). She is currently Editor of Judgment and Decision Making, UK representative on a NATO research panel, and President of the European Association for Decision Making. Her hobbies include competitive Ballroom and Latin dancing.

Jonathan Elgott

Jonathan is currently the Global Chief Financial Officer for Technology and Operations at Marsh McLennan, a financial and professional services organisation with over 90,000 employees with four major businesses in Marsh, Mercer, Guy Carpenter and Oliver Wyman. At Middlesex University he is a member of the Finance and Infrastructure Committee.

He trained as a Chartered Accountant with EY, joining as a graduate working in their corporate finance department advising organisations on M&A, Funding and Transformation programmes across public sector, financial services and a variety of other corporate industries. Since leaving EY as a Director, he has held senior finance positions at HSBC, Capita and Tate & Lyle.   

Chris Fenton

Chris Fenton, after an early international career in chemicals, has focused on infrastructure and services. Most recently Chris was Chief Executive of the Rail Safety and Standards Board after senior management roles at Amey, Tube Lines and BSI and a non-executive director at the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority.

In education and skills he is currently on the Board of City and Guilds Group. He was previously chairman of the National Skills Academy for Rail and a Trustee at JTL, a major apprenticeships provider.

Dr David Gilani

Dr David Gilani works at Middlesex University as our Head of Access and Participation, leading on the University’s work to utilise evaluation, interventions and reporting to ensure equitable outcomes for all student groups. Having started his career as a students’ union officer, he is a strong proponent of the student voice and in 2012 he founded the Student Publication Association, which supports student journalists across the UK and Ireland.

David believes strongly in universities working together to support student engagement efforts. He is a former chair of the CASE Student Communications conference and co-editor of the Perspectives journal special issue: Student Communications in Higher Education. He is also a Fellow of the Association of Higher Education Professionals and was a finalist for the Higher Education Professional of the Year Award in 2024 for his work leading their Student Experience and Engagement Network.

He holds a PhD on the topic of student belonging from the University of York, regularly publishing and presenting on area of work. 

Dr Nabeel Goheer

Dr Nabeel Goheer, PhD, is PATH’s Chief of Asia, Middle East, Europe (AMEE) Region. He is responsible for providing strategic leadership and guidance and overseeing program activities in the regional hubs in South Asia, South East Asia, Eastern Europe, Central Asia, China, and Western Europe, as well as PATH’s other projects in the region. He also develops and executes strategies to expand and grow the AMEE portfolio into new regions, including the Middle East and additional countries in Asia.

Nabeel is a seasoned leader with near 25 years of professional experience. Before joining PATH, he spent the last ten years assisting and representing the Commonwealth Secretary-General while providing leadership in the areas of strategy, governance, partnerships, portfolio, evaluation, technology, innovation, and digitalization. Prior to joining the Commonwealth, he worked with the International Labor Organization (ILO) at the United Nations, World Bank, United Nations Development Program, USAID, and the Government of Pakistan.

Nabeel holds a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of Engineering and Technology in Lahore, Pakistan, a Master of Arts in International Development from the International University of Japan, a Master of Philosophy in Technology Policy from Cambridge and MIT, and a PhD in Management from the University of Cambridge. He also holds a Certificate in Macroeconomic Policy and Management from Harvard.

Laura Guittard

Laura Guittard is currently Vice-President Global Finance Risk Management & Controls and ESG Reporting at GSK. She oversees the risk management of the enterprise risk ‘Finance Controls & Reporting’ on behalf of the CFO. Laura has a BA in Business Administration from Strathclyde University. She qualified as a Chartered Accountant of Scotland and moved to Paris with KPMG. She then moved to Kraft Foods/Mondelez where she had roles of increasing responsibility and lived in 5 different countries across three continents.

Laura is a strong advocate of meritocracy and in GSK participates or chairs voluntary groups and provides mentoring for women and those just starting their career. Laura is also a Director of various GSK subsidiaries.

