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About our governors

The Birkbeck governing body is collectively responsible for overseeing Birkbeck’s activities. The Governors determine Birkbeck’s future direction and promote the fulfilment of our mission, the advancement of our values and the potential of all our learners.

They are responsible for ensuring compliance with the College’s constitutional and regulatory framework and take all final decisions on strategic matters and issues of fundamental concern to the College. They are bound by the:

EXTERNAL (INDEPENDENT GOVERNORS)

The governing body includes independent Governors to bring an external perspective and provide specific business, financial, legal, managerial and other skills.

SIR ANDREW CAHN (CHAIR)

  • Sir Andrew has had a long and distinguished career at the highest levels of Whitehall, the private sector and the European Union. He was principal advisor on EU issues to Prime Ministers John Major and Tony Blair, and went on to become CEO and Chair of UK Trade and Investment, driving forward the internationalisation of UK-based businesses and attracting foreign investment to the UK.
  • He is currently a trustee of a number of charities, including the Gatsby Foundation and the Institute for Government. He was previously Chair of the Board of Trustees at WWF UK.
  • His previous non-executive director roles include Lloyds of London, and Nomura International plc and Nomura Europe Holdings, where he was also Vice Chairman.

Mr Simon Davis (Deputy Chair)

  • Simon Davis was appointed as an independent Governor in October 2016.
  • Simon joined Clifford Chance in 1982 and became Partner in 1994, retiring from the firm in 2020. He was Head of Commercial Litigation in Clifford Chance's London office and a member of the firm's Partnership Council.
  • He is a former President of the London Solicitors Litigation Association and former President of the Law Society of England and Wales.
  • Simon is a member of the Council of the Law Society, committee member of the City of London Law Society, member of the Court of Appeal Mediation Panel and an accredited CEDR mediator. He is a trustee of the Access to Justice Foundation and trustee of the Royal College of Surgeons of England.

MS NANA BANTON

  • Nana was appointed as an independent Governor of Birkbeck in 2020 and is currently non-executive director on a number of other boards, including Shepherd’s Bush Housing Group, where she co-chairs the Transformation Committee and is a member of the Remuneration and Nominations Committee.
  • She brings many years of experience of business transformation, commercial strategy, change management, and organisational design, in complex public, private, and not-for-profit organisations; and is a graduate of Birkbeck and London Business School.

MS CINDY LESLIE

  • Cindy Leslie was appointed as an independent Governor in October 2016.
  • She was a partner and Dispute Resolution solicitor in City firm Dentons for over 25 years, and throughout that time a strong proponent of mediation.
  • She has held a number of non-executive positions, including Director of the Solicitors Regulation Authority, Governor of Bristol University and Trustee of Bristol University Students' Union.
  • Currently her appointments include being a non-executive director of Ofqual and the Architects Registration Board, chair of the governors of a school in North London and member of fitness to practise panels for the Health and Care Professions Council.

MR ANDREW KEMP

  • Andy is a finance professional with over 38 years' experience, working with many of the UK's largest multinational companies. He has deep expertise in finance, risk and governance matters, having been an audit partner for 27 years.
  • Andy’s experience is directly relevant to the work of audit and risk committees, but he could equally serve on remuneration and nomination committees. Andy has also experienced general management as a member of the Assurance Executive Board that ran PwC’s £800 million UK Audit and Risk Assurance business.
  • He brings multi-sectoral experience and insight, deep knowledge about how organisations operate, a proven track record of relationship building and navigating different corporate cultures, digital literacy, a resilient personality, and a curiosity to get to the heart of issues and seek solutions.

MS RACHEL NEAMAN

  • Rachel is an influential technology leader specialising in digital transformation, leadership, health tech, skills and inclusion. She has extensive senior leadership experience in the private, public and not-for-profit sectors in the UK and internationally, including at the European Union, as the first Chief Digital Officer for the Department of Health, and as a CEO.
  • She is now a business adviser and mentor to senior leaders and runs her own consultancy providing advice and coaching to boards and executive teams on strategy, leadership and digital transformation.
  • Rachel is a frequent keynote speaker at UK and international conferences, has appeared regularly before parliamentary Select Committees, is a frequent judge of digital awards, and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (RSA).

MR DANIEL PELTZ

  • Daniel is CEO of London Freeholds Plc. He is an Honorary Fellow of King’s College and Birkbeck. He sits on the King’s Campaign Board and is a Trustee of the National Gallery Foundation, the MCC Foundation, the Anna Freud Centre, the Warburg Institute and the City of London School Bursary Trust.
  • Additionally, he is Governor of the Oxford Centre for Hebrew and Jewish Studies at Oxford University and a panellist on the Education Panel of the Wolfson Foundation.
  • In 2015 he was awarded the OBE for Philanthropic and Charitable services.

MR DUNCAN SANKEY

  • Duncan is a former student of Birkbeck, having graduated with an MSc in Corporate Governance and Ethics in 2007. He has served as a co-opted member of the Audit Committee from 2018.
  • Since 2003 he has been Head of Credit Research at Cheyne Capital Management, one of Europe’s leading alternative asset managers, where he was made a partner in 2008.
  • Prior to joining Cheyne, he headed research for a range of investment banks, including Nomura International and Greenwich NatWest, before which he spent a number of years as a senior analyst with Moody’s Investors’ Service in New York and London. He began his career with Morgan Guaranty Trust in 1987.
  • In 2015 Duncan co-authored ‘Opening Credit. A Practitioner’s Guide to Credit Investment’. He has served on the Education and Exams Committee of CFA UK and was a member of the London Centre for Corporate Governance and Ethics.

