Council Member Biographies

Members of Council

Pro-Chancellor and Chair of Council

Mr Rob Woodward

Rob is Chief Executive Officer of STV group plc, the Scottish based media company. Prior to this he was a senior advisor to LongAcre Partners, Europe's leading independent mid-market corporate finance house focusing on the media and internet sectors. Until 2005 Rob served as Commercial Director of Channel 4 Television. He was an executive member of the Channel 4 Corporation Board and responsible for Channel 4's commercial wellbeing. Included in his responsibilities was the management of the portfolio of commercial businesses in 4 Ventures. These businesses included digital channels such as E4 and Film Four, New Media Services and Rights Exploitation. During his tenure, Rob developed and executed a commercial strategy for Channel 4 which has positioned the Corporation at the forefront of digital media. He transformed the performance of Channel 4's commercial businesses from heavily loss-making to significantly profitable.

Prior to joining Channel 4, Rob was a Managing Director at UBS Corporate Finance where he worked in both London and New York. Before this, Rob was the Managing Partner of Braxton UK, the strategy consulting practice of Deloitte. He also led Deloitte Consulting's European Technology, Media & Telecommunications (TMT) group. He has specialised in advising TMT companies on strategic and corporate finance issues for the past 20 years.

Mr Woodward was appointed to the board of trustees of the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts (NESTA) on 1 November 2009, with responsibility for representing Scottish interests.

He has a BSc Hons from Durham University and an MBA from Edinburgh University.

Deputy Pro-Chancellor

Mr Roger Bright

Roger Bright graduated from Cambridge in 1973 and joined the Department of the Environment, where he went on to hold a series of senior positions, including Principal Private Secretary and Press Secretary to the Secretary of State. He left the Civil Service and became Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the Housing Corporation in 1991 and then held senior posts including Chief Executive at the Personal Investment Authority.  Subsequently he was Head of the Investment Business (Personal Investment Authority firms) Department at the Financial Services Authority.

Mr Bright joined the Crown Estate in June 1999 as Director of Finance and Administration and was appointed to the Board in April 2000. In June 2001 he was appointed Chief Executive of The Crown Estate, but has recently retired from this post.

Vice-Chancellor - Professor Paul Curran

Vice-Chancellor Professor Paul Curran joined City University London in 2010 having served previously as Vice-Chancellor at Bournemouth University and Deputy Vice-Chancellor at the University of Southampton.

Read Professor Curran's biography.

Mr Stephen Avery

Stephen Avery joined City University as Chief Financial Officer in July 2012.  Stephen has a BA from the University of Stirling, an MBA from Heriot-Watt University and is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.  Stephen's early career was in the accountancy and financial management consultancy practice of Price Waterhouse.  He has held senior financial management positions with the BBC, the CBI and the FSA and he has undertaken interim senior financial management roles at a number of UK universities and other organisations in the public and private sector.

Deputy Vice-Chancellor (International & Development) - Professor Constantinos (Dinos) Arcoumanis

Professor Arcoumanis leads on international and development at City University London. He joined City in 2000 as Head of the Aeronautical, Civil and Mechanical Engineering Department and Dean of the School of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences.  Professor Arcoumanis was appointed Pro-Vice-Chancellor with responsibility for research and international links in 2006,Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research & International) in 2008, and Deputy Vice-Chancellor (International & Development) in 2012.

Read Professor Arcoumanis' biography.

Mr Brendan Barber

Brendan Barber joined the Council of City University London on 1st January 2013.

In 1975 Brendan began a 37 year relationship with the Trades Union Congress (TUC).  Initially working as a policy officer, he held several roles before being appointed Deputy General Secretary in 1993. In June 2003 he became General Secretary, a role he held until his retirement in 2012.

City University London alumnus and former President of the Students' Union, Brendan Barber graduated with a BSc in Social Sciences in 1974. Brendan was awarded an Honorary Degree from City University London in 2007.

Deputy Vice-Chancellor - Professor David Bolton

Deputy Vice-Chancellor Professor David Bolton is responsible for educational aspects of the University's academic activity.  He has held several posts at City University London and prior to his current appointment was Dean of the School of Informatics until 2008 and Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Learning & Teaching).

Read Professor David Bolton's biography.

Professor Sir Drummond Bone

Professor Sir Drummond Bone was Vice-Chancellor of the University of Liverpool from 2002 to 2008 and President of Universities UK from August 2005 to August 2007. Previously he was Principal of Royal Holloway and Bedford New College, University of London and Pro-Chancellor of the University of London.

He now chairs Laureate Inc's International Advisory Board, and acts as a Consultant to higher education through several organisations, including the British Council. He is Chair of The Observatory of Borderless Education, Chair of i-Graduate and the UK Library Research Project funded by HEFCE. He has recently completed a report for the Department of Innovation, Universities and Skills on the internationalisation of UK Higher Education over the next ten to fifteen years.

He was previously a Professor of English Literature at the University of Glasgow, known internationally for his work on Romantic Studies, and continues to co-edit the journal 'Romanticism'.

In the 2008 Queen's Birthday Honours List he received a knighthood for his services to higher education and the regeneration of the north-west of England.

