meet the team

Susie Hills

Joint CEO & Co-founder

"Throughout my career I have come across extraordinary people – people who are smart, compassionate, committed to bringing about change, people who get stuff done. In setting up Halpin I have the delight of bringing some of those superstars together to work in smart, nimble teams to solve important problems for our clients. Problems like, ‘How can we differentiate ourselves in the market?’, ‘Where will the money come from?’, ‘How should our governance work?’, ‘What can we do to improve what we do?’. Fascinating and important work. Halpin work."

Susie is an insightful consultant and a big thinker, with an unrivalled depth of knowledge in higher education governance, fundraising and student services. A talented fundraiser, she led the University of Exeter’s £25 million campaign and has since gone on to advise a multitude of other higher education institutions on their fundraising. She is also highly skilled in governance and has led high-profile, complex reviews that have informed strategy and led to operational change. Susie knew Les Halpin well, and is a Trustee of the Halpin Trust.

What's your favourite team?

My son's football team.

Favourite quote?

"All that we see or seem, is but a dream within a dream" - Edgar Allen Poe

And favourite landmark?

Durham Cathedral

And your luxury desert island item?

A magnifying glass

Shaun Horan

Joint CEO & Co-founder

“I became a lawyer because I wanted the world I saw to be better, and I joined the education and charity sectors for the same reason. Education will always be the greatest tool we have for changing lives. I started Halpin with Susie because I saw that the education sector was being served by consultancies who didn’t understand what makes it such a special place. It is complex and brilliant - we have put together a team of people who understand both of those qualities.”

Shaun has over 20 years of senior-level international experience and is a dynamic, experienced and respected consultant. He draws on a strong legal background, advising some of the leading names in higher education on complex projects spanning fundraising, strategy, equality and diversity, and race reviews. Known for his highly regarded insight and proven results, he was a member of the HEFCE Advisory Board for the Pearce Report into the Philanthropic Workforce for Higher Education.

What's your favourite team?

Chelsea

Favourite quote?

"An ounce of action is worth a tonne of theory" - Engels

And favourite landmark?

Virginia Woolf's House (Monk's House) in Lewes.

And your luxury desert island item?

A mokka pot.

Charlotte Stewart

Director of Operations

"I’ve always been fascinated by problems – learning about them, hearing about them, being in the middle of them. Halpin is built on the very beautiful idea that a company of people can partner and share ideas to try and solve the problems of their peers. Who wouldn’t want to be a part of that?" 

Strategic, insightful, with a sharp eye for detail, Charlotte is responsible for executing the business development of Halpin and managing the day-to-day operations.

With more than a decade of experience in project management, operations and research and having grown two UK consultancy businesses through start-up, Charlotte’s knowledge of project design and delivery – from large scale team assessments to benchmarking – is unrivalled. As a project manager, she has delivered more than fifty client engagements in the last three years including feasibility studies, operational assessments and governance reviews. Her client list spans all regions, sectors and sizes across the UK and Ireland.

As a management consultant, Charlotte has applied her strategic insight and research skills with a range of HE and nonprofit clients. Notable research projects she has undertaken in this area include major gift benchmarking for the Royal Academy of Arts, assessing trends in global wealth and transformational giving for Cancer Research UK and reviewing global tax incentives for philanthropy for the Irish Universities Association.

What's your favourite team?

At the moment, it's the team behind Oi. 

Favourite quote?

"Never worry about people stealing your ideas. If you are any good you will have plenty more." Will Self

And favourite landmark?

Samson and Goliath, Belfast.

And your luxury desert island item?

Art supplies. If I ever tire of painting sunsets, I could always spruce the place up.

Olivia Dunn

Head of Marketing & Communications

"Creative thinking and common sense are two of my favourite things. They make for potent marketing and comms, and they infuse everything I do. I'm evangelical about the importance of collaboration, and I can think of no better team to work with than my talented colleagues at Halpin.”

Olivia is a copywriter and communications expert, specialising in telling persuasive and compelling fundraising. Olivia’s background in marketing informs her writing and communications advice, ensuring key messages are teased out and amplified to maximum effect. Along with Halpin's marketing and communications, Olivia also advises clients on all aspects of internal and external communications including Case for Supports, tone of voice, editorial style, top-line messaging, social media, professional biographies, press releases, and conference/event communications. Olivia has built a diverse portfolio of national and international clients spanning non-profits and corporates.

What's your favourite team?

Fleetwood Mac for sheer magnificence and drama. Ok so not much of a team these days, but before the squabbling...

Favourite quote?

"Blessed are the cracked, for they shall let in the light" - Groucho Marx

And favourite landmark?

It's not exactly grand or famous, but the 'Welcome to Devon' sign on the A38 is everything to me. I love going away, but I love coming home too. I've passed by that sign so many times in the wee hours after one mission or another and my shoulders always fall.

And your luxury desert island item?

A decent bed. And not a hammock thanks, I mean a proper bed. A daytime doze is great for daydreaming and killing time. Plus I'm pretty good at roughing it but without a good snooze I'm horrible. 

Catherine Wolfgang

Consulting Fellow

"I’m all about solving problems and getting things done. When you can do this working with brilliant people – all the better. The world of education is full of brilliant people and working in partnership with them can be a delight, from inspirational academics with their razor-sharp intelligence to super-efficient and collaborative professional service colleagues and alumni and supporters with their passion, amazing skills and broad perspective. At Halpin we work with you, in partnership, and that’s how we can be truly transformative."

Catherine is a capable, strong and adaptive leader with extensive income generation and operational experience. She has spent 20 years developing and leading ambitious, frontline teams spanning the arts, education, health and overseas development. With a strong personal commitment to delivery, Catherine is valued by clients for her ability to get beneath their skin, swiftly diagnose issues and deliver insight and practical results that make a difference. 

What's your favourite team?

Exeter Cricket Club U12s – my son’s team and tipped for the top this year!

Favourite quote?

"The only limit to our realisation of tomorrow will be our doubts of today.” – Franklin D Roosevelt

And favourite landmark?

Roseberry Topping – an almost perfectly cone-shaped hill near Great Ayton in North Yorkshire. Whilst I love living in Devon and have done lots of travelling, seeing this marks a return to my northern roots.

And your luxury desert island item?

Poetry - as big a book as I could have, for when I want to head off into other worlds.

Jason Briggs

Consulting Fellow

An award-winning authority in fundraising insight and intelligence, specialising in data-led strategy.

• A talented fundraising manager and prospect developer with a range of start-up experience, from major gift programs to fundraising research, including KPI reporting, analytics, and ethics & reputational risk.
• Currently Director of Development for Cavendish Cancer Care, a regional charity dedicated to offering support to those living with cancer across Yorkshire & Humber.
• Won an Insight in Fundraising Award in 2016 for innovative work on fundraising analytics.
• Won the CASE Europe Iain More Award in 2017 for ‘emerging development professional’.

Jason is active in the Development Services sector and serves on the Institute of Fundraising Researchers in Fundraising Committee, where he was Conference Lead for Europe’s largest gathering of fundraising intelligence professionals. He is also a regular speaker at CASE Development Services, CASE Europe, RIF and QS Summit on the topics of data-led strategy.

Jason was previously a Consultant for a global fundraising consultancy where he specialised in fundraising intelligence, feasibility and campaign planning. Prior to that he headed up research, analytics, and due diligence at The University of Sheffield, where he led his team to win an Insight in Fundraising Award in 2016 for their innovative work on fundraising analytics. At Sheffield, he also served on the University’s Research Ethics Committee reporting to the Senate, responsible for ethical integrity & reputational risk.

For his efforts in the higher education sector, particularly championing data-led fundraising and for innovation in analytics, Jason won the prestigious CASE Europe Iain More Award in 2017 for ‘emerging development professional’.

In his spare time, Jason served as a Trustee and fundraising head for a Tibetan Buddhist charity, where he led the team to raise £1.2m to found a remote retreat centre. Jason is currently a Trustee for the Foundation for Developing Wisdom and Compassion, which delivers successful international education programs. 

Angela Pedder DBE

Advisory Group

Dame Angela Pedder is a member of the Halpin Advisory Group, and also Vice Chair of Governors at Exeter Royal Academy for Deaf Education. She is an experienced senior NHS leader with experience across all sectors of healthcare at national regional and local levels. Angela is a mentor and coach to CEOs and senior executives in newly appointed or significantly challenging roles, and is a system working and system leadership consultant. Angela has a wealth of experience in strategic leadership, partnership working, complex change management, patient safety, corporate and clinical governance and operational performance improvement.

Angela applies her depth of knowledge to work as a coach and mentor to newly appointed Chairs of Boards.

Fezzan Ahmed

Consulting Fellow

An experienced major gifts fundraiser and project manager with proven results in higher education.

• Extensive major gift fundraising and project management experience in both the Arts & Culture and Higher Education sectors.
• Completed the £5.1m campaign for the Regent Street Cinema at University of Westminster.
• Managed several multi-million-pound change projects for organisations such as HSBC, the University of Westminster and the Battersea Arts Centre.
• Over a decade of diverse experience across the private and voluntary sectors

Fezzan was most recently at the University of Westminster, where he managed a £5.1m major campaign to restore and reopen the historic Regent Street Cinema, including securing funding, partnerships and developing operations. During that time, he also brokered academic/commercial partnerships with organisations such as Bloomberg, Adidas, Kodak and Eurostar.

His career began in the commercial world at HSBC, where he managed multi-million-pound projects around cultural change, process improvement and optimisation of resource. He retains strong links to the private sector. He then moved into the Arts and Culture sector, instigating a £16.3m overall fundraising strategy for Battersea Arts Centre which included a ground-breaking renovation of a Grade 2 listed Town Hall, generating significant income from corporate and individual donors for both capital and revenue targets.

Fezzan is dedicated to social change, sustainability and diversity in the fundraising sector. As a founding member of the BME staff network committee at the University of Westminster, he instigated research into BME Fundraisers in the UK voluntary sector championed by organisations such as the Institute of Fundraisers and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education in Europe.

He received his master’s in Community Organising from Queen Mary University, and studied Molecular Genetics at the University of Sussex.

Sir Drummond Bone

Consulting Fellow

A highly respected leader in higher education known for his thought leadership.

