The Board oversees the strategic development of the university and ensures the effective use of resources and the general solvency of the institution.Â
The Board comprises members from within higher education, industry and commerce as well as representatives of the students and staff (both academic and professional services staff). The Vice-Chancellor and certain members of the University Executive Team are Board Members.
Who is on the University Board?
External members
David Furniss (Chair)
David has over 38 years’ experience in the Financial Services sector, most recently as Group Chief Executive of Teachers Assurance, the Bournemouth-based provider of insurance, savings and investments to the education profession. David was appointed Chairman of Benenden Healthcare in July 2017.
Prior to that he had been General Manager of BMA Services, the financial services arm of the British Medical Association.
David is a business graduate, Chartered Insurer and a member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing.
David has extensive UK Corporate Governance and company chairperson experience and has sat on committees including Audit and Compliance, Investment, Risk, Nominations and Remuneration. David has senior expertise in strategic planning, and the setting, delivery of, and monitoring performance against operational plans in complex and highly regulated organisations.
David was appointed Chair of the University Board from 11 July 2022, and is Chair of the Nominations Committee, Honorary Awards Committee and Student Experience, Quality & Standards Committee and a member of the Finance & Resources Committee and the Remuneration Committee.
Karima Fahmy (Deputy Chair)
Karima is a corporate lawyer having trained and practiced at the international law firm Hogan Lovells before moving in-house in 2011 to Grosvenor Group, one of the world's largest privately owned property businesses. Karima was Group General Counsel at Grosvenor from 2016 to 2020.
Karima currently holds non-executive positions on the Board of Latimer Homes, the Investment Committee of Clarion Housing Group and the University of Cambridge Property Board.
Karima has a degree in Law from Cambridge University. She has also completed leadership courses at Harvard, IMD and the Cambridge Institute of Sustainability Leadership.
Karima is currently Deputy Chair of the University Board, Chair of the Audit, Risk and Governance Committee and Deputy Chair of the Nominations Committee.
David Crosby
David Crosby is a medical research strategist and leader with a track record of thought leadership and driving progress in biomedical research. He has experience of creating research strategies, business cases and delivery programmes across complex discovery, translational and clinical research environments.Â
David has a track record of major partnership deal delivery and has driven research progress in academic, industrial, public and charitable sectors, and multiple disease areas (including oncology, cardiovascular and immunology), acquiring insights and approaches from each. Having previously worked for the University of Bristol, BOC Medical/Linde Gas Therapeutics and the Medical Research Council, he currently has roles with the Office for Life Sciences where he advises on the development and delivery of the UK government’s Cancer Mission, and is Head of Prevention and Early Detection Research at Cancer Research UK.
David is a member of the Audit, Risk & Governance Committee.
Maggie Frost
Maggie is currently Group Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer for a leading London advertising and marketing business, VCCP Group which is part of the Chime Group which was previously quoted and is now private equity owned. Maggie trained as a chartered accountant at KPMG.
Maggie is responsible for managing all the finances and operations (HR, IT, Legal and Business Support) of the VCCP Group in the UK and has also experience of managing the finances and operations of VCCP’s international operations.
Maggie has a history of supporting charities through her previous work as a trustee including for Westminster Victim Support and currently is joint chair of the Coroner’s Court Support Service. Maggie is a Fellow of the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising (IPA), for whom she was Honorary Treasurer for 8 years and is now currently a member of the IPA’s Finance Committee.
Maggie is a member of the University’s Audit, Risk & Governance Committee.
Nicholas Golding
Nick Golding is a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants and a member of the Chartered Institute of Taxation, with many years of experience working in senior finance roles, most recently Finance Director at Heathrow Airport Ltd where his role also incorporated helping to drive change in carbon management and sustainability. His specialist experience includes external reporting (Statutory/Regulatory), Tax, Treasury Control, Risk and Support/Delivery Services. Nick is also a ÃÛÌÒAV alumni, having studied Accounting and Business Studies.
Nick is a member of the Audit, Risk & Governance Committee and the Student Experience, Quality & Standards Committee.
Karl Hoods, CBE
Karl is an experienced CIO and has regularly featured amongst the top 100 UK CIO’s, successfully leading and transforming large technology and digital functions in challenging environments.
He is currently the Group Chief Digital and Information Officer at the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero and the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology. Prior to this, he worked in similar roles at Save the Children, Department for Education and Partnerships for schools.
Karl is a graduate of our very own University, and has a Bsc (Hons.) in Information Systems Management. He is a member of the Finance and Resources Committee (and Remuneration Committee).
Karl was awarded a CBE in the 2024 King’s New Year Honours for services to technology and education.
Simon Jackson
Simon Jackson is a Chartered Accountant with extensive experience of working in senior finance roles for FCA regulated and Channel Island regulated businesses with experience of AIM floatation and subsequent rapid growth both organic and by way of acquisition. He is currently Chief Finance Officer at WH Ireland Group Plc.
Simon had extensive experience of developing finance and risk systems to cope with changing requirements and regulations to provide rapid and accurate management information. He also has a wide range of board level experience and membership of finance, audit and risk and compliance, treasury, ExCo, and strategy committees.