Dame Lynne J Brindley, DBE

Dame Lynne Brindley was the Chief Executive of the British Library from 2000/12, leading a major strategic development and modernisation programme to ensure that the British Library remained relevant, innovative and accessible in the 21st century.

Dame Brindley came to the British Library from the University of Leeds where she was Pro-Vice-Chancellor. Previously she was a senior consultant with KPMG and has held leadership positions in information technology and knowledge management at Aston University and at the London School of Economics.

She is a council member of the Arts & Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and is on the board of the Creative Industries Knowledge Transfer Network. Lynne chaired the national Online Learning Taskforce set up by HEFCE and was a member of the UK's Strategic Advisory Board for Intellectual Property (SABIP). She is on the Court of the Goldmsiths' Company. She is active in high level international, European and national bodies concerned with media and information society initiatives, digital infrastructure and libraries, and cultural and public sector leadership.

Dame Brindley was appointed a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the New Year Honours List 2008.

Mr Giulio Folino

Giulio Folino is the President of City University Students' Union.  He has previously been the Vice Chair of the Student Council, Chair of the Student Activities Council, and President of the LGBT Society.
 
Before coming to university, Giulio worked at Challenge Consultancy, a training and consultancy firm specialising in Equality and Diversity.  He then decided to pursue a degree in Business Computing Systems.

Giulio's interests range from technology, food to politics and he has been a contributor to a number of student publications

Mr Andy Friend

Andy Friend currently chairs two unlisted infrastructure investment funds, focused respectively on Europe/the USA and the South East Mediterranean.  Andy was previously Chief Executive of John Laing plc, and a Non-Executive Director of Financial Security Assurance UK Ltd, the UK Department For Transport, and Partnerships UK.  He has been a Trustee of Oxfam, a Non-Executive Director of HS2 Ltd and a participant in the UK Government's Major Project Review Group. Prior to joining Macquarie Bank in 1997, he was Chief Executive of the City of Melbourne having held a number of public sector management roles in the UK and Australia. The early part of his career, 1973-1981, was spent working for various London based tenants' groups, voluntary agencies and law centres.

Mr Iain Gray

Iain Gray joined the Technology Strategy Board as Chief Executive in 2007, following its establishment as an executive non-departmental public body.

Iain is a Chartered Engineer, a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineers, a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society and in 2007 was awarded the Royal Aeronautical Society Gold Medal. In 2011 he was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.  He is a Board Member of Engineering UK, a Governor of the University of the West of England, a Board Member of the Sector Skills Council for Science, Engineering and Manufacturing Technologies (SEMTA) and a Board Member of the Energy Technologies Institute.

As Chief Executive of the Technology Strategy Board, Iain is the operational head of the organisation as it assumes its leading role in driving the UK's technology and innovation strategy.

Professor Steven Haberman

Professor of Actuarial Science, Dean of Cass Business School, City University London.

Steven Haberman graduated in mathematics from the University of Cambridge, qualifying as a Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries in 1975, and obtained his PhD and DSc in actuarial science from City University London. He is also a Fellow of the Royal Statistical Society and of the Institute of Mathematics and its Application, and also an Honorary Fellow of the Italian Institute of Actuaries.

He has worked at Prudential Assurance and for the Government Actuary's Department, and has been a member of the Council of the Institute of Actuaries. He is currently a member of Legal and General's Longevity Science Advisory Panel. He also has been a Governor of the City of London Academy - Islington and a member of the External Advisory Panel to the Morris Review of the UK Actuarial Profession, as well as the Financial Reporting Council's Board for Actuarial Standards. He has acted as a consultant to Deutsche Bank, Swiss Reinsurance, the FSA, Lucida and the National Audit Office among others.

He has written over 170 papers on a wide range of topics, including mortality and morbidity models, annuities, insurance pricing and pensions. His papers have won research prizes from the Institute of Actuaries and Society of Actuaries (US). He has also successfully supervised 24 doctorial students.  He is co-author of five books.

Mr Andrew Halper

Andrew Halper qualified as a barrister and solicitor in Vancouver in 1982 and practised at the Bar there until 1989, when he joined Canada's diplomatic service. A fluent speaker of Mandarin, he worked in Beijing for 7 years, first as a diplomat and then as a lawyer, and settled in the UK in 1998. He holds degrees in Chinese and in Law from the University of British Columbia and a degree in Comparative Law from the Université de Paris. In addition to full-time practice as a lawyer, he has lectured on Chinese law at the universities of London (SOAS), Cambridge and Oxford.

Ms Philippa Hird

Philippa is an experienced Independent Director with a particular interest in remuneration, governance and the delivery of complex change. She is currently a Non Executive Director of HMRC, of the Remuneration Consultants Group and of City University London. As Group Human Resources Director of ITV Plc until 2009 she led the integration of the regional ITV companies.  Prior to that she held general management and then HR roles in Granada Group Plc. She began her career as a Marketing Manager with ICI having studied Politics, Philosophy and Economics at Queens' College Oxford.

Philippa has been a Board member of Opportunity Now and of Skillset and Vice President of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD). She is a Companion of the CIPD and a fellow of the RSA.

