Professor Simon Gaskell is Chair of the QAA Board. He holds degrees from the University of Bristol and has had an academic career (with multiple industrial connections), both in the UK and US. After spending several years at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, he returned to the UK to take up a chair in mass spectrometry at what was then the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology. His research career has been devoted to the application of physical chemical techniques to the solution of problems in the biomedical sciences. He was closely involved with the merger of UMIST and the Victoria University of Manchester (2002-04), and subsequently became Vice President for Research.

In 2009, Professor Gaskell was appointed President and Principal of Queen Mary University of London. In 2012, he began two terms as an elected member of the executive board and Treasurer of Universities UK. He served as chair of the Higher Education Statistics Agency from 2013-17. He retired from full-time roles in 2017.

Current connections with HE institutions (other than employment):
Honorary Professor, University of Manchester; Member of Governing Body, University of Plymouth, Chair, Data Landscape Steering Group (under the auspices of the UK Higher Education Statistics Agency)

Connections with professional and subject-based bodies:
Member of Advisory Board, Halpin Partnership, Royal Society of Chemistry

Connections with other bodies:
None

Eve Alcock graduated from the University of Bath in 2018 with a degree in Psychology, before spending two years as President of the University of Bath’s Students’ Union where she was a governor of the University and Chair of the SU’s Board of Trustees.

She was heavily involved in the appointment of Bath’s new Vice-Chancellor and Chair of Council, and helped implement extensive governance reform on the University Council. She has represented students on a range of issues, from buses and accommodation to mental health and inclusivity. She has coordinated women in leadership work during her Presidency, organising two conferences with external speakers and workshops, and launching her own podcast “Rise Up” which empowers women to lead.

Eve is also passionate about student engagement and has a keen interest in national higher education policy. She has held positions on NUS’ HE Zone and Democratic Procedures Committees and was a member of the UK Standing Committee for Quality Assessment, contributing to national conversations of quality from a student perspective. Her speaking appearances at sector conferences organised by organisations like UUK, AULA and Wonkhe have given her a strong experience of amplifying the student voice at a national level.

Dr Vanessa Davies held the position of Director General of the Bar Standards Board (BSB), the regulatory body for barristers in England and Wales, for nine years before retiring in January 2020.

Previously, she started her professional life as a linguist at King’s College London, where she was a British Academy Post-Doctoral Fellow in French and then a senior lecturer, leading the College’s language centre for seven years. She then moved to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and spent nearly a decade as a senior civil servant, initially as the Director of the Diplomatic Service Language Centre and subsequently leading a Group delivering a range of professional services in support of UK foreign policy. 

In 2005 Vanessa left the FCO and trained as a barrister. Prior to taking over the leadership of the BSB in late 2010, she was the deputy CEO of a large legal aid charity working in refugee, asylum and immigration law. 

Current connections with HE institutions (other than employment):
Alumna and former employee of Kings College London (KCL) (1981-1997), husband an emeritus professor of KCL, son and daughter in law received PhD from KCL (2016), son a Leverhulme Early Career Fellow at University of Newcastle (November 2019-2022)

Connections with other bodies:
Non-Executive Director, Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS), Scotland, Bencher of Inner Temple, Trustee, Law for Life, The Foundation for Public Legal Education (registered charity)

Sara is Chief Executive at ICSA, a role she has held since July 2019.

Sara studied law at the University of Cambridge and has spent much of her career working in the media sector for both publishing and television companies and as a writers’ agent.  In recent years she has worked with professional bodies in the built environment and construction sectors and has been managing director of the Homebuilders Federation and the Royal Town Planning Institute.  She was appointed Chief Executive of the Association for Project Management in 2015 which was awarded a royal charter in 2016 and has recently been appointed Chief Executive of ICSA – the Governance Institute.  Sara has served as a governor of Kingston University and of local schools.  She currently holds non-executive directorships in the business and construction sectors and is a Trustee of Welcare. 

Current connections with HE institutions (other than employment):
Hon Fellow, Kingston University

Connections with professional and subject-based bodies:
Member Girdlers Livery Company, Member National Trust, Fellow RSA

Connections with other bodies:
Non-Executive Director of Constant Air Systems Limited, Trustee of Southwark Diocesan Welcare, Chair of Mayfair and St James Association

Linda Duncan is Vice-Chair to the QAA Board. She is an established Board Member and Advisor and an accomplished Finance and Audit professional and consultant to REDCap Cloud. Throughout her successful career at PwC, KPMG and more recently as an international entrepreneur, she is a recognised expert in Corporate Governance and Risk Management working with large complex organisations across public and private sectors.