• Master of Balliol College at the University of Oxford until April 2018.
• He previously served as Vice-Chancellor of the University of Liverpool from 2002 to 2008, and Principal of Royal Holloway, University of London, from 2000 to 2002.
• Professor Bone was knighted in the 2008 Birthday Honours for services to Higher Education and the regeneration of the North-West.

Drummond Bone is the recently retired Master of Balliol College, Oxford, and is the Chair of the Arts and Humanities Research Council. Drummond Bone was previously Professor of English Literature at the University of Glasgow, Principal of Royal Holloway, Vice-Chancellor of Liverpool, and President of UUK.

He has been much involved in University Business interactions for the Northern Way and the CBI, wrote an influential report commissioned by the Government on University Internationalisation, and has directed the establishment or reform of University fundraising operations in three of the Universities with which he has been involved.

Penny Hubbard

Consulting Fellow

A leading figure in development with a proven track record in leadership and fundraising strategy.

• 11 years as Development Director & Fellow at Newnham College University of Cambridge, with expertise in establishing an outstanding fundraising and alumnae relations programme.
• Successfully created and led the biggest campaign in the College's history.
• Skilled in alumni relations, charity governance and legal issues.

Penny was Development Director and Fellow at Newnham College University of Cambridge for the past eleven years. Here she established an outstanding fundraising and alumnae relations programme at Newnham College University of Cambridge, and successfully created and led the biggest campaign in the College's history, embedding a strong and sustainable culture of giving. As a Fellow and member of the Governing Body she has experience on charity governance and legal issues. Penny is also skilled in alumnae communications (both written and social media).

Prior to changing career to the field of development, Penny practiced commercial property law for 17 years. She was the first female partner with children in the City law firm Macfarlanes where she advised on multi-million pound property deals. She then built her own commercial property development practice at Mills & Reeve in Cambridge.

Penny is passionate about the positive impact that business management coaching has on institutions. She has acted informally as a mentor and is professionalising those skills by qualifying as an Accredited Business Coach with Meyler Campbell. While her expertise is broad, she is particularly interested in diversity and how best to use an integrated approach to career progression and executive board membership. Penny is a former Trustee of the educational charity for social mobility, Achievement for All.

Tony Woodcock

Consulting Fellow

A pioneer in the field of arts management and music education. 

• Dedicated to positioning future generations of artists as independent innovators and community leaders.
• President of New England Conservatory from 2007-2015
• A veteran negotiator and institutional reformer

At the heart of Tony’s work is a dedication to positioning future innovators and leaders. Tony was President of New England Conservatory from 2007-2015, following a transcontinental career managing orchestras including Minneapolis, Oregon, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic and Bournemouth Symphony.

A veteran negotiator and institutional reformer, he has made dynamism and fresh ideas the foundation of his leadership, and has left a legacy of potent innovations still in evidence across the United States and Great Britain. As an orchestral CEO, he organized numerous international tours between Europe and the United States, successfully negotiated collective bargaining agreements with four major Orchestras, and collaborated with a diverse array of celebrity talent, from Paul McCartney to Yakov Kreizberg.

All of this was achieved against a backdrop of increases in audience and revenue. Tony studied music at Cardiff University, where he was recently awarded an Honorary Fellowship. He is now Visiting Professor for Social Entrepreneurship at Berklee Valencia and Visiting Professor for Entrepreneurship at the Reina Sofia School of Music Madrid, dividing his time between southern Europe and NYC, teaching, writing, and consulting on projects.

Doug Thomson

Consulting Fellow

A seasoned consultant with 25 years of experience as a major gift fundraiser and philanthropy consultant.

• Former Director of £242m Impact Campaign at University of Nottingham.
• International experience working globally with donors and grantmakers.
• A wealth of development experience across HE and the charity sector.

Doug’s experience is distinctive in that he has worked as both a fundraiser and as a grant-maker. He is also one of few UK development professionals who has played a leading role through the entire lifecycle of a major university fundraising campaign.

From 2009 Doug has worked as an independent consultant with institutional clients in the education and charity sectors and with individuals and families, helping to inform their philanthropy.  From 2013 to 2018 Doug worked in-house at the University of Nottingham as Director of the £242m Impact Campaign, which completed in September 2017 having exceeded its original goal of £150m.  From May 2018 Doug will work with a small group of clients alongside a substantial commission for the Sutton Trust, where he is developing and implementing a strategy for long-term funding of the Trust. Doug also served as the first Development Director at the Sutton Trust where he established major funding partnerships and more than doubled the Trust’s grant making capacity.

Doug began his career in development roles at the Imperial Cancer Research Fund, University of Oxford and at the Royal National Institute for the Blind, where he established and successfully implemented new major gift programmes.   He has extensive experience of working with donors from the USA and Asia and in managing relationships between international donors and grantees.

Richard Sved

Consulting Fellow

Richard is an experienced professional with a strong track record of strategic and operational excellence in the voluntary sector stretching well over two decades. 

His key strengths lie in charity strategic planning, fundraising, governance and communications – and the parts where all of these intersect.

Richard has led the fundraising function for seven national charities, has worked with a wide range of organisations as a consultant and trainer, and has direct experience and success in most areas of fundraising, including from individuals, trusts, HLF, Big Lottery Fund and companies. He has advised a wide range of organisations on their fundraising strategy, case for support development, and business planning in recent years, including Cancer Research UK, Tommy’s, Epilepsy Society and Girlguiding.

He also has experience of policy, communications, mentoring and governance development. Richard is Founding Director of 3rd Sector Mission Control, is a Trustee of St Albans Museums & Galleries Trust, and in his spare time established The Funding Network in Hertfordshire, which has so far raised nearly £40,000 for 11 small local organisations. He has worked and volunteered for charities for over 25 years.

Susie Hills

Joint CEO & Co-founder

"Throughout my career I have come across extraordinary people – people who are smart, compassionate, committed to bringing about change, people who get stuff done. In setting up Halpin I have the delight of bringing some of those superstars together to work in smart, nimble teams to solve important problems for our clients. Problems like, ‘How can we differentiate ourselves in the market?’, ‘Where will the money come from?’, ‘How should our governance work?’, ‘What can we do to improve what we do?’. Fascinating and important work. Halpin work."

Susie is an insightful consultant and a big thinker, with an unrivalled depth of knowledge in higher education governance, fundraising and student services. A talented fundraiser, she led the University of Exeter’s £25 million campaign and has since gone on to advise a multitude of other higher education institutions on their fundraising. She is also highly skilled in governance and has led high-profile, complex reviews that have informed strategy and led to operational change. Susie knew Les Halpin well, and is a Trustee of the Halpin Trust.

What's your favourite team?

My son's football team.

Favourite quote?

"All that we see or seem, is but a dream within a dream" - Edgar Allen Poe

And favourite landmark?

Durham Cathedral

And your luxury desert island item?

A magnifying glass

Shaun Horan

Joint CEO & Co-founder

“I became a lawyer because I wanted the world I saw to be better, and I joined the education and charity sectors for the same reason. Education will always be the greatest tool we have for changing lives. I started Halpin with Susie because I saw that the education sector was being served by consultancies who didn’t understand what makes it such a special place. It is complex and brilliant - we have put together a team of people who understand both of those qualities.”

Shaun has over 20 years of senior-level international experience and is a dynamic, experienced and respected consultant. He draws on a strong legal background, advising some of the leading names in higher education on complex projects spanning fundraising, strategy, equality and diversity, and race reviews. Known for his highly regarded insight and proven results, he was a member of the HEFCE Advisory Board for the Pearce Report into the Philanthropic Workforce for Higher Education.

What's your favourite team?

Chelsea

Favourite quote?

"An ounce of action is worth a tonne of theory" - Engels

And favourite landmark?

Virginia Woolf's House (Monk's House) in Lewes.

And your luxury desert island item?

A mokka pot.

Ewart Wooldridge CBE

Consulting Fellow

Ewart Wooldridge was the founding Chief Executive from 2003 to 2013 of the Leadership Foundation for Higher Education, set up to play a key role in developing UK and international HE leaders and their institutions. He has a well-established portfolio of consultancy, advisory and governance roles in the HE sector.

He was previously Chief Executive of the Civil Service College, and a Chief Officer in Local Government. Before that he worked in HR and general management roles in the media, television, and the arts. He was Director of Operations at London’s South Bank Arts Centre in the mid-1990s.

His project and consultancy assignments in HE include facilitating senior teams, coaching, and working with university leadership teams on strategy development and the management of change. He is licensed to administer a variety of leadership behaviour tools, including delivering 360-degree feedback. He is a consultant to the National Union of Students offering coaching to Chief Executives of Students’ Unions.

He has strong experience in governance development, having devised the Leadership Foundation Governor Development Programme jointly with the CUC, and designed and run the highly successful VC/Chair retreats for the LF. He has been Deputy Chair of Council at the Institute of Education, London, a member of the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales and is now on the Council of St Georges University of London and Chair of their Remuneration Committee.

Ewart was awarded the CBE for services to leadership in the Queen’s Birthday Honours 2004. He was awarded an Honorary Fellowship by Cardiff University in 2012 and received an Honorary Doctorate from the Open University in 2014.

He is a major contributor to a book published in 2019 on ‘Strategic Leadership of Change in Higher Education’. He is joint author (with Dame Madeleine Atkins) of an Advance HE Report also published in 2019 entitled “Agility & Resilience: Meeting the Strategic Leadership Challenges in HE”.

Charlotte Stewart

Director of Operations

"I’ve always been fascinated by problems – learning about them, hearing about them, being in the middle of them. Halpin is built on the very beautiful idea that a company of people can partner and share ideas to try and solve the problems of their peers. Who wouldn’t want to be a part of that?" 

Strategic, insightful, with a sharp eye for detail, Charlotte is responsible for executing the business development of Halpin and managing the day-to-day operations.

With more than a decade of experience in project management, operations and research and having grown two UK consultancy businesses through start-up, Charlotte’s knowledge of project design and delivery – from large scale team assessments to benchmarking – is unrivalled. As a project manager, she has delivered more than fifty client engagements in the last three years including feasibility studies, operational assessments and governance reviews. Her client list spans all regions, sectors and sizes across the UK and Ireland.

As a management consultant, Charlotte has applied her strategic insight and research skills with a range of HE and nonprofit clients. Notable research projects she has undertaken in this area include major gift benchmarking for the Royal Academy of Arts, assessing trends in global wealth and transformational giving for Cancer Research UK and reviewing global tax incentives for philanthropy for the Irish Universities Association.

