Board members

Heather Allan

Heather Allan has a background in global organisations in both the commercial and non-profit sectors, having held both chief operating officer and chief information officer posts.

Read more >

Steve Bastow

Steve Bastow is an Associate Professor and the interim Associate Dean (Teaching and Learning) in the Faculty of Business and Social Science.

Sandra Campopiano

Sandra is an HR professional with extensive experience of operating at board level in complex multi-national organisations.

Read more >

Paul Cleal

Paul acts an adviser, board member or mentor to organisations and individuals who want to make a positive change change happen. He brings a wealth of experience in leadership and strategy gained from 30 years working in both private and public sectors.

Read more >

James Denholm-Price

James Denholm-Price is a principal lecturer in computing and mathematics in the Faculty of Science, Engineering and Computing. He is serving on the Board of Governors as a representative of the Academic Board.

Read more >

Nancy Cogswell

Nancy has a strong commercial and financial background as a chief executive in the design and construction sectors. She is an experienced board-level director in high profile architectural practices.

Read more >

David Edmonds (Chair)

David is Chairman of NHS Shared Business Services, a joint venture between the Department of Health and the IT firm Sopra Steria. He is also chairman of the Phone-paid Services Authority, the regulator for premium rate telephony.

Read more >

Gary Ernest

Gary is currently Director of Risk & Audit for Rentokil Initial plc. In this role he oversees the risk management and control processes across the business and leads the internal audit team. He reports regularly to the Audit Committee.

Read more >

Caroline V Gipps

Caroline Gipps is a Visiting Professor at the UCL/Institute of Education and an Emeritus Professor at the University of Wolverhampton, where she was the Vice Chancellor until her retirement in 2011.  In 1999 she became Deputy Vice-Chancellor at Kingston University, with responsibility for the academic profile and student support.

Read more >

Jenny Higham

Jenny is the newly appointed Principal at St. George's, University of London. She previously had senior roles at Imperial College and the Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine in Singapore.

Read more >

Dirk Kahl

Dirk Kahl is the Chief Financial Officer of Lidl Great Britain and is based at their Head Office in Wimbledon. Dirk joined the Lidl Group as Global Finance and Accounting Director in 2008 and was subsequently appointed as Board Executive for Finance, Accounting and Tax for the German operation before joining the UK Board of Directors in 2014.

Read more >

Peter Mayhew-Smith

Peter Mayhew-Smith has worked as a life-long learning practitioner for 25 years, starting as a community education tutor in west London, where he held a succession of roles including home learning manager, creative writing co-ordinator and equal opportunities officer.

Read more >

Aranee Manoharan

Aranee taught in faculty before moving into professional services at Kingston University, where she has been for the past four years working in areas of student engagement, community affairs, and inclusion. She is now Employability and Enterprise Curriculum Manager, leading a new strand within the Careers and Employability Service, which supports academic teams to embed employability within the curriculum to enable all students the opportunity to develop the skills, knowledge, and attributes they need to navigate and succeed in life after university.

Read more >

Kamal Mohamed

Kamal is a Kingston Graduate who is currently studying an MA in International Politics and Economics. Having been elected as the Penrhyn Road Officer, he has also been selected to be the lead on Academic Affairs for the Union of Kingston Students.

Read more >

Alison Osborne

Alison is a qualified Chartered Accountant and taught at Cass Business School for 15 years and 5 years at Kingston University subjects such as Finance and Financial Reporting, Corporate Finance, Decision Analysis, Probability and Statistics and Accounting for Informatics students.

Read more >

Jane Scott

Jane has more than 25 years' experience working as an IT professional in different sectors of industry including FMCG with Mars and Coca-Cola, Foodservice with 3663, where she served as a main Board Director and, most recently, Energy.

Read more >

Francis Small

A chartered accountant by profession, Francis has held board roles at UK, European and Global levels.

Read more >

Steven Spier

A respected expert in architecture, theatre and dance, Professor Spier was appointed Acting Vice-Chancellor in October 2016, and then Vice-Chancellor in May 2017. He was formerly Dean of the University's Faculty of Art, Design and Architecture, which rose to prominence as one of the top providers of design education, both in the United Kingdom and around the globe, under his leadership.

Read more >

Jack James, Aerospace Engineering Foundation Year and Aerospace Engineering, Astronautics & Space Technology BEng(Hons)

I am just starting a PhD at Kingston researching rocket propulsion technologies having graduated with a first in Aerospace Engineering, Astronautics and Space Technology BEng(Hons). My progress into university was through Clearing, a process that can scare people and make them feel unhappy about going to university. I didn't have the required A-levels to get onto the course and had to get onto the foundation year. The Clearing process was really simple, made even easier by the helpful staff at Kingston who guide you through the whole process, right up to enrolment and induction.

I came through Clearing and found it to be an amazing choice, so don't be discouraged by clearing, it will not affect your quality of university experience.

So why do a degree in astronautics? Well, apart from being able to call yourself a rocket scientist you get to work closely with industry on amazing projects, for example rocket engines, orbit calculations, satellites and interplanetary missions. The course is very wide in scope as you cover many engineering disciplines, allowing you much flexibility when you are job hunting.

In your final year you need to carry out an individual project/dissertation. The topic will be specific and will be self-taught, allowing you to guide and steer your own project. I did mine on a rocket engine system which I designed and manufactured on site. You can read more about my rocket engine on the Faculty of Science and Engineering and Computing website or in a blog I wrote for the Ask Us website.

The University has many extensive facilities on site. Primarily there is a rocket propulsion lab that is for use of astronautic students only, allowing for controlled real rocket firings. This lab is the only one on site for a university in the UK, with a wide range of engines installed. Students are encouraged to interact with the lab to receive hands on experience with space propulsion, something which is attractive to potential employers. On campus there is a fully equipped machine workshop with a 3D printer, CNC machines, standard machining equipment and welding facilities. A wind tunnel is also present so you can generate aerodynamic data on your own models.

The course is fundamental if you want to pursue a career in space, with many companies having close links with Kingston and recruit periodically. I now have the opportunity to take my research further by pursuing a PhD in rocket engine systems, something that would have been unrealistic if not for this course."