Members of Council

Ms Cathy Armor: Independent member who joined Council in 2019. Director of People, Cambridge University Press. Member of the Personnel and Remuneration committees.

Ms Catherine Bray: Independent member who joined Council in 2020. Commissioner, producer and writer-director of films and currently Head of Arts at Little Dot Studios. Catherine also freelances as a print and broadcast journalist.

Ms Ri Chakraborty: Independent member since 2019. Film producer for Spring Films and film evaluator for the Malta Film Commission. Member of the Nominations Committee.

Professor Lady Rachel Cooper OBE: Co-opted member with a background in education, joined the Council in 2018. Professor of Design Management and Policy, Lancaster University and manager of Lancaster Institute for the Contemporary Arts. Member of Nominations Committee.

Ms Sarah Kennedy: Co-opted member nominated by Senate from the University’s professional support staff to be a member of Council. Joined the Council in 2020. Digital Design technician at NUA.

Ms Alex Ferguson: Independent member, who joined the Council in 2019. Professional accountant. Finance Director for property services company, previously held a variety of roles with Aviva plc. Member of the Audit Committee.

Mr Andy Grimbly: Independent member since 2015. Professional accountant and assurance partner with PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PWC) based in East Anglia. Chairs the Audit and Remuneration committees.

Mr Mark Jeffries: Deputy Chair. Independent member who joined Council in 2016. Qualified solicitor and former national managing and senior partner at Mills and Reeve, solicitors. Chairs Finance and Resources Committee.

Ms Alison Johns: Independent member who joined Council in 2017. Chief Executive of AdvanceHE. Previous roles include Head of Leadership and Management at the Higher Education Council for England. Chair of the Personnel Committee and member of the Remuneration Committee.

Professor John Last OBE: Vice Chancellor and ex-officio member of the Council since 2009. Member of the Finance and Resources, Nominations and Personnel committees.

Ms Natalie Lanzalaco: Natalie joined the Council on 1 August 2020, on taking-up the role of president of the Students’ Union. Ex-officio member of the Council and graduate of the University.

Mr Derren Lawford: Independent member. Joined the Council in 2020. Derren is the Creative Director at Woodcut Media where he is responsible for editorial strategy and securing co-production, distribution and programme finance.

Mr Albert McMenemy: Chair of Council and independent member. Joined the Council in 2011. Former Registrar and Secretary of the University of Manchester, who previously served on the board of the Higher Education Statistical Agency (HESA). In addition to Council, Chairs the Nominations Committee and is a member of the Finance and Resources and Remuneration committees.

Ms Nina Nannar: Independent member since 2012. News Correspondent for ITV News specialising in arts and media. Member of the Personnel and Remuneration committees.

Mr James Smith: Co-opted member of the University’s academic staff nominated to be a member of the Council by Senate in 2018, and again 2020. Course leader for BA (Hons) Photography. Member of Nominations Committee.

Mr Ian Watson: Independent member who joined Council in 2017. Chief Executive of Hotter Shoes. Previous roles included Chief Executive of Start-rite Shoes Ltd and European Managing Director for Britax Childcare based in Germany. Member of Finance and Resources Committee.

Mr Toby Wilson: Independent member who joined the Council in 2020. Audit Partner with Lovewell Blake LLP. Member of the Finance and Resources Committee.

Mr Tom Wood: Independent member since 2017. Founder and Managing Partner of the design agency, Foolproof. Member of Audit Committee.