What's your favourite team?

At the moment, it's the team behind Oi. 

Favourite quote?

"Never worry about people stealing your ideas. If you are any good you will have plenty more." Will Self

And favourite landmark?

Samson and Goliath, Belfast.

And your luxury desert island item?

Art supplies. If I ever tire of painting sunsets, I could always spruce the place up.

Rachel Killian

Consulting Fellow

“Education shouldn't be a one-time effort, or something that is only for the young. I believe we need to keep learning, whether it's in a classroom or less formally through our professional and personal interests. After all, education can be transformative and brings new opportunities to us all. That's why I'm part of the Halpin team; to play my small part in a sector that is built on a shared understanding that education changes lives.”

Rachel has over 20 years of senior marketing and recruitment experience and has worked with many education clients to help them better understand their brand positioning and deliver on their strategic marketing campaigns. She brings knowledge and understanding of higher education from experience in-house at a Russell Group university and business school before delivering on a range of marketing and recruitment consultancy projects across universities, colleges and schools. Known for being analytical and pragmatic, she’s highly regarded for delivering impactful and workable solutions.

What's your favourite team?

Seeing as I'm binge-watching Line of Duty at the moment, I have to say AC-12. No matter how bumpy things get along the way, there is always a hug for each other at the end.

Favourite quote?

"Sometimes the questions are complicated and the answers are simple", Dr Seuss.

And your favourite landmark?

Do wind turbines count as landmarks? Because I love the sight of wind turbines. Whether scattered across fields, mountains or the sea, I find them majestic and humbling at the same time. If I had space in my garden for one, I definitely would.

Your luxury desert island item?

My walking boots. If I'm going to be stranded I might as well do some exploring.

David Allen OBE

Advisory Group & Consulting Fellow

Former university Registrar, passionate about students and their experience in university, now highly sought-after for consultancy work.

• Former Registrar and Deputy Chief Executive of the University of Exeter
• Held senior leadership roles in the universities of Birmingham, Nottingham, Southampton and Wales
• Acknowledged expert on corporate governance and risk management, having acted as Secretary to the Councils of three Russell Group universities
• He was awarded an OBE in the 2012 New Year’s Honours list for services to higher education.
• David worked in higher education for 37 years, retiring in 2013 as Registrar and Deputy Chief Executive of the University of Exeter.

David has since built a wide portfolio of activity. He was a Principal Consultant at Perrett Laver, executive search consultants, from 2013-14. He currently chairs the boards of the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales (HEFCW), Exeter College (an Ofsted 'outstanding' 16-18/apprenticeship/adult education college) and Torbay Pharmaceuticals. He is Vice-Chair of Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust.

In addition, he has undertaken consultancy projects for a range of clients including the universities of Kent, Suffolk, Nottingham, Lancaster and the Russell Group. He has been an external adviser on senior appointments to numerous universities, including Cambridge, UCL, LSE, Trinity College, Dublin, Liverpool, Leicester, Luxembourg, Bangor and Swansea.

David is the only person to have chaired both the Association of University Administrators and the Association of Heads of University Administration. He was the inaugural chair of the Russell Group registrars. He is a former Board member of the Leadership Foundation for Higher Education (LFHE) and of the Heart of the South West Local Enterprise Partnership. He jointly chaired the companies responsible for developing and operating Exeter and Falmouth University’s shared campus in Penryn, Cornwall. He also chaired a steering group of partners that led to the development of Exeter Science Park.

Tim Melville Ross CBE

Advisory Group

Tim Melville Ross is a member of the Halpin Advisory Group. He is former HEFCE Chairman, immediate past Chair of Homerton University Hospital Foundation Trust). Tim joined Nationwide Building Society and stayed for 20 years, the last 10 as Chief Executive. He was then Head of the Institute of Directors for five years. Tim was appointed a CBE in the 2005 New Year Honours for services to Workplace Learning and Development and a Knight Bachelor in the 2018 New Year Honours for services to Higher Education.

Osaro Otobo

Consulting Fellow

Experienced in leading changes in student democracy & governance and also in student equality, diversity & inclusion.

Osaro studied at the University of Hull for her undergraduate degree in Biomedical Science and a master’s degree in Cancer Imaging. She was elected for 3 successive years to work in the best interest of students at Hull; she was a postgraduate student trustee and a two-term President at Hull University Students’ Union.

From lived experiences, she created the Make Diversity Count campaign which is calling for all UK organisations to have a robust discrimination policy which sets out how they deal with complaints of discrimination in a more effective and transparent way.

She believes in ensuring all students, especially those from liberation and widening participation groups, are supported effectively in throughout their education journey. She also believes that student voices should be at the heart of an evidence-based approach to implementing change and getting meaningful long-lasting results in the higher education sector.

Osaro is Deputy Chair of British Youth Council, and also authored Halpin’s recent report ‘UK Universities’ Response to Black Lives Matter’, co-chairing the subsequent discussion webinar.

Professor Wyn Morgan

Consulting Fellow

Until 2020, Wyn served as the Vice-President for Education at the University of Sheffield leading strategic development of learning and teaching and agendas for student engagement, mental health, curriculum design and digital teaching.

He led the consultation, creation and subsequent implementation of the University of Sheffield’s Learning and Teaching Strategy (2016 - 2021) with a focus on three themes of excellence, flexibility in approach and an outward-facing ethos.

In April 2020, he oversaw the successful University-wide pivot to online learning as a result of Covid-19, including the adoption of a “safety net” policy for student outcomes and redesign of assessment to be wholly online.

Has a track record of leading university-wide initiatives including those designed to empower departments to deal with long-standing challenges around assessment burden, feedback, staff workload, student well-being and recruitment.

Prior to Sheffield, he was Assistant Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Teaching and Learning) at the University of Nottingham where he designed and led the (QAA and TEF commended) University-wide Teaching Transformation Programme.

He is a Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.

Maureen Boylan MBE

Consulting Fellow

A senior-level expert in institutional leadership and governance, with a proven record of leading major change programmes.

• Former University Secretary, University of London.
• Experienced at leading mergers, transitions and major change programmes.
• A governance expert with senior-level experience across a number of institutions.
• A member of HEFCW’s Quality Assurance Committee until 2017, and in 2015 was awarded an MBE for services to Higher Education.

Maureen Boylan was the Secretary of the University of London until early 2018.  She has long experience in Higher Education, much of it gained in senior roles in the colleges and member institutions of the federal University.   Her experience includes the leadership of professional services, whole-institutional change, governance, audit and risk, and strategic development. She has led on a number of high profile “closures, mergers and acquisitions” – to put this into corporate language.

Her consultancy and advisory experience across the sector includes governor training, Board behaviour, effectiveness reviews, and governance development. She has recently managed the passing of a new Act of Parliament to enable a historic change to the structure of University of London federation and its member institutions. She served on the HEFCW Quality Assurance Committee until 2017, and is presently Trustee of a significant regional heritage charity.

Maureen received an MBE for services to Higher Education in 2015, and in 2018 was named as one of the University of London’s 150 “Leading Women” throughout its 150-year history in women’s education.  She was awarded an Honorary Fellowship of the University in 2019.

Frank Toop MBE

Consulting Fellow

Significant senior-level experience across UK Higher and Further Education including as a Governor/Trustee, Committee Chair, University Secretary, Chief Operating Officer and Finance Director.

Frank is the former University Secretary of City, University of London where he has also been Director of Finance and Chief Operating Officer. Since leaving City in 2015, Frank has advised and undertaken governance effectiveness reviews at the Universities of Bath, Bristol, Sussex, Cardiff Metropolitan University and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. As well as governance effectiveness reviews, he has advised on academic governance structures, University constitutional matters and delegation frameworks.

An experienced Governor himself, he was a member of HEFCE Audit Committee for 6 years and Goldsmiths University of London Audit Committee. He was Vice-Chair of Orpington College and London South East Colleges where he recently chaired Audit & Risk Committee and then Finance Committee. He is currently a Board member and Chair of the Audit & Risk Committee at Greater Brighton Metropolitan College.

Frank was awarded an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours 2014.

Tess Winther

Consulting Fellow

Experienced in student engagement and representation within the UK and internationally, especially in relation to effectiveness of stakeholder engagement within governance structures.

Tess served on the Student Experience Sub-committee at Goldsmiths, University of London where she worked to promote student interests through institutional policy developments. She also served two years on QAA's Student Strategic Advisory Committee where she discussed UK higher education policy, spoke at nationally and internationally conferences, including keynotes on student representation and cultures of quality, as well as working on the second edition of the Higher Education Credit Framework for England.

Tess acted as the independent analyst on the QAA UK HE transnational education consultation in 2020. She has contributed to sessions on student engagement the QAA International Quality Assurance Programme, as well as facilitated workshops and training at Dyson Institute of Engineering and Technology.

She’s experienced in working across national and international regulatory frameworks, standards and guidelines. Since 2019 she has researched and written Country Reports for the Accreditation and International Services at QAA, and is an International Reviewer on the QAA International Accreditation Review. She also works with Membership Services and QAA Cymru across various research projects.

Selena Bolingbroke

Consulting Fellow

A dynamic and sought-after consultant with extensive HE, FE and public sector senior leadership experience.

• 20 years' experience delivering results in both higher and further education, and also local and central government.
• Passionate about employability and enterprise and a champion of skills-led regeneration.
• Formerly Pro Vice-Chancellor at University of East London, where she was responsible for Strategic Planning & External Development.

Selena has worked across higher education, central and local government in roles that have combined her interests in education, enterprise and regeneration. She combines her consultancy portfolio, working with leading management consultancies to deliver results. Alongside Halpin, Selena is an Associate Director of MetaValue, a consultancy practice focused on supporting change and entrepreneurial growth strategies. She also leads on External Engagement and Strategic Development at Goldsmiths, University of London.

Selena is a governor of a school in East London and a non-executive director of Wonkhe – the online home of higher education policy wonks. She is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and Fellow of the Royal Society for Arts.

Recent consultancy projects Selena has undertaken include: the Society of Chief Librarians (research project to develop a Universal Offer for Culture for Public Libraries), University of Sheffield Students’ Union (review of commercial services and delivery of income growth generation plan), University of Westminster (review of student enterprise provision), Rose Bruford College (review of student recruitment) and Dudley Libraries and Adult Learning (growth strategy, business plan and financial plan to grow income).