Dr John Low

John Low is Chief Executive of the Charities Aid Foundation (CAF), which seeks to stimulate giving, social investment and the effective use of funds by offering a range of specialist services to charities and donors. He is also an Independent Member of the House of Lords Appointments Commission and a Director of the Euclid Network of European Third Sector Leaders.

Prior to joining CAF Dr Low was Chief Executive at the Royal National Institute for Deaf People (RNID). John moved to the voluntary sector after pursuing a 20-year career in the technology industry. He holds a PhD in Bio-Medical Physics, is a Chartered Engineer, a Companion of the Institute of Management and a fellow of the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures & Commerce (RSA). John was awarded a CBE for services to the Voluntary Sector and to Deaf People in 2008 and was previously Chairman of the Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations (ACEVO) until 2009.

Mr Kieran Murphy

Kieran Murphy is a Senior Adviser at the UK corporate finance advisory firm, Gleacher Shacklock LLP, having previously been a partner since 2004. Gleacher Shacklock specialises in providing high level advice on mergers, acquisitions and restructuring to large corporations and the private equity industry. Kieran is also a non-executive director of Aliaxis SA, the Belgian based world leader in the manufacture of plastic plumbing products, and of Kingspan PLC, the Irish based manufacturer of insulation and related building products.

Previously, Kieran was a Managing Director in the Investment Banking Division of Dresdner Kleinwort (previously Kleinwort Benson), which he joined in 1988. During his nearly 25 years as an advisory banker, Kieran has worked extensively with large companies in the UK and across Western Europe. He began his career as a civil servant in HM Treasury.

Kieran holds an MA from Cambridge University and a Diploma in Music Performance from the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music.

Professor Stanton Newman

Professor Stanton Newman, Dean of the School of Health Sciences, joined City University in September 2010.  He is a Professor of Health Psychology and completed his B.Soc. Sci. (Hons) degree and doctorate at the University of Natal, South Africa.  Professor Newman became a lecturer at LSE and Guys and Middlesex Hospital Medical Schools before joining University of College London.  In 2003 he set up the Centre for Behavioural and Social Science in Medicine, a unique project to encourage interdisciplinary working in physical illnesses at UCL. 

Professor Newman manages a large research group working in a range of different physical illnesses.  His portfolio of awarded grants is extensive, most recently including BUPA, British Heart Foundation, Baxter Healthcare and the Department of Health. Professor Newman's work is widely published in over 260 research papers and chapters as well as 14 books and several documentaries.  

In 2009 Professor Newman was appointed the Principal Investigator on the Whole Systems Demonstrator Project funded by the Department of Health to evaluate the role of assistive technologies in health and social care. He is a key speaker on tele-health and tele-care, regularly presenting at conferences in the UK and abroad.

Professor Newman is an Honorary Member of the Royal College of Physicians and a Fellow of the British Psychological Society.  He is a Chartered Clinical and Health Psychologist and engaged directly in clinical work seeing patients at his weekly clinics held at University College and King Edward VII's Hospitals.

Ms Hunada Nouss

Hunada Nouss was until recently Finance Director General at the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) which is one of government's largest departments providing services to over 20 million citizens each day. Her role was to support ministers in delivering a challenging reform agenda, whilst maintaining business operations, within an increasingly constrained financial envelope. Prior to joining DWP, Hunada was Director General, Finance and Corporate Services at the Department for Communities and Local Government.

Hunada began her career with Arthur Andersen and has held a number of senior financial, commercial and strategic roles in the private sector, including Finance Director for Burger King (a Diageo subsidiary) in the UK, where she delivered business turnaround in a highly challenged commercial environment. Hunada held a number of prominent roles at Diageo plc working in London, Amsterdam and Miami, where she was involved in shaping growth and step-change strategies to transform business profitability. She has led major organisation restructures, mergers and cultural change programmes.

Other current roles include - Trustee for the Breast Cancer Campaign and Member of the Audit and Risk Committee of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. Hunada is also a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants and an Associate of the Chartered Institute of Taxation.

Ms Carolyn Regan

Carolyn Regan is currently Interim Managing Director of the West London Clinical Commissioning Consortium, working with General Practitioners across the London Boroughs of Kensington & Chelsea and Westminster. She has 25 years experience of working for the NHS in a variety of roles, including as Chief Executive of three Health Authorities between 1996 and 2006, finally heading the North East London Strategic Health Authority from 2002.

Carolyn was Chief Executive of the Legal Services Commission from  2006 until March 2010, during a period of significant change including the implementation of major reforms to the provision of legal aid.

Carolyn also has experience of working in the not-for-profit sector, most recently as Chief Executive of the Children's Legal Centre, a unique charity offering advice, information and legal representation to children and young people. She led the successful amalgamation of that charity with Coram, the UK's oldest charity. From May to September 2010, Carolyn undertook freelance work for UNICEF, including advising the Vietnamese government on child protection services and systems.

She is a Trustee of Action Space Ltd, an arts organisation working with people with learning disabilities, a member of the Court of Essex University and a board member of Just for Kids, a charity working with young people.

Carolyn chairs the Remuneration Committee.