Linda went to school in the north of Scotland and graduated in Accountancy from Napier University, Edinburgh. She went on to qualify with the Chartered Institute of Public Finance & Accountancy, and led audit and value for money exercises in central and local government for over 25 years.

She is recent past Chair of the Joint Audit Panel for the Metropolitan Police Service and the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime in London and previously served as a co-opted Member on the Corporate Governance Committee of the Metropolitan Police Authority.

Current connections with HE institutions (other than employment):
First cousin studying at Oxford Brookes University

Connections with professional and subject-based bodies:
None

Connections with other bodies:
Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy

Hillary Gyebi-Ababio is the current Vice President of Higher Education for the National Union of Students. She believes in an education sector where all students are able to participate fully without financial or social barriers. Hillary was elected to a two-year term in April 2020 by 85% of delegates from NUS member students’ unions.

Prior to her role with the NUS, she was the Undergraduate Education Officer at the University of Bristol’s Students’ Union, where she worked on inclusive assessment reforms, student support, and chaired Bristol SU’s Widening Participation Network.

She studied Social Policy at the University of Bristol.

Current connections with HE institutions (other than employment):
None

Connections with professional and subject-based bodies:
Trustee for the Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education

Connections with other bodies:
None

Professor Maria Hinfelaar is Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive at Wrexham Glyndŵr University, a role she has held since 1 April 2016. Prior to this position, Maria served as President and Chief Accounting Officer of the Limerick Institute of Technology, where she oversaw significant development of the Institute, increasing enrolments to nearly 7,000 students and adding campus locations in Limerick and Tipperary.

During her career she has published various articles in journals on the subject of international retailing, in addition to a book entitled Key Success Factors in International Retailing, compiling the findings of her PhD at Maastricht University, the Netherlands. 

Her recent international research publications and conference presentations cover Irish higher education policy and collaborations, alliances and mergers in the sector.

Maria is a graduate of the UK Leadership Foundation Top Management Programme and holds UK Higher Education Academy Fellowship status. She is a Dutch national who has spent a significant number of years living and working in English-speaking countries.

Current connections with HE institutions (other than employment):
Directorship at Glyndwr Innovations with North Wales Science board (both subsidiary companies of the University), Mersey Dee Alliance, North Wales Economic Ambition Board

Connections with professional and subject-based bodies:
Universities Wales, Universities UK, Higher Education Academy

Connections with other bodies:
None

Oliver Johnson has wide experience in different sectors and types of organisation, including more than ten years as a CEO and as a Non-Executive Director. He is faculty of Social Sciences at UEA (Sister, Finance Manager). He mentors and occasionally lectures at the UEA’s business school, and elsewhere.

Oliver grew up in Norwich and graduated in Economics from Cambridge University. He then worked in marketing and commercial positions for Reckitts, BAT, Volvo and Mercedes-Benz in the UK and abroad. With others he bought Denby, a tableware company, before becoming CEO of The Wine Society. His non-executive roles have included the NHS, a DEFRA company and the University of Bedfordshire.

Current connections with HE institutions (other than employment):
None

Connections with professional and subject-based bodies:
None

Connections with other bodies:
Member, with Profits Committee, Reliance Life, Chair of Governors, South Kilworth Primary School, Leicestershire

Angela Joyce joined Warwickshire College Group (WCG) in April 2015 as Chief Executive Officer. WCG is one of the largest college groups in the country with seven colleges based across the West Midlands. Since Angela’s appointment, the Group has grown and has had successful outcomes from both Ofsted inspection and QAA review. 

Angela was previously Principal and Chief Executive at Peterborough Regional College, where she led the transformation of the College and was noted in the Ofsted report as having 'had a profound impact since her appointment in successfully raising the college's ambition; establishing an ethos of continuous improvement and creating strong and determined focus on improving learners' outcomes', while securing the College a consistent ‘outstanding’ rating for its financial health.  

Angela began her career working in secondary schools before moving into the further education sector. She has worked at senior level in education for a number of years building significant partnerships at local, regional and national level, specifically with employers. 

Current connections with HE institutions (other than employment):
None

Connections with professional and subject-based bodies:
Companion Chartered Management Institute (CMI), Regional Councillor, Confederation of British Industry (CBI), Landex Board Director, Coventry and Warwickshire LEP Skills Board, Worcestershire LEP Skills Board

Connections with other bodies:
College University Partnerships

Professor Craig Mahoney is Principal and Vice-Chancellor at the University of the West of Scotland. His previous roles have included CEO at the Higher Education Academy and Deputy Vice-Chancellor at Northumbria University. A dynamic public advocate of higher education, Craig has a keen interest in differentiated student-centred learning, teaching excellence, internationalisation and research informed teaching. He is an ardent supporter of the use of e-learning; technology to support teaching and open educational resources.

