Professor Anthony Finkelstein takes up role as President of City, University of London

Professor Anthony Finkelstein CBE FREng has started his role as the new President of City, University of London.

Anthony joins City from his position as the Government’s Chief Scientific Adviser for National Security, which he has held since 2015. During this time, Anthony’s research was based at The Alan Turing Institute and he held a Chair in Software Systems Engineering at University College London (UCL).  Prior to this, he was Dean of the UCL Faculty of Engineering Sciences and Head of UCL Computer Science. His scientific work is in the broad area of systems engineering.

Anthony was chosen for the role of President by a selection panel comprising independent members of City’s Council, the outgoing and incoming Presidents of the Students’ Union and staff members representing academic faculty and professional services.  He takes over from Professor Sir Paul Curran, who stood down after 11 years as President of City.

Anthony has strong personal links to City; he was a Professor and the Head of Computer Science at City between 1994 and 1997, prior to his appointment at University College London. His late father, Professor Ludwik Finkelstein OBE, was a distinguished scholar and honorary graduate who made a seminal contribution to Engineering and its organisation at City as the first Executive Dean of the School and subsequently as Pro-Vice-Chancellor when City gained its Charter in 1966.  In 2018, Anthony was awarded an honorary degree by City for his outstanding contribution to science.

Professor Anthony Finkelstein said:

“It is a great honour to be appointed President of City and, of course, my strong links to City give this particular personal resonance. I very much look forward to working in partnership with the Council, staff and students to realise the outstanding potential of City.”

Ms Julia Palca, Chair of City’s Council said:

“I am delighted to welcome Anthony to City and look forward to working with him.  At interview, Anthony impressed us all with his values, his ambition for City and with his outstanding track record of successful leadership and performance, both within and outside the university sector. His passion for City, and for our students, is clear. His knowledge and experience will help us create a City for the future which will be an exciting place to study, work and conduct research.”

Anthony will also be appointed Professor of Software Systems Engineering within City’s School of Mathematics, Computer Science and Engineering.

He is a Visiting Professor at Imperial College London, the University of South Australia and at the National Institute of Informatics, Tokyo, Japan. He is a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering (FREng), an elected Member of Academia Europaea (MAE) and a Fellow of the City and Guilds of London Institute (FCGI).