Mrs Sally Spensley

  • Sally Spensley was appointed as an Independent Governor in October 2024.
  • She has a background in finance, primarily working as a Finance Director in the media and communications sector. Her last full-time role was as the European Chief Financial Officer for J Walter Thompson, a network of the WPP Group.
  • Sally is currently a Trustee of the Royal College of Psychiatrists and of the Trinity Challenge.
  • She is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants and of the Association of Corporate Treasurers.

MR ANDREAS UTERMANN

  • Andreas is a British businessman, private investor and philanthropist.
  • He was CEO and previously Co-Head of Allianz Global Investors, a global asset manager within Allianz’s asset management division, from January 2012 to December 2019, and continued as adviser to the firm until June 2020.

Alumni Governor

Dr Odessa S. Hamilton

  • Dr Odessa S. Hamilton is a behavioural scientist and statistician, who consults and leads scientific initiatives to inform practice, influence policy, and advance values-based directives of global corporations.
  • With experience that traverses corporate, government, and academia, Odessa has notable transatlantic successes and a longstanding practitioner history.
  • Beyond Birkbeck, Odessa is academically affiliated with the University of Oxford, Harvard University, University College London (UCL), and the London School of Economics (LSE) to Assistant Professor level.

INTERNAL GOVERNORS

Our staff and student Governors bring knowledge and experience of academic, collegial and student-centred matters.

VICE-CHANCELLOR: PROFESSOR Sally Wheeler

  • Sally Wheeler was appointed as Vice-Chancellor on 1 January 2024.
  • Prior to taking up her role at Birkbeck, Sally was Deputy Vice-Chancellor (International and Corporate) at the Australian National University.
  • She was awarded an OBE for Services to Higher Education in Northern Ireland in 2017.

DEPUTY VICE-CHANCELLOR: PROFESSOR MATTHEW INNES

  • Professor Matthew Innes was appointed Vice-Master of Birkbeck in 2014 (his title is now Deputy Vice-Chancellor).
  • Matthew came to Birkbeck in 1999 as Lecturer in History, and was promoted to Professor of History in 2005. His academic honours include the Gladstone History Book Prize, and a Philip Leverhulme Prize.
  • He has previously served two terms as an elected Academic Board Governor, and as Head of School, Dean of Faculty. Prior to his current post he was Pro-Vice-Master (Strategy) from 2008 to 2013, in which capacity he provided the academic leadership for the wholesale reorganisation of the College's academic structures and business model in the aftermath of a series of policy changes which threatened the college's future. Visit Professor Matthew Innes's academic staff profile.

Academic Board Governor: Professor kate Retford

  • Professor of History of Art, School of Historical Studies.
  • Kate Retford is Professor of History of Art in the School of Historical Studies. She joined the College in 2003, and has held various roles in the institution, including Head of the History of Art Department 2014-7, and Head of the newly created School of Historical Studies 2023-4. She has published extensively on British art, particularly about portraiture and country houses. Her research has been supported by most of the key funding bodies in the arts and humanities, including the AHRC, British Academy, Leverhulme and Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art.
  • She has particular experience in working with partners in the Museum and Heritage sectors, and sits on editorial and advisory boards, including that of the Paul Mellon Centre. She teaches at every level on programmes in Historical Studies, from Foundation Year through to PhD.

Academic Board Governor: Dr Pamela Yeow

  • Reader in Management, Birkbeck Business School, Faculty of Business and Law.
  • Pamela Yeow is Reader in Management and was, until recently, Assistant Dean for External Engagement for the Business School. She is currently Co-Director, Research Centre for Environment and Sustainability, and also the Head of the Centre for Professional Development. She has taught across the business school programmes and supervises undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral students.

Academic Staff Governors

  • Dr Oliver Barish, Lecturer (Birkbeck Business School)
    • Oliver is Recruitment and Admissions Lead in the Business School and teaches strategic management. Before embarking on an academic career in 2009, Oliver was the Managing Director of a software company and a military officer. 
  • Dr Sarah Marks, Senior Lecturer (School of Historical Studies)
    • Sarah Marks works across history and the social sciences to examine science and medicine in the modern and contemporary world, in transnational context. She also researches the lived experience of mental ill-health and its treatment, collaborating with qualitative researchers and anthropologists.

Staff Governor: Rebecca Nako

  • Rebecca was elected to be Staff Governor in 2024. She has been Lab Manager in the School of Psychological Sciences since 2016.
  • She has been a part of the Birkbeck community since 2009 having completed a certificate course as well as an MSc and PhD at Birkbeck. She also took part in the Aurora (Women's Leadership development) programme in 2021.
  • Prior to Birkbeck, Rebecca has had varied experience, living in the US, China and Australia and worked in TV production, recruitment and property.

Student Governors

  • William Sarenden 
  • Viji Pirani