Simon is a member of the Finance & Resources Committee.
Stuart Jones
Stuart has worked as a Director at Savills UK Limited for over ten years, operating both locally and nationally on a wide range of land and property matters. Prior to this he held positions at both PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL). He is a long-standing member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), with sound property and financial expertise.Â
He has strong local community connections, attended Canford School in Wimborne and now lives in rural Dorset.
Stuart is Deputy Chair of the university’s Finance and Resources Committee and a member of the Student Experience, Quality & Standards Committee.
Sara Luder
Sara is currently working as a Solicitor, and has been a partner at Slaughter and May since 1998. She has been in her current role as Head of Tax for the last 8 years, and is recognised as a leading practitioner in tax in all the leading legal directories.
Sara has a particular interest in diversity, and formed the Slaughter and May’s Parent network, and formed and continues to sponsor its Women’s network. She is also involved in internal and external mentoring schemes, and set up the firm’s Female Leadership Development Programme.
She is a trustee of School Home Support which is a charity that works with schools to overcome barriers to Education, improving engagement in learning and attendance.
Sara read Maths and then Law at Trinity College, Cambridge and also has a LLM from Queen Mary College, University of London.
Sara is Deputy Chair of the Student Experience, Quality & Standards Committee.
Anthony Murphy
Anthony Murphy is a finance professional and an Associate Chartered Management Accountant (CIMA) with extensive banking, financial and strategic planning experience. Prior to his current position as Chief Financial Officer at the Nottingham building society Anthony was CFO at Tandem where he played a pivotal role in the companies migration to a new core banking platform, concluded a number of capital raises, merger and acquisitions activities and grew its deposit offering. Before that he worked in the United Arab Emirates as CFO for a listed regional bank and has also held a number of senior finance and strategy roles with Lloyds Banking Group.
Anthony is an alumnus of ÃÛÌÒAV, having graduated with a B.A (Hons) Financial Services with first class honours in 2001.
He is a member of the Audit, Risk & Governance Committee and the Student Experience, Quality & Standards Committee.
Jo Pretty
Jo Pretty is an accomplished leader in the field of education and training, with a proven track record of shaping and delivering strategic objectives. She has a broad range of experience including governance, change management, quality improvement and financial resilience.Â
Jo currently works as Further Education adviser to the Department of Education and her other recent roles have included Principal/Chief Accounting Officer at University College, Isle of Man and Principal/Chief Executive Officer at Lowestoft College. Jo is completing a doctoral thesis which examines apprentices’ creativity within the workplace.
Jo is a member of the Student Experience, Quality & Standards Committee and the Honorary Awards Committee.
David Smith
David Smith is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) and holds a Diploma in Personnel Management and Master’s Degree in Employment Relations and Law. He has over 30 years’ experience within Human Resources working across a number of sectors, including time as the Group HR Director for LV= based in Bournemouth.Â
David is a commercially minded Human Resources Director with extensive M&A, transformation and leadership experience gained operating at Executive/Board level across a number of organisations such as Sainsbury’s, Virgin Atlantic and Private Equity backed businesses.
He also has extensive experience of working with and sitting on Remuneration Committees.
David is a member of the Finance & Resources Committee and the Remuneration Committee.
Deborah Warman
Deborah Warman is a human resources and reward specialist and Chartered Fellow of the Institute of Personnel & Development. She was most recently Group Head of Performance, Reward and Employee Relations at Marks & Spencer plc with overall accountability for group-wide strategy in all areas related to Performance and Performance Management, Reward for all employees including senior colleagues and Employee Relations and Employment Policy.
Deborah has significant experience of corporate governance senior level remuneration and reporting requirements, including those related to gender pay. She has broad HR and organisational design experience in previous roles.
Deborah was also recently appointed by the judiciary as a lay member of the Employment Tribunals where she sits on more complex employment cases involving discrimination or whistleblowing claims. Deborah has also been appointed from September 2022 as a governor to the Board of Lady Eleanor Holles School and in addition sits on the Education, Staff & Wellbeing Committee.
Deborah is a member of the Finance & Resources Committee, the Honorary Awards Committee and Chair of the Remuneration Committee.
Robert Williams
Robert is a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales and until recently was Chief Financial Officer at Cardiff University where he was responsible for finance, procurement and estates. Prior to Cardiff he was Deputy Director of Finance at University of Oxford.
Robert is Chair of the university’s Finance and Resources Committee and a member of the Nominations Committee.
Internal Members
Professor Alison Honour – Vice-Chancellor
Susie Reynell – Finance Director
 – Academic Staff Member of the Board
- Senate Member of the Board
Vacancy - Student Member of the Board
Chike Dike – President of the Students’ Union ÃÛÌÒAV
Chike is the elected President of the Students' Union at ÃÛÌÒAV.
Joyce Napa – Professional and Support Staff member of the Board
Deborah Wakely – Head of Legal Services and Corporate Governance and Clerk to the University Board
Deborah Wakely is the Clerk to the University Board and can be contacted at [email protected].