Helen Kelisky

Helen Kelisky brings over 30 years of technology business and sales leadership experience and a track record of driving top line growth, leading national and international businesses. Previous roles include Managing Director of Google Cloud in the UK and Ireland, Senior Vice President of Cloud sales at Salesforce UKI, and Vice President of Cloud at IBM.

Helen has been recognised as one of the 100 Most Influential Women in UK Tech eight years in a row from 2017 to 2024, as well as one of the most influential leaders in UK Tech in 2023 and 2024. She currently sits on the Board of Calnex Solutions PLC, an AIM listed company, as well as Women in Telecommunications and Technology, a non-profit networking group focused on education and enhancing women’s careers. Middlesex University is her alma mater.

Richa Karan Khanchandani

Richa Karan Khanchandani is the elected Education Officer at Middlesex University Students’ Union and a BSc Psychology with Counselling Skills student.

She has held several student-facing roles – including Resident Assistant, Student Voice Leader, Communities Intern, Bollywood Society President and Student Learning Assistant – focused on creating a positive and inclusive student experience.

With experience in mental health initiatives both in the UK and in India, she is committed to embedding well-being into the fabric of university life, actively working to ensure that mental health challenges do not become barriers to education. 

Anne Kiem OBE

Anne is currently Chief Executive Officer of the Chartered Institute of Internal Auditors.

Prior to this, she was Executive Director of the Small Business Charter, and Chief Executive of the Chartered Association of Business Schools, having been Chief Executive of the Institute of Financial Services, part of what is now the London Institute of Banking and Finance. She has also worked in banking and as a Secondary school Maths teacher.

Anne was awarded an OBE in the 2019 Queen’s Birthday Honours for services to small businesses and entrepreneurs. She sits on the Dean’s Advisory Board at Oxford Brookes Business School, from which she received an Honorary Doctorate in 2024.

Rebecca Lawrence

Rebecca Lawrence is the Chief Executive of the British Library.

Rebecca has had a long and successful career in leadership roles across the public service and university sector. From 2019 to 2023 she was Chief Executive of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), where she led the organisation through the pandemic, implementing large scale innovation to improve performance and support digital transformation.

Prior to leading the CPS, she was a founder and first CEO of the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC), serving as Director of Strategy and Resourcing from 2013 to 2016, and Chief Executive from 2016 to 2019. In these roles she became a recognised national leader of police technology and digital security innovation.

She forged her career in Whitehall as a senior civil servant at HM Treasury before moving to the Home Office and policing to lead on counter-terrorism strategy, resourcing and transformation.

Dame Jil Matheson

Dame Jil Matheson was National Statistician, Head of the Government Statistical Service and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority from 2009 until 2014, following a career in social research and statistics. Jil also Chaired the OECD's Committee on Statistics and Statistical Policy and the UN Statistical Commission.

She is currently a member of various committees, including the UK Committee on Research Integrity. She is a non-executive Director of the Sports Ground Safety Authority. Throughout her career Jil has championed research and statistics for the public good to enable citizens and decision makers to understand their communities, their countries, and the world. She was appointed DCB (Dame Commander of the Order of the Bath) in 2014 for services to official statistics.

Andrea Rigamonti

Andrea Rigamonti is an experienced finance professional with over 20 years of leadership in listed and international businesses. He was most recently Group CFO and Board Director at Videndum plc, a FTSE Small Cap group providing mission-critical products to the global media, broadcast, film studio, photography, and content creation sectors. He previously held senior roles including Group Financial Controller at Senior plc, a FTSE 250 engineering group.

Andrea brings expertise in strategy, audit and risk governance, financial oversight, and stakeholder engagement. He has worked with Audit Committees since 2010 and has led financial stewardship through periods of significant disruption. He began his career in investment banking at Morgan Stanley. He is a Chartered Management Accountant and holds an MEng in Engineering, Economics and Management from the University of Oxford. Andrea is a member of the University’s Audit, Assurance and Risk Committee.