Currently Interim Chair of Lewisham College Board (Feb 2020-August 2020) Former governor and Chair of Barking & Dagenham College Corporation Board 2009-2015

Hanif Barma

Consulting Fellow

With extensive experience in board and committee reviews, Hanif brings considerable expertise in governance, risk and assurance. Hanif has worked with a wide range of clients including plcs, private companies, subsidiaries, regulators and not-for-profit organisations and brings a strong understanding of board culture and dynamics, board information and board processes.

Hanif is a founder partner of Board Alchemy, a specialist governance consultancy.                                                                                              

For thirteen years Hanif was a founder partner at Independent Audit, and prior to this was a director at PwC. Hanif's highly regarded work with audit and risk functions enables him to deliver an impressive working knowledge of assurance to boards.

His work with boards and committees brings insight to risk and audit functions of their key stakeholders' needs and expectations.

His current NED roles are: Trustee & Treasurer at Coram Beanstalk, Member of the Audit & Risk Assurance Committee at Department for International Trade, Board Member at Southwark Cathedral Enterprises and Audit Committee Member at the London Institute of Banking & Finance. He is also Honorary Visiting Fellow of corporate governance at the Business School at City, University of London.

Hanif is a Co-founder of The Risk Coalition. an initiative to raise the standards of risk governance and risk management.

His earlier roles include: Chair (and before that Audit Committee Chair) of St Christopher’s Fellowship, a leading specialist charity for children and young people in care and on the edge of care; member of the Audit & Risk Committee at City, University of London; member of the Working Group of the Financial Reporting Council's Audit & Assurance Lab.

Simon Gaskell

Advisory Group

Simon Gaskell is a member of the Halpin Advisory Group. He is Chair at the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education. Previously he was President and Principal of Queen Mary University of London.

Dr Andrew West

Consulting Fellow

A higher education specialist with 30 years of unrivalled expertise spanning governance and professional services.

• Former University Secretary at the University of Sheffield.
• Eleven years’ experience leading academic-related professional services.
• In demand for advice and consultancy at a wide range of institutions in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
• Dr West is a member of the Board of Governors of Leeds Beckett University where he also chairs the Governance Committee.

As University Secretary at the University of Sheffield, Andrew provided key advice and support to the University’s Council and governance structure, working closely with the University Executive Board.

Before his appointment as University Secretary, Andrew led academic and student-related professional services at the University of Sheffield for eleven years. He had a wide remit covering student recruitment and admissions, academic services including learning and teaching support, registry and student administration, careers and employability, and a broad range of student support and wellbeing services.

Dr West is a former Chair of AMOSSHE – The Student Services Organisation. Other previous appointments include membership of the Executive of IASAS – a global student affairs organisation.  He is a former Trustee of Liverpool Hope University Students’ Union, former Strategic Adviser to the Association of University Administrators, and he is currently an Associate of Advance HE.

Will Spinks

Consulting Fellow

A senior-level leader in higher education, having held the post of Registrar, Secretary and Chief Operating Officer at University of Manchester. After retiring from his full-time post in September 2017, Will is now Associate Vice President acting as an advisor to the Senior Leadership Team. His expertise stretches to the commercial world too, having held numerous senior posts at the research-based biopharmaceutical organisation AstraZeneca.

• Will joined the University of Manchester as Registrar, Secretary and Chief Operating Officer in June 2011. After retiring from his full-time post in September 2017, he was appointed as an Associate Vice President acting as an advisor to the Senior Leadership Team.
• He is a Non-Executive Director of one of the UK's largest pension funds and acts as a Trustee Director and Chair of a number of local charities. He is a graduate of the Common Purpose 20:20 Leadership Development Programme.
• Prior to joining Manchester, Will was the first Chief Operating Officer of Loughborough University. In this role he was responsible for all the service functions and the commercial activities of the University. In addition, he chaired and served on the Board of wholly owned subsidiary companies and the Manufacturing Technology Centre.
• Before moving into the HE sector, Will pursued a career in ICI, Zeneca and AstraZeneca, working in a number of businesses and functions in both the UK and USA. This culminated in him establishing a Business Services organisation providing HR, Finance, Purchasing, Communications, SHE, Facilities Management and Site Services to all AstraZeneca's UK sites. In this role, he had line management accountability for over 1,300 people.
• From 2001-2007, he also acted as Site Manager at AstraZeneca's largest R&D site globally, Alderley Park.

Helen Sprott

Consulting Fellow

Significant senior experience in the arts and cultural industries: creative and leadership roles in publishing and broadcast television; a former Managing Director of one of London’s celebrated symphony orchestras; 12 years public sector policy and administrative experience as Director with Arts Council England; currently advising Execucare on recruitment to senior roles in the arts and culture sector.

As Managing Director with the Philharmonia Orchestra, Helen commissioned a review of the organisation’s governance arrangements; spearheaded initiatives to diversify programming and broaden audiences; and led the successful search to appoint a new Principal Conductor.

From 2005 to 2017, Helen was Director of Music for Arts Council England in London and nationally, leading a large multi-region team, devising investment policy in Music, allocating funds, and advising and monitoring national cultural institutions in receipt of substantial project and revenue grants.

Helen was part of a senior Arts Council team to implement the 2011 Henley Review of Music Education in England, leading to the current ‘Music Education Hubs’ local partnership model; from 2011-13, she led on the Arts Council’s analysis of the impact and value of public investment in large-scale opera in England; in 2015, she steered a national consultation exercise in response to proposals for a new concert hall and Centre for Music in the City of London.

As Commissioning Editor Performing Arts with Channel 4 Television, Helen devised a series of Emmy and BAFTA award-winning performance films and documentaries, collaborating with celebrated international artists and celebrated directors, securing substantial investment from international distributors and broadcasters.

As Music Books Editor with Faber and Faber, Helen brought to birth the first two volumes of ‘Letters from a Life: Selected Letters and Diaries of Benjamin Britten, and published books about other major 20^th century figures.

In 2019, Helen was appointed as  Non-Executive Director on the Board of St Martin in the Fields Limited.

Rachel Killian

Consulting Fellow

“Education shouldn't be a one-time effort, or something that is only for the young. I believe we need to keep learning, whether it's in a classroom or less formally through our professional and personal interests. After all, education can be transformative and brings new opportunities to us all. That's why I'm part of the Halpin team; to play my small part in a sector that is built on a shared understanding that education changes lives.”

Rachel has over 20 years of senior marketing and recruitment experience and has worked with many education clients to help them better understand their brand positioning and deliver on their strategic marketing campaigns. She brings knowledge and understanding of higher education from experience in-house at a Russell Group university and business school before delivering on a range of marketing and recruitment consultancy projects across universities, colleges and schools. Known for being analytical and pragmatic, she’s highly regarded for delivering impactful and workable solutions.

What's your favourite team?

Seeing as I'm binge-watching Line of Duty at the moment, I have to say AC-12. No matter how bumpy things get along the way, there is always a hug for each other at the end.

Favourite quote?

"Sometimes the questions are complicated and the answers are simple", Dr Seuss.

And your favourite landmark?

Do wind turbines count as landmarks? Because I love the sight of wind turbines. Whether scattered across fields, mountains or the sea, I find them majestic and humbling at the same time. If I had space in my garden for one, I definitely would.

Your luxury desert island item?

My walking boots. If I'm going to be stranded I might as well do some exploring.

Dr Vicky Lewis

Consulting Fellow

A highly regarded HE consultant with particular expertise in international strategy development.

• Senior HE leadership experience, including expertise in developing internationalisation strategies at different stages of institutional maturity.
• In-depth understanding of international marketing, communications and student recruitment practices.
• Application of insights developed from academic research into HE management, with a particular focus on values-led, fully integrated internationalisation.
• Personal attributes including incisive thinking, willingness to listen and learn, translation of strategy into tangible actions, and the ability to engage and motivate a wide range of stakeholders.

Vicky has 20 years’ experience in the UK HE sector, starting off at what is now University of Wales Trinity St David, then Edinburgh Napier University, before settling in southern England (Bournemouth University) in 2000.

Internationalisation has been a constant thread in her roles which have ranged from establishing an International Office from scratch to leading an 80-person Marketing & Communications Directorate at Bournemouth University. She has 13 years’ experience operating at University Leadership Team level and leading organisation-wide initiatives. Vicky has direct experience of engaging with students, partner organisations and other stakeholders in South East Asia, South Asia, East Asia, North America, Africa and Europe.

Alongside her work, Vicky completed a Doctorate of Business Administration in higher education management at the University of Bath. Her thesis (2007) examined motivations, strategies, and approaches to internationalisation at UK HEIs.

Since moving into consultancy in 2013 she has undertaken numerous projects for UK and international clients including advising a Russell Group university on the marketing strategy and operations for its new overseas campus; presenting options for establishing an overseas office; identifying markets ripe for transnational education pathways; as well as developing and reviewing international strategies and advising on associated delivery structures.

Shakira Martin

Advisory Group & Consulting Fellow

Shakira Martin is outgoing National President of the National Union of Students UK, representing 7 million students across Further and Higher Education, most recently successful leading on an organisational turnaround strategy.

She is known for pioneering NUS's Poverty Commission, shining a light on the barriers still facing working class people accessing FE and HE. She is one of only a handful of people to hold the post from an FE background, and the first black woman to have held the role in NUS's 96 year history.

A proud alumni of Lewisham Southwark College, Shakira was undertaking a teaching qualification when she began her career in student politics. She was the Student President at her college and quickly made her mark on the national scene. She was elected the Vice President Further Education at NUS in 2015 and represented FE students in this role for two years prior to Heflin President.

Shakira is a Trustee as Lambeth College where she sits on the board and the Quality and Standards Committee. She has worked with Ofsted both as governor and as the National President of NUS.

Shakira's campaigning credentials are well established with major wins under her belt on student representation, funding, and access. She makes regular local and national media appearances and is passionate about equality in education in terms of access and outcomes. As President she coined the phrase, "it's not just about getting in, it's about getting on".

Sara Doherty

Consulting Fellow

An experienced consultant and strategic leader with a proven track record of managing services and people in complex organisations.

• Cross-sector experience of service delivery and process improvement to enhance effectiveness and efficiency.
• A collaborative and pragmatic approach to leadership and focus on a solution-based approach.
• Brings operational knowledge and understanding as well as managing and collaborating at senior team and board level.
• Successfully brings about simplicity through complexity.