A chartered psychologist and an Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society, Craig has been an internationally recognised sport psychologist for more than 25 years. Craig is a Board member for Sportscotland, the Leadership Foundation for Higher Education, Glasgow City of Science and is a Trustee on the Carnegie Trust for Universities of Scotland. He holds a Convenorship with Universities Scotland for Learning and Teaching.

Current connections with HE institutions (other than employment):
Daughter working at Leeds Beckett University, son studying at Wolverhampton University

Connections with professional and subject-based bodies:
Fellow RSA, Fellow BASES, Associate Fellow BPS, Fellow IoD

Connections with other bodies:
Board member for SportScotland, Board member for Glasgow City of Sciences, Trustee on the Carnegie Trust for Universities of Scotland, Convener Universities Scotland for Learning and Teaching Committee, Convener Universities Scotland Efficiencies Task Committee

Emerita Professor Denise McAlister was formerly Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Learning,Teaching, and Student Experience) at Ulster University from 2011-2017.

Previous to this she held positions as Head of School, School of Public Policy, Economics and Law, and Dean of the Faculties of Business and Management and Social Sciences and Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Quality Assurance and Enhancement).

Previously educated at the Queen’s University of Belfast, the University of Salford and the University of Tromso, Norway, Professor McAlister was appointed to a personal Chair in Health Policy in 1998. Her research interests and expertise include economic appraisal and evaluation, the economics of contracting and the role of the user in health policy evaluation and she is currently on the editorial board of the Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education.

She has held a number of public appointments including membership of the Ministerial Advisory Board, Water Service (NI), and the National Board for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting, interim chair Economic Research Institute (NI), membership of the Governing Body of BIFHE and a Board Member of the Northern Ireland Public Sector Enterprises Ltd (NI-CO), Department of Trade and Investment.

She was a member of the N.I. Ministerial Advisory Group appointed to provide policy advice on the reform of GCSEs and A-Levels. She has undertaken consultancy projects in performance measurement and economic appraisal for a wide range of government departments and public sector organisations, and provided policy relevant advice to Ministers, CEOs and civil servants.

Professor McAlister was awarded a CBE in the 2010 New Year’s Honours for service’s to higher education in Northern Ireland.

Current connections with HE institutions (other than employment):
None

Connections with professional and subject-based bodies:
Professor Emeritus Ulster University

Connections with other bodies:
Member, Expert Group, Review of GSCE and 'A' Level Qualifications, Curriculum Examinations and Assessment (CEA), Department of Education (NI)

Professor Sue Rigby has been the Vice-Chancellor of Bath Spa University since January 2018. Previously, she was Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Student Development at the University of Lincoln where she was responsible for the student journey from application to alumni activities.

Sue has previously worked as a paleontologist at the universities of Cambridge, Leicester and Edinburgh before becoming Assistant Principal, and then Vice-Principal at the University of Edinburgh.

Sue led the Inclusive Development strand of the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) Disabled Students Sector Leadership Group. In addition, she led the work undertaken by the Higher Education Funding Council for England to define information needs for taught postgraduate students.

Internationally, Sue has contributed to the development of reward and recognition processes for staff in learning and teaching through the U21 network, and developed the first MOOC to be shared by students in the U21 Universities.

Current connections with HE institutions (other than employment):
Son is a student at the University of Edinburgh, husband is an academic

Connections with professional and subject-based bodies:
Trustee at Student Minds

Connections with other bodies:
Executive Member of MillionPlus, Member of AdvanceHE, GuildHE, UUL

Professor John Sawkins is Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Deputy Principal) Learning and Teaching at Heriot-Watt University.

His background is as an economist with research interests in the economic regulation of the water industry, with particular reference to water pricing, affordability and debt. He has served as a member of water industry consumer bodies and has advised economic regulatory bodies in Scotland and the rest of the UK.

John is currently responsible for leading and implementing the learning and teaching strategy and for academic quality assurance and enhancement across Heriot-Watt University. His external quality assurance experience includes working as a reviewer for QAA (Scotland) Enhancement-Led Institutional Review (ELIR).