Mark Simpson

Mark Simpson is the Director of eDiscovery for Europe, the Middle East and Africa at OpenText, a leading information management technology company. Mark began his career as a barrister and solicitor in Perth, Western Australia, before relocating to London in 1997. He led the development of successful technology, information and consulting solutions at global firms including LexisNexis and Thomson Reuters, with his products for Legal and Life Sciences markets being recognised through the UK Legal Technology Awards and the Queen’s Award for Excellence (Innovation category).

Over the past decade, Mark has specialised in eDiscovery and Forensic technology, overseeing operations and global investigation services at Epiq Systems and Deloitte. He has worked on some of the world’s largest cross-border litigation cases and regulatory inquiries, and on a range of high-profile public inquiries in the UK. In addition to his legal qualifications, he holds CIPP/E and CIPM certifications form the International Association of Privacy Professionals, and an MA in the History and Philosophy of Science and Medicine from Birkbeck College. Mark also mentors the leaders of small technology businesses and is a mentor for SSAFA, the Armed Forces Charity.

Mohit Vyasam

Mohit Vyasam is the current President of Middlesex University Students’ Union, representing the voice of over 13,000 students.

With a background in Business Administration and a Master’s in Management from Middlesex University, Mohit brings a strong focus on inclusion, employability, and community-building.

During his time as a sabbatical officer, he has led key initiatives around student engagement, campus improvements, and accessibility. Mohit sits on various University committees, ensuring that student priorities are embedded at all levels of decision-making.

Frances Wadsworth

Frances Wadsworth has extensive experience from across the educational sector, for which she was awarded a CBE in 2022. In addition to a successful career in further educational leadership, where she was responsible for the turnaround leadership of a number of FE colleges, Frances has served as a governor in the school, FE and HE sectors.

She has held a number of Ministerial appointments: the National role of Chair of Ofqual, as Further Education Commissioner, providing independent oversight of England’s FE Colleges; and as a member of CITB Board. Frances currently serves as a Deputy FE Commissioner providing leadership and governance support for England’s further educational colleges.

Professor Shân Wareing

Professor Shân Wareing is the University's Vice-Chancellor. Prior to this role she was Deputy Vice-Chancellor at the University of Northampton, and other executive roles she has held include Chief Operating Officer at London South Bank University and Pro Vice-Chancellor Learning and Teaching at Buckinghamshire New University.

Shân’s first job was as a Lecturer in English Language and Linguistics at the University of Roehampton, before she moved into the field of Education Development, during which period she was Co-Chair of the Staff and Educational Development Association. She has a track record of leading institutional transformation programmes including assessment at University of the Arts London, leading to a 12% uplift in the assessment and feedback questions in the National Student Survey sustained over ten years, digital transformation of the student journey at London South Bank University, which won a PwC award, and recruitment improvements at the University of Northampton, leading to an uplift in recruitment of 18-year-old students, ahead of comparable Higher Education Institutions.

From 2020-2025, she was Chair of the charity Unite Foundation, and is Chair of AdvanceHE’s Leadership and Management Strategic Advisory Group. She has published in the fields of linguistics, equality, diversity and inclusion, leadership and team development, and learning and teaching in higher education. Her current scholarly interests are leadership and governance, diversity and inclusion, and higher education policy.

Shân studied English Literature and Language at the University of Oxford, and Sociolinguistics at the University of Strathclyde. She was a competitive rower for many years and has a rowing half-blue from Oxford. Shân holds a postgraduate diploma in Higher Education studies from the Institute of Education, University College London, she is a Professor of Teaching in Higher Education, a Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and a National Teaching Fellow.

Homiyar Wykes

Homiyar Wykes is currently Global Financial Controller for Exa Infrastructure, a digital infrastructure company, where he is responsible for finance transformation and managing the global finance function. 

He started his career as an audit trainee with Arthur Andersen and worked in positions of increasing global responsibility at KPMG, ArcelorMittal (Metals and Mining), Stolt-Nielsen (Transportation and Logistics) and ED&F Man (Commodity Trading). Homiyar is a Chartered Accountant and holds a Post Graduate Diploma in Business Management from Warwick Business School.