Sara has 25 years’ experience teaching in further and in management in higher education holding senior roles in universities representing all mission groups. Her knowledge is grounded in the student experience and with Academic Registrar experience advises on policy, governance and compliance. Since 2015 she has been a consultant working with clients such as GSM London, Goldsmiths, UCLAN, LSHTM and UUK.

Sara is studying for a professional qualification in Coaching & Mentoring and is a trained mediator. She is a fellow of the HEA and a role model for the Leadership Foundation’s women in management Aurora Programme.

Selena Bolingbroke

Consulting Fellow

A dynamic and sought-after consultant with extensive HE, FE and public sector senior leadership experience.

• 20 years' experience delivering results in both higher and further education, and also local and central government.
• Passionate about employability and enterprise and a champion of skills-led regeneration.
• Formerly Pro Vice-Chancellor at University of East London, where she was responsible for Strategic Planning & External Development.

Selena has worked across higher education, central and local government in roles that have combined her interests in education, enterprise and regeneration. She combines her consultancy portfolio, working with leading management consultancies to deliver results. Alongside Halpin, Selena is an Associate Director of MetaValue, a consultancy practice focused on supporting change and entrepreneurial growth strategies. She also leads on External Engagement and Strategic Development at Goldsmiths, University of London.

Selena is a governor of a school in East London and a non-executive director of Wonkhe – the online home of higher education policy wonks. She is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and Fellow of the Royal Society for Arts.

Recent consultancy projects Selena has undertaken include: the Society of Chief Librarians (research project to develop a Universal Offer for Culture for Public Libraries), University of Sheffield Students’ Union (review of commercial services and delivery of income growth generation plan), University of Westminster (review of student enterprise provision), Rose Bruford College (review of student recruitment) and Dudley Libraries and Adult Learning (growth strategy, business plan and financial plan to grow income).

Currently Interim Chair of Lewisham College Board (Feb 2020-August 2020) Former governor and Chair of Barking & Dagenham College Corporation Board 2009-2015

Sirin Myles

Consulting Fellow

A highly experienced International Director and specialist in Higher Education.

•  More than 20 years of international marketing and leadership experience in diplomatic and higher education organisations.
• Worked with diverse organisations such as Brunel, Roehampton, the University of the West of Scotland and IDP.

Sirin began her career with the British Council in Istanbul, marketing British education at all levels from nursery to HE. She then moved to the UK to the University of Southampton, becoming a Regional Director and managing the University’s international engagement.

Sirin joined the University of Reading in 2007 as the Deputy Director International Office, with responsibility for international partnerships development, marketing and research. After a year, she was promoted to become International Director assuming leadership for all areas of internationalisation. Under her, the University of Reading redefined and reshaped its internationalisation ambitions and strategy, with fivefold growth in its international tuition fee income, delivery of a comprehensive partnerships strategy (research, teaching and mobility), with measurable growth in its international alumni engagement and enhancement of student and staff mobility. She ended her time at Reading with joint responsibility for all of the University’s Marketing, Communication and Engagement.

Sirin’s voluntary experience included two years as a chair for Europe Community of Practice for Higher Education, convened by the Universities UK International, and a chair and contributor for partnerships training days in the last four years (2014, 2015, 2016, present) for British Universities International Liaison Association.

Dr Andrew West

Consulting Fellow

A higher education specialist with 30 years of unrivalled expertise spanning governance and professional services.

• Former University Secretary at the University of Sheffield.
• Eleven years’ experience leading academic-related professional services.
• In demand for advice and consultancy at a wide range of institutions in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
• Dr West is a member of the Board of Governors of Leeds Beckett University where he also chairs the Governance Committee.

As University Secretary at the University of Sheffield, Andrew provided key advice and support to the University’s Council and governance structure, working closely with the University Executive Board.

Before his appointment as University Secretary, Andrew led academic and student-related professional services at the University of Sheffield for eleven years. He had a wide remit covering student recruitment and admissions, academic services including learning and teaching support, registry and student administration, careers and employability, and a broad range of student support and wellbeing services.

Dr West is a former Chair of AMOSSHE – The Student Services Organisation. Other previous appointments include membership of the Executive of IASAS – a global student affairs organisation.  He is a former Trustee of Liverpool Hope University Students’ Union, former Strategic Adviser to the Association of University Administrators, and he is currently an Associate of Advance HE.

Stefan Drew

Consulting Fellow

Stefan has worked in senior FE roles since the 80s, initially in the land-based sector and later in General Further Education. Since 2005 he has consulted within the school and Further/Higher Education sectors in the UK, Europe, US & South Africa. He has consulted on a number of college mergers, demergers and acquisitions.

He has been Director of Marketing at two large colleges and Director of Enterprise at another. During the three and a half years he was Director of Marketing at Hartpury College, the college enjoyed 1400% growth.

As Director of Marketing Resources at Warwickshire College, he oversaw various marketing/business development activities including exhibiting a gold Medal garden at Chelsea and the launch of Readers’ Days that resulted in national magazines running commercial weekend events for their readers at the college. The latter resulted in sustained recruitment whilst generating financial surpluses.

Stefan was Head of Press, Publicity and Marketing for a large government department, and a member of the Government Information Service (GIS).

Stefan commenced his FE career as a visiting lecturer at Cambridge College of Agriculture, was then appointed as College Farms Manager and also undertook sponsorship and funding initiatives. He then took over the marketing function and became the first full-time Marketing Manager in the FE sector. He taught Agricultural Business Management and obtained a Cert Ed.

Stefan writes a regular column for FE News, is an occasional contributor to the TES and has written three Amazon best-sellers.

Susie Hills

Joint CEO & Co-founder

"Throughout my career I have come across extraordinary people – people who are smart, compassionate, committed to bringing about change, people who get stuff done. In setting up Halpin I have the delight of bringing some of those superstars together to work in smart, nimble teams to solve important problems for our clients. Problems like, ‘How can we differentiate ourselves in the market?’, ‘Where will the money come from?’, ‘How should our governance work?’, ‘What can we do to improve what we do?’. Fascinating and important work. Halpin work."

Susie is an insightful consultant and a big thinker, with an unrivalled depth of knowledge in higher education governance, fundraising and student services. A talented fundraiser, she led the University of Exeter’s £25 million campaign and has since gone on to advise a multitude of other higher education institutions on their fundraising. She is also highly skilled in governance and has led high-profile, complex reviews that have informed strategy and led to operational change. Susie knew Les Halpin well, and is a Trustee of the Halpin Trust.

What's your favourite team?

My son's football team.

Favourite quote?

"All that we see or seem, is but a dream within a dream" - Edgar Allen Poe

And favourite landmark?

Durham Cathedral

And your luxury desert island item?

A magnifying glass

Sam Gyimah

Senior Advisor

Sam Gyimah is a Senior Advisor to Halpin. Previously Parliamentary Private Secretary to Prime Minister David Cameron, Sam was the Minister for Higher Education, Research, Technology and Innovation before resigning in November 2018. He represented his East Surrey constituency from 2010-2019, during which time his experience spanned four separate government departments, including Education. Prior to his parliamentary career, Sam worked as an entrepreneur and for Goldman Sachs as an investment banker.

Sam is an experienced leader with a rare combination of skills and insight. To his work with Halpin clients, he brings expert communication skills and an ability to cut through the noise, honed over many years interfacing with the national and international press. This expertise, alongside his insight into the workings and policy of both government and the higher education sector, means he is a valuable asset to university clients currently managing multiple financial, regulatory and reputational risks. He brings his knowledge to universities and research institutes to advise on strategy, public affairs and funding opportunities.

Shaun Horan

Joint CEO & Co-founder

“I became a lawyer because I wanted the world I saw to be better, and I joined the education and charity sectors for the same reason. Education will always be the greatest tool we have for changing lives. I started Halpin with Susie because I saw that the education sector was being served by consultancies who didn’t understand what makes it such a special place. It is complex and brilliant - we have put together a team of people who understand both of those qualities.”

Shaun has over 20 years of senior-level international experience and is a dynamic, experienced and respected consultant. He draws on a strong legal background, advising some of the leading names in higher education on complex projects spanning fundraising, strategy, equality and diversity, and race reviews. Known for his highly regarded insight and proven results, he was a member of the HEFCE Advisory Board for the Pearce Report into the Philanthropic Workforce for Higher Education.

What's your favourite team?

Chelsea

Favourite quote?

"An ounce of action is worth a tonne of theory" - Engels

And favourite landmark?

Virginia Woolf's House (Monk's House) in Lewes.

And your luxury desert island item?

A mokka pot.

Ewart Wooldridge CBE

Consulting Fellow

Ewart Wooldridge was the founding Chief Executive from 2003 to 2013 of the Leadership Foundation for Higher Education, set up to play a key role in developing UK and international HE leaders and their institutions. He has a well-established portfolio of consultancy, advisory and governance roles in the HE sector.

He was previously Chief Executive of the Civil Service College, and a Chief Officer in Local Government. Before that he worked in HR and general management roles in the media, television, and the arts. He was Director of Operations at London’s South Bank Arts Centre in the mid-1990s.

His project and consultancy assignments in HE include facilitating senior teams, coaching, and working with university leadership teams on strategy development and the management of change. He is licensed to administer a variety of leadership behaviour tools, including delivering 360-degree feedback. He is a consultant to the National Union of Students offering coaching to Chief Executives of Students’ Unions.

He has strong experience in governance development, having devised the Leadership Foundation Governor Development Programme jointly with the CUC, and designed and run the highly successful VC/Chair retreats for the LF. He has been Deputy Chair of Council at the Institute of Education, London, a member of the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales and is now on the Council of St Georges University of London and Chair of their Remuneration Committee.

Ewart was awarded the CBE for services to leadership in the Queen’s Birthday Honours 2004. He was awarded an Honorary Fellowship by Cardiff University in 2012 and received an Honorary Doctorate from the Open University in 2014.

He is a major contributor to a book published in 2019 on ‘Strategic Leadership of Change in Higher Education’. He is joint author (with Dame Madeleine Atkins) of an Advance HE Report also published in 2019 entitled “Agility & Resilience: Meeting the Strategic Leadership Challenges in HE”.

Charlotte Stewart

Director of Operations

"I’ve always been fascinated by problems – learning about them, hearing about them, being in the middle of them. Halpin is built on the very beautiful idea that a company of people can partner and share ideas to try and solve the problems of their peers. Who wouldn’t want to be a part of that?" 