Current connections with HE institutions (other than employment):
Children study at The University of Edinburgh

Connections with professional and subject-based bodies:
Member of UK Standing Committee for Quality Assurance, Fellow of Higher Education Academy

Connections with other bodies:
Managing Trustee for City of Edinburgh Methodist Church, Member of Scottish Bible Society

Professor Oliver Turnbull is Pro Vice Chancellor (Teaching & Learning) at Bangor University, where he has held the post since 2012. He is especially interested in improving the quality of teaching. He led the University’s 2017 TEF application, the University’s 2018 QAA Quality Enhancement Review, and on measures of student satisfaction has overseen the University’s National Student Survey.

Professor Turnbull is a neuropsychologist, with an interest in emotion and its many consequences for mental life. He is also a clinician, whose work is with neurological and neurosurgical patients, especially those who have suffered cerebro-vascular accident (stroke). His scientific interests include: emotion-based learning; the role of emotion in delusional beliefs; the neuroscience of psychotherapy; the management and control of emotion; and emotional memory, and its preservation even in profound amnesia. He is the author of roughly 150 scientific articles on these topics, and co-author of the popular science book 'The Brain and the Inner World'.

Current connections with HE institutions (other than employment): 
Daughter is an undergraduate at Cardiff University

Connections with professional and subject-based bodies: 
Chair, Neuropsychology Trust

Connections with other bodies: 
British Psychological Society, Health Care Professions Council

Professor Andrew Wathey has been Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive of Northumbria University since September 2008. He is the University's fourth Vice-Chancellor.

Born in Plymouth, he graduated in Music from the University of Oxford in 1979, where he took his doctorate in Music in 1987.

Professor Wathey's published research has focused on the social and cultural history of music in late-medieval England and France, in particular court patronage, music in medieval towns, and the 14th-century motet. He has also been heavily involved in the digital study of medieval music manuscripts, and was a co-founder of the Digital Image Archive of Medieval Music (DIAMM). He is a member of the British Academy's Early English Church Music Committee, which he chaired 2002-2007, and of the RISM (UK) Trust. He was also Chair of the Music subject panel in the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise. 

Current connections with HE institutions (other than employment):
Son at University of Oxford, daughter at University of St Andrews

Connections with professional and subject-based bodies:
Fellow, Industry and Parliamentary Trust, Fellow, Royal Historical Society, Fellow, Royal Society for Arts, Fellow, Society of Antiquaries, Member, Royal Music Association

Connections with other bodies:
Director, Digital Image Archive of Medieval Music, Non-Executive Director, Student Loans Company, Chair, UK-wide Standing Committee for Quality Assurance, Member, CBI Regional Council, Governor, Newcastle Hospitals NHS, Foundation Trust, Board Member, Newcastle Gateshead Initiative

Craig has been CEO and Managing Director of Kantar Public UK since February 2019. Prior to Kantar Craig was the Business Development Leader for Ernst & Young’s (EY) UK Government & Public Sector practice for over three years.

Craig grew up in Newport, South Wales before graduating from University College Cardiff in Zoology.

Prior to joining EY Craig spent nearly 25 years in the public sector, entering the Civil Service graduate scheme in 1991 and joining the Metropolitan Police Service. During his time with the Metropolitan Police he moved into Finance as a profession and gained an MBA. Craig moved into Whitehall in 2006 as the Head of Strategy at the Office for Criminal Justice Reform for in the Home Office, leading the development of the criminal justice system’s cross agency strategy. In 2008 he became the Director of Corporate Services and CFO for the Youth Justice Board.

In 2010, Craig moved from the Youth Justice Board to become the Finance Director for the Ministry of Justice .

Craig has a keen interest in social mobility and the ability of higher education to dramatically alter an individual’s opportunities and life outcomes.

Current connections with HE institutions (other than employment):
Daughter attending Northampton University

Connections with professional and subject-based bodies:
Member of the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA), Fellow of the Association of Professional Sales (APS)

Connections with other bodies:
None

Professor Philip Wilson is Group Chief Executive (Creative) of Global University Systems and is responsible for the following independent institutions:

1. London College of Creative Arts
2. London College of Creative Media
3. HTK (Germany – Berlin & Hamburg)
4. Pearl Academy (India’s leading creative institution) that I am setting up in the UK
5. Trebas Institute (Montreal & Toronto)

He is an Independent NED at Paralympic NGB, British Wheelchair Basketball, Director & Trustee of Burnley FC in the Community, Board Member of ACDAP.

Current connections with HE institutions (other than employment):
None

Connections with professional and subject-based bodies:
IoD, Athenaeum Club, Chartered Institute of Management

Connections with other bodies:
Director, Actium Advisory Ltd