Strategic, insightful, with a sharp eye for detail, Charlotte is responsible for executing the business development of Halpin and managing the day-to-day operations.

With more than a decade of experience in project management, operations and research and having grown two UK consultancy businesses through start-up, Charlotte’s knowledge of project design and delivery – from large scale team assessments to benchmarking – is unrivalled. As a project manager, she has delivered more than fifty client engagements in the last three years including feasibility studies, operational assessments and governance reviews. Her client list spans all regions, sectors and sizes across the UK and Ireland.

As a management consultant, Charlotte has applied her strategic insight and research skills with a range of HE and nonprofit clients. Notable research projects she has undertaken in this area include major gift benchmarking for the Royal Academy of Arts, assessing trends in global wealth and transformational giving for Cancer Research UK and reviewing global tax incentives for philanthropy for the Irish Universities Association.

What's your favourite team?

At the moment, it's the team behind Oi. 

Favourite quote?

"Never worry about people stealing your ideas. If you are any good you will have plenty more." Will Self

And favourite landmark?

Samson and Goliath, Belfast.

And your luxury desert island item?

Art supplies. If I ever tire of painting sunsets, I could always spruce the place up.

'Teleola Cartwright

Consulting Fellow

Olorunteleola (‘Teleola) Cartwright has worked in race equality since graduating with her LLB in law in 2013. In 2015, she began focusing on race and education, working first leading a team advocating for those affected by school exclusions before moving into the Higher Education sector.  

‘Teleola has experience of auditing public sector and educational institutions, leading multi-agency projects on inclusive education and designing and delivering CPD on inclusive teaching, learning and assessment practice.  

She is respected as an expert on race inclusion in higher education and this has led to her giving conference presentations, including as an invited keynote; providing evidence to the Parliamentary Education Sub-committee; and co-authoring a journal article on decolonising the law curriculum published in Law Teacher https://doi.org/10.1080/03069400.2020.1827831.

‘Teleola currently works as an Associate Lecturer at the University of Northampton and Equality Officer at Northamptonshire Rights and Equality Council. She was previously BAME Attainment Project Lead at the Faculty of Business and Law, University of Northampton, and Project Coordinator at Wellingborough Black Consortium.

Rachel Killian

Consulting Fellow

“Education shouldn't be a one-time effort, or something that is only for the young. I believe we need to keep learning, whether it's in a classroom or less formally through our professional and personal interests. After all, education can be transformative and brings new opportunities to us all. That's why I'm part of the Halpin team; to play my small part in a sector that is built on a shared understanding that education changes lives.”

Rachel has over 20 years of senior marketing and recruitment experience and has worked with many education clients to help them better understand their brand positioning and deliver on their strategic marketing campaigns. She brings knowledge and understanding of higher education from experience in-house at a Russell Group university and business school before delivering on a range of marketing and recruitment consultancy projects across universities, colleges and schools. Known for being analytical and pragmatic, she’s highly regarded for delivering impactful and workable solutions.

What's your favourite team?

Seeing as I'm binge-watching Line of Duty at the moment, I have to say AC-12. No matter how bumpy things get along the way, there is always a hug for each other at the end.

Favourite quote?

"Sometimes the questions are complicated and the answers are simple", Dr Seuss.

And your favourite landmark?

Do wind turbines count as landmarks? Because I love the sight of wind turbines. Whether scattered across fields, mountains or the sea, I find them majestic and humbling at the same time. If I had space in my garden for one, I definitely would.

Your luxury desert island item?

My walking boots. If I'm going to be stranded I might as well do some exploring.

Catherine Wolfgang

Consulting Fellow

"I’m all about solving problems and getting things done. When you can do this working with brilliant people – all the better. The world of education is full of brilliant people and working in partnership with them can be a delight, from inspirational academics with their razor-sharp intelligence to super-efficient and collaborative professional service colleagues and alumni and supporters with their passion, amazing skills and broad perspective. At Halpin we work with you, in partnership, and that’s how we can be truly transformative."

Catherine is a capable, strong and adaptive leader with extensive income generation and operational experience. She has spent 20 years developing and leading ambitious, frontline teams spanning the arts, education, health and overseas development. With a strong personal commitment to delivery, Catherine is valued by clients for her ability to get beneath their skin, swiftly diagnose issues and deliver insight and practical results that make a difference. 

What's your favourite team?

Exeter Cricket Club U12s – my son’s team and tipped for the top this year!

Favourite quote?

"The only limit to our realisation of tomorrow will be our doubts of today.” – Franklin D Roosevelt

And favourite landmark?

Roseberry Topping – an almost perfectly cone-shaped hill near Great Ayton in North Yorkshire. Whilst I love living in Devon and have done lots of travelling, seeing this marks a return to my northern roots.

And your luxury desert island item?

Poetry - as big a book as I could have, for when I want to head off into other worlds.

Dr Vicky Lewis

Consulting Fellow

A highly regarded HE consultant with particular expertise in international strategy development.

• Senior HE leadership experience, including expertise in developing internationalisation strategies at different stages of institutional maturity.
• In-depth understanding of international marketing, communications and student recruitment practices.
• Application of insights developed from academic research into HE management, with a particular focus on values-led, fully integrated internationalisation.
• Personal attributes including incisive thinking, willingness to listen and learn, translation of strategy into tangible actions, and the ability to engage and motivate a wide range of stakeholders.

Vicky has 20 years’ experience in the UK HE sector, starting off at what is now University of Wales Trinity St David, then Edinburgh Napier University, before settling in southern England (Bournemouth University) in 2000.

Internationalisation has been a constant thread in her roles which have ranged from establishing an International Office from scratch to leading an 80-person Marketing & Communications Directorate at Bournemouth University. She has 13 years’ experience operating at University Leadership Team level and leading organisation-wide initiatives. Vicky has direct experience of engaging with students, partner organisations and other stakeholders in South East Asia, South Asia, East Asia, North America, Africa and Europe.

Alongside her work, Vicky completed a Doctorate of Business Administration in higher education management at the University of Bath. Her thesis (2007) examined motivations, strategies, and approaches to internationalisation at UK HEIs.

Since moving into consultancy in 2013 she has undertaken numerous projects for UK and international clients including advising a Russell Group university on the marketing strategy and operations for its new overseas campus; presenting options for establishing an overseas office; identifying markets ripe for transnational education pathways; as well as developing and reviewing international strategies and advising on associated delivery structures.

Angela Pedder DBE

Advisory Group

Dame Angela Pedder is a member of the Halpin Advisory Group, and also Vice Chair of Governors at Exeter Royal Academy for Deaf Education. She is an experienced senior NHS leader with experience across all sectors of healthcare at national regional and local levels. Angela is a mentor and coach to CEOs and senior executives in newly appointed or significantly challenging roles, and is a system working and system leadership consultant. Angela has a wealth of experience in strategic leadership, partnership working, complex change management, patient safety, corporate and clinical governance and operational performance improvement.

Angela applies her depth of knowledge to work as a coach and mentor to newly appointed Chairs of Boards.

Sigrid Fisher

Consulting Fellow

Sigrid Fisher is an expert in Equality, Diversity and Inclusion. With over 20 years’ professional experience in complex organisations across different sectors, Sigrid has a proven track record developing and delivering pragmatic best practice, with particular strengths in successful strategic and organisational change. She is a passionate advocate for EDI with her early career starting in the voluntary sector, managing a number of innovative projects working with disadvantaged communities.

Sigrid’s previous in-house EDI roles include 10 years as Head of Equality & Diversity at the University of Cambridge and the EDI lead at London School of Economics and Cambridge City Council. These senior roles covered compliance, policy and strategy development, engagement, benchmarking and communications, as well as working with leadership at the highest levels and external partnerships – she oversaw successful submissions to Stonewall’s Workplace Equality Index achieving highest scoring for local authorities and universities, as well as securing Athena SWAN Silver and Local Government Awards, and participation in the Race Equality Charter. She has managed large teams of staff and volunteers and is an experienced mentor, both internally with in-house roles and also for the Cherie Blair Mentoring Women in Business Programme. 

Prior to this focus on EDI, Sigrid worked in student support in FE and HE institutions, focused on the student experience and retention, inclusion and wellbeing, as well as providing communications support with British Sign Language skills.

Sigrid has overseen some significant achievements in her career, including setting up Cambridge City’s first Equalities Panel and introducing a county-wide Equality Pledge. She produced the pioneering publication The Meaning of Success which explored the experiences of women in academia, both academic and professional services. This was accompanied by a national summit involving senior university leaders in considering the outcomes of the study and the implications for academia nationally and globally.

Sigrid was creative lead for Cambridge University’s successful Breaking the Silence campaign tackling sexual harassment and LSE’s consent campaign, Making a Choice. Working with University College London and Manchester University, she created a collaborative programme to challenge workplace behaviours. She has devised and delivered high profile communications to advance EDI including a photography exhibition, production of a ‘diversity book’ for staff and creation of a women’s development programme.

Sigrid worked in collaboration with Jude Kelly OBE and Southbank London to bring the global Women of the World project to Cambridge, acting as Executive Producer for three highly complex and progressive WOW Cambridge programmes.  

Working as an EDI Consultant, Sigrid has been commissioned for a number of EDI consultancy and training projects and has worked with a wide range of organisations large and small across the public, private and voluntary sectors. Specialist projects have incorporated devising D&I frameworks (UK and Global), unconscious bias/conscious inclusion training, outcome-focused consultation and focus groups, senior strategic workshops, gender inequality and gendered wellbeing, EDI competencies, sexual harassment and offensive content in publishing,

Sigrid’s academic training is in the fine arts and she continues to follow her passion for all things cultural and artistic. She has been Trustee to the Cambridge Film Trust, overseeing delivery of the Cambridge International Film Festival and helping to secure staff roles and ‘CFT at home’ projects during the pandemic. When time allows, Sigrid exhibits her own work in Cambridge Open Studios. A Glastonbury fan since her first visit there in 2000, she loves live outdoor music and has helped out as a Festival Steward for Oxfam for the last few years. She is also a lockdown convert to Pilates and a regular but slow runner.

Prof Hilary Lappin-Scott OBE

Consulting Fellow

A Professor of Microbiology and has had a career as a research scientist at Exeter University for 20 years, prior to moving into senior University leadership roles.

Appointed Pro-Vice-Chancellor for research and innovation at Bangor University before moving to Swansea University in 2010.

Hilary’s roles at Swansea included being the Senior Pro-Vice-Chancellor and leading the strategic development, research and innovation, performance management (including league table performance), student recruitment and equality, diversity and inclusion agendas.

Prof Lappin-Scott was appointed to the working group of Lord Stern’s review of REF, to Research England’s Interdisciplinary Advisory Panel to advise UKRI and REF, was a panel member for REF2014 and is a panel chair for REF2021, led the Universities Wales research and engagement group and a member of HEFCW ‘s Research Wales Committee.

Hilary is the elected President of the Federation of European Microbiological Societies (FEMS) having previously been the President of both the Microbiological Society and the International Society for Microbial Ecology.

She left Swansea University in September 2019 and is now CEO of Lappin-Scott Consulting Limited.

Osaro Otobo

Consulting Fellow

Experienced in leading changes in student democracy & governance and also in student equality, diversity & inclusion.

Osaro studied at the University of Hull for her undergraduate degree in Biomedical Science and a master’s degree in Cancer Imaging. She was elected for 3 successive years to work in the best interest of students at Hull; she was a postgraduate student trustee and a two-term President at Hull University Students’ Union.

From lived experiences, she created the Make Diversity Count campaign which is calling for all UK organisations to have a robust discrimination policy which sets out how they deal with complaints of discrimination in a more effective and transparent way.

She believes in ensuring all students, especially those from liberation and widening participation groups, are supported effectively in throughout their education journey. She also believes that student voices should be at the heart of an evidence-based approach to implementing change and getting meaningful long-lasting results in the higher education sector.

Osaro is Deputy Chair of British Youth Council, and also authored Halpin’s recent report ‘UK Universities’ Response to Black Lives Matter’, co-chairing the subsequent discussion webinar.

Shakira Martin

Advisory Group & Consulting Fellow

Shakira Martin is outgoing National President of the National Union of Students UK, representing 7 million students across Further and Higher Education, most recently successful leading on an organisational turnaround strategy.

She is known for pioneering NUS's Poverty Commission, shining a light on the barriers still facing working class people accessing FE and HE. She is one of only a handful of people to hold the post from an FE background, and the first black woman to have held the role in NUS's 96 year history.

A proud alumni of Lewisham Southwark College, Shakira was undertaking a teaching qualification when she began her career in student politics. She was the Student President at her college and quickly made her mark on the national scene. She was elected the Vice President Further Education at NUS in 2015 and represented FE students in this role for two years prior to Heflin President.

Shakira is a Trustee as Lambeth College where she sits on the board and the Quality and Standards Committee. She has worked with Ofsted both as governor and as the National President of NUS.

Shakira's campaigning credentials are well established with major wins under her belt on student representation, funding, and access. She makes regular local and national media appearances and is passionate about equality in education in terms of access and outcomes. As President she coined the phrase, "it's not just about getting in, it's about getting on".

Ailsa McGregor

Consulting Fellow

A senior HR and project manager with more than 20 years’ experience across the private and public sectors. She is a leader in HR strategy, data and metrics, and also delivers highly targeted workshops and facilitation to clients. Ailsa uses HR metrics to inform clients of trends and options to enable them to make data-driven decisions within the framework of UK employment law and related legislation. She is also an expert in Equality, Diversity and Inclusion.

• Significant experience of working within and outside HR, which brings the benefits of assessing advice and solutions from a stakeholders’ perspective.
• A wide range of senior technical HR skills; data analysis, transformation projects, equality and inclusion, aligning core competencies with business needs, change management expertise, workforce planning, performance management and pragmatic people advice as well as successful implementation of non-bureaucratic HR systems and processes that support business success.
• Ailsa joined Halpin from the University of Exeter, where she was Assistant Director of HR. Since leaving the University in 2015, Ailsa launched a highly successful consultancy service providing strategic specialist advice and delivering transformation projects, change management projects, equality projects and international projects in Australia.
• Led commercially focused projects, gaining considerable project management experience including building organisational capabilities, coordinating partnership arrangements, and demergers.
• Part of the Halpin team which conducted an Equality, Diversity & Inclusion review of Central School of Speech and Drama.
• Proven results working for blue-chip companies, HE and non-government departmental bodies.
• Extensive experience of managing HR and project teams.
• A Chartered Member of CIPD.
• Data and commercially focused with a track record of identifying and securing external funds, managing large and complex budgets and experience in qualitative and quantitative data analysis.

Fezzan Ahmed

Consulting Fellow

An experienced major gifts fundraiser and project manager with proven results in higher education.

• Extensive major gift fundraising and project management experience in both the Arts & Culture and Higher Education sectors.
• Completed the £5.1m campaign for the Regent Street Cinema at University of Westminster.
• Managed several multi-million-pound change projects for organisations such as HSBC, the University of Westminster and the Battersea Arts Centre.
• Over a decade of diverse experience across the private and voluntary sectors

Fezzan was most recently at the University of Westminster, where he managed a £5.1m major campaign to restore and reopen the historic Regent Street Cinema, including securing funding, partnerships and developing operations. During that time, he also brokered academic/commercial partnerships with organisations such as Bloomberg, Adidas, Kodak and Eurostar.

His career began in the commercial world at HSBC, where he managed multi-million-pound projects around cultural change, process improvement and optimisation of resource. He retains strong links to the private sector. He then moved into the Arts and Culture sector, instigating a £16.3m overall fundraising strategy for Battersea Arts Centre which included a ground-breaking renovation of a Grade 2 listed Town Hall, generating significant income from corporate and individual donors for both capital and revenue targets.

Fezzan is dedicated to social change, sustainability and diversity in the fundraising sector. As a founding member of the BME staff network committee at the University of Westminster, he instigated research into BME Fundraisers in the UK voluntary sector championed by organisations such as the Institute of Fundraisers and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education in Europe.

He received his master’s in Community Organising from Queen Mary University, and studied Molecular Genetics at the University of Sussex.

Bob Rabone

Consulting Fellow

A Chartered Accountant with over 30 years of commercial experience as a Finance Director with private and public companies, operating in a range of sectors. 

For 12 years to July 2017 Bob was the Chief Financial Officer of the University of Sheffield with responsibility for Finance, Estates, IT, Accommodation and Commercial Services.

He began his career training with Coopers & Lybrand (now part of PricewaterhouseCoopers) before joining a medium-sized accountancy firm offering consultancy services in financial planning, funding and information technology to a range of clients: from owner-managed enterprises to public companies.

A common thread through all of Bob’s executive roles has been the development of clear organisational strategies during periods of business growth or change.  Whilst Chief Financial Officer with the international law firm Eversheds, Bob had a primary role in the merger of its seven legal partnerships into one.

Bob was chair of the British University Finance Directors Group from 2013 to 2016 and contributed to several HE sector reviews, such as the Diamond Efficiency, Effectiveness and Value for Money review.  In 2019 Bob was appointed to the Board of the National Centre for Universities and Business as Treasurer.

A focus of his activity in the HE sector has been to aid a better understanding of financial performance and financial sustainability by funders, regulators, governors, staff and students. This focus continues as a member of the sector’s Financial Sustainability Steering Group.

Sara Doherty

Consulting Fellow

An experienced consultant and strategic leader with a proven track record of managing services and people in complex organisations.

• Cross-sector experience of service delivery and process improvement to enhance effectiveness and efficiency.
• A collaborative and pragmatic approach to leadership and focus on a solution-based approach.
• Brings operational knowledge and understanding as well as managing and collaborating at senior team and board level.
• Successfully brings about simplicity through complexity.

Sara has 25 years’ experience teaching in further and in management in higher education holding senior roles in universities representing all mission groups. Her knowledge is grounded in the student experience and with Academic Registrar experience advises on policy, governance and compliance. Since 2015 she has been a consultant working with clients such as GSM London, Goldsmiths, UCLAN, LSHTM and UUK.

Sara is studying for a professional qualification in Coaching & Mentoring and is a trained mediator. She is a fellow of the HEA and a role model for the Leadership Foundation’s women in management Aurora Programme.

Tess Winther

Consulting Fellow

Experienced in student engagement and representation within the UK and internationally, especially in relation to effectiveness of stakeholder engagement within governance structures.

Tess served on the Student Experience Sub-committee at Goldsmiths, University of London where she worked to promote student interests through institutional policy developments. She also served two years on QAA's Student Strategic Advisory Committee where she discussed UK higher education policy, spoke at nationally and internationally conferences, including keynotes on student representation and cultures of quality, as well as working on the second edition of the Higher Education Credit Framework for England.

Tess acted as the independent analyst on the QAA UK HE transnational education consultation in 2020. She has contributed to sessions on student engagement the QAA International Quality Assurance Programme, as well as facilitated workshops and training at Dyson Institute of Engineering and Technology.

She’s experienced in working across national and international regulatory frameworks, standards and guidelines. Since 2019 she has researched and written Country Reports for the Accreditation and International Services at QAA, and is an International Reviewer on the QAA International Accreditation Review. She also works with Membership Services and QAA Cymru across various research projects.

Selena Bolingbroke

Consulting Fellow

A dynamic and sought-after consultant with extensive HE, FE and public sector senior leadership experience.

• 20 years' experience delivering results in both higher and further education, and also local and central government.
• Passionate about employability and enterprise and a champion of skills-led regeneration.
• Formerly Pro Vice-Chancellor at University of East London, where she was responsible for Strategic Planning & External Development.

Selena has worked across higher education, central and local government in roles that have combined her interests in education, enterprise and regeneration. She combines her consultancy portfolio, working with leading management consultancies to deliver results. Alongside Halpin, Selena is an Associate Director of MetaValue, a consultancy practice focused on supporting change and entrepreneurial growth strategies. She also leads on External Engagement and Strategic Development at Goldsmiths, University of London.

Selena is a governor of a school in East London and a non-executive director of Wonkhe – the online home of higher education policy wonks. She is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and Fellow of the Royal Society for Arts.

Recent consultancy projects Selena has undertaken include: the Society of Chief Librarians (research project to develop a Universal Offer for Culture for Public Libraries), University of Sheffield Students’ Union (review of commercial services and delivery of income growth generation plan), University of Westminster (review of student enterprise provision), Rose Bruford College (review of student recruitment) and Dudley Libraries and Adult Learning (growth strategy, business plan and financial plan to grow income).

Currently Interim Chair of Lewisham College Board (Feb 2020-August 2020) Former governor and Chair of Barking & Dagenham College Corporation Board 2009-2015

Elizabeth Baptiste

Consulting Fellow

A Senior Equality, Diversity and Inclusion specialist with more than 18 years’ experience in the Public Sector

Leadership and Organisational Development Adviser (Continuous Improvement) at University of Westminster.

Councillor for London Borough of Waltham Forest.

An experienced Quality Assurance and Enhancement Professional, (Associate CIPD) with a special interest in Women and Leadership, Learning and Organisation Development, Staff Coaching and Mentoring.

Elizabeth is currently Leadership and Organisational Development Adviser (Continuous Improvement) at the University of Westminster, managing a portfolio of awards and continuous improvement projects, for example the Athena SWAN, Race equality Charter mark trial, Investors in People, Customer First etc. She provides professional advice and advice across the university, in support of the continuous improvement strand of the Organisational and Staff Development Strategy.

Her role involves designing, developing and delivering relevant formal and informal learning interventions in support of the continuous improvement agenda, with a particular emphasis on working with Faculties, and building and maintaining strong relationships between internal teams and external organisations e.g. the Equality Challenge Unit.

Elizabeth is adept at ensuring that all activities adhere to the University’s Equality Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) agenda and relevant legislation.

Sir Drummond Bone

Consulting Fellow

A highly respected leader in higher education known for his thought leadership.

• Master of Balliol College at the University of Oxford until April 2018.
• He previously served as Vice-Chancellor of the University of Liverpool from 2002 to 2008, and Principal of Royal Holloway, University of London, from 2000 to 2002.
• Professor Bone was knighted in the 2008 Birthday Honours for services to Higher Education and the regeneration of the North-West.

Drummond Bone is the recently retired Master of Balliol College, Oxford, and is the Chair of the Arts and Humanities Research Council. Drummond Bone was previously Professor of English Literature at the University of Glasgow, Principal of Royal Holloway, Vice-Chancellor of Liverpool, and President of UUK.

He has been much involved in University Business interactions for the Northern Way and the CBI, wrote an influential report commissioned by the Government on University Internationalisation, and has directed the establishment or reform of University fundraising operations in three of the Universities with which he has been involved.

Sirin Myles

Consulting Fellow

A highly experienced International Director and specialist in Higher Education.

•  More than 20 years of international marketing and leadership experience in diplomatic and higher education organisations.
• Worked with diverse organisations such as Brunel, Roehampton, the University of the West of Scotland and IDP.

Sirin began her career with the British Council in Istanbul, marketing British education at all levels from nursery to HE. She then moved to the UK to the University of Southampton, becoming a Regional Director and managing the University’s international engagement.

Sirin joined the University of Reading in 2007 as the Deputy Director International Office, with responsibility for international partnerships development, marketing and research. After a year, she was promoted to become International Director assuming leadership for all areas of internationalisation. Under her, the University of Reading redefined and reshaped its internationalisation ambitions and strategy, with fivefold growth in its international tuition fee income, delivery of a comprehensive partnerships strategy (research, teaching and mobility), with measurable growth in its international alumni engagement and enhancement of student and staff mobility. She ended her time at Reading with joint responsibility for all of the University’s Marketing, Communication and Engagement.

Sirin’s voluntary experience included two years as a chair for Europe Community of Practice for Higher Education, convened by the Universities UK International, and a chair and contributor for partnerships training days in the last four years (2014, 2015, 2016, present) for British Universities International Liaison Association.

Colin Robbins

Consulting Fellow

A background in the private and HE sectors, with proven leadership and motivational skills and high standards.

• An enthusiastic team player who believes in focused objectives and rewarding success.
• A confident decision maker able to rapidly evaluate and prioritise information. Adaptable and committed. Excellent communication skills encouraging positive interaction with both superiors and staff.   
• A determined problem solver.

Colin holds the position of Director of Estates and Facilities at Reading University. Here, he strategically leads a team of 800+ staff through the delivery of over £600m of capital projects, including a major campus development overseas. He has also overseen the disposal of over £150m of assets, bringing capital funding into the University to supports its ambitious development programme. Colin was also responsible for turning around a failing in-house catering service, which now delivers a significant positive financial contribution to the University each year.

Having qualified as a Chartered Surveyor in 1982, Colin’s quantity surveying career developed in a professional office for the first decade. On appointment as a Fellow of the RICS in 1993 his career progressed and broadened into wider Project Management and Estate Management roles, with spells in three client organisations. This included Head of Property at UCL and, following a brief 4-year spell as MD of the company in which he had first trained, returning to the HE sector for over 12 years.

Colin has excellent insight into the many challenges and opportunities that exist in our Universities. He fully understands the need for rapidly changing, dynamic structures while considering and respecting many decades of tradition.

Dr Andrew West

Consulting Fellow

A higher education specialist with 30 years of unrivalled expertise spanning governance and professional services.

• Former University Secretary at the University of Sheffield.
• Eleven years’ experience leading academic-related professional services.
• In demand for advice and consultancy at a wide range of institutions in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
• Dr West is a member of the Board of Governors of Leeds Beckett University where he also chairs the Governance Committee.

As University Secretary at the University of Sheffield, Andrew provided key advice and support to the University’s Council and governance structure, working closely with the University Executive Board.

Before his appointment as University Secretary, Andrew led academic and student-related professional services at the University of Sheffield for eleven years. He had a wide remit covering student recruitment and admissions, academic services including learning and teaching support, registry and student administration, careers and employability, and a broad range of student support and wellbeing services.

Dr West is a former Chair of AMOSSHE – The Student Services Organisation. Other previous appointments include membership of the Executive of IASAS – a global student affairs organisation.  He is a former Trustee of Liverpool Hope University Students’ Union, former Strategic Adviser to the Association of University Administrators, and he is currently an Associate of Advance HE.

Will Spinks

Consulting Fellow

A senior-level leader in higher education, having held the post of Registrar, Secretary and Chief Operating Officer at University of Manchester. After retiring from his full-time post in September 2017, Will is now Associate Vice President acting as an advisor to the Senior Leadership Team. His expertise stretches to the commercial world too, having held numerous senior posts at the research-based biopharmaceutical organisation AstraZeneca.

• Will joined the University of Manchester as Registrar, Secretary and Chief Operating Officer in June 2011. After retiring from his full-time post in September 2017, he was appointed as an Associate Vice President acting as an advisor to the Senior Leadership Team.
• He is a Non-Executive Director of one of the UK's largest pension funds and acts as a Trustee Director and Chair of a number of local charities. He is a graduate of the Common Purpose 20:20 Leadership Development Programme.
• Prior to joining Manchester, Will was the first Chief Operating Officer of Loughborough University. In this role he was responsible for all the service functions and the commercial activities of the University. In addition, he chaired and served on the Board of wholly owned subsidiary companies and the Manufacturing Technology Centre.
• Before moving into the HE sector, Will pursued a career in ICI, Zeneca and AstraZeneca, working in a number of businesses and functions in both the UK and USA. This culminated in him establishing a Business Services organisation providing HR, Finance, Purchasing, Communications, SHE, Facilities Management and Site Services to all AstraZeneca's UK sites. In this role, he had line management accountability for over 1,300 people.
• From 2001-2007, he also acted as Site Manager at AstraZeneca's largest R&D site globally, Alderley Park.

Helen Sprott

Consulting Fellow

Significant senior experience in the arts and cultural industries: creative and leadership roles in publishing and broadcast television; a former Managing Director of one of London’s celebrated symphony orchestras; 12 years public sector policy and administrative experience as Director with Arts Council England; currently advising Execucare on recruitment to senior roles in the arts and culture sector.

As Managing Director with the Philharmonia Orchestra, Helen commissioned a review of the organisation’s governance arrangements; spearheaded initiatives to diversify programming and broaden audiences; and led the successful search to appoint a new Principal Conductor.

From 2005 to 2017, Helen was Director of Music for Arts Council England in London and nationally, leading a large multi-region team, devising investment policy in Music, allocating funds, and advising and monitoring national cultural institutions in receipt of substantial project and revenue grants.

Helen was part of a senior Arts Council team to implement the 2011 Henley Review of Music Education in England, leading to the current ‘Music Education Hubs’ local partnership model; from 2011-13, she led on the Arts Council’s analysis of the impact and value of public investment in large-scale opera in England; in 2015, she steered a national consultation exercise in response to proposals for a new concert hall and Centre for Music in the City of London.

As Commissioning Editor Performing Arts with Channel 4 Television, Helen devised a series of Emmy and BAFTA award-winning performance films and documentaries, collaborating with celebrated international artists and celebrated directors, securing substantial investment from international distributors and broadcasters.

As Music Books Editor with Faber and Faber, Helen brought to birth the first two volumes of ‘Letters from a Life: Selected Letters and Diaries of Benjamin Britten, and published books about other major 20^th century figures.

In 2019, Helen was appointed as  Non-Executive Director on the Board of St Martin in the Fields Limited.

Andrew Baird

Consulting Fellow

Andrew chairs the board at Orbital South Colleges, and as a National Leading Governor for FE, serves as interim chair at Brooklands College and is a member of the Educational Administrators Advisory Group at Hadlow and West London Colleges. 

A professional M&A advisor, he chaired the merger of East Surrey College and John Ruskin College, in addition to completing some 80 business mergers and acquisitions.

Professor Michelle Leek

Consulting Fellow

Michelle Leek is a Chartered Fellow of the CIPD, and a Professor of Practice in People, Growth and Culture.  With over 25 years, senior leadership experience Michelle has delivered innovative and effective people-focused strategies and services across a range of organisations and sectors.  

She is currently working as a Global Consultant managing a number of transformational People-related change programmes.  

Until December 2020, on the executive team, Michelle was Pro-Vice-Chancellor - People, Performance & Culture at the University of Cumbria. This builds on her previous role and experiences as Director of People (Staff and Students) where Michelle provided leadership to her teams, who together delivered enriching, enabling and accessible services to both students and staff in an increasingly dynamic and competitive sector. Her portfolio of responsibility included Human Resources, Organisational Development and Design, Community Services, Careers and Employability, Student Support, Health and Wellbeing.

Michelle has spent the past 14 years working in a number of universities ranging from research-intensive, post-graduate, through to practice-based universities within the UK and overseas.  Michelle’s work has been informed by the belief that at the heartbeat of organisations are people who add value and drive success.