Nicola Owen, Deputy Chief Executive (Operations), Lancaster University and AHUA Chair

Nicola Owen is the Deputy Chief Executive (Operations) at Lancaster University. Together with the Director of Finance, she leads the Professional Services at Lancaster. As Deputy Chief Executive (Operations), she is the Head of Administration and has responsibility for Strategic Planning & Governance, Recruitment, Admissions & International Development, Facilities, Human Resources and OED, Information Systems Services, Communications and Marketing, Alumni and Development, Research and Enterprise Services and Student Based Services.

Nicola was elected to the position of Chair of the Association of Heads of University Administration , a three year tenure which started on 1 April 2020.

Prior to moving to Lancaster University, Nicola was Deputy Registrar at the University of Warwick.

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Richard Taylor, Chief Operating Officer, Loughborough University

Richard became the Chief Operating Officer for Loughborough University in September 2013.   He is responsible for the Strategic Leadership of the University’s non-academic operation and support services.

Previously Richard was the Deputy Registrar (and before that Director of Corporate Affairs & Planning) at the University of Leicester. He joined Leicester in 2003 after holding posts at Durham and Loughborough universities.

He grew up in Barnsley, South Yorkshire and attended Barnsley College before studying at Durham University where he was Students’ Union President in 1994-5.

He lives local to Loughborough and is married with two children.

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Professor William Cushley, University of Glasgow

Bill is Professor of Molecular Immunology and Assistant Vice Principal (International) at the University where he also serves as Co-Director of the Glasgow-Caribbean Centre for Development Research.   He has a significant amount of experience in the area of international partnership development with both HEIs and industry and has long supported international student recruitment with the University’s regional teams.

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Gary Attle, Partner, Mills & Reeve

Gary leads the national education sector practice at Mills & Reeve. He advises higher education and research institutions on a range of public, private and charity law matters, including:

• governance and constitutional issues;
• legislation and policy issues;
• freedom of speech;
• freedom of information, data protection and privacy law;
• equality and human rights;
• student matters;
• civil claims and judicial review.

Gary has over 25 years experience as a Solicitor in private practice advising universities, colleges and research institutions on their legal issues and has acted in test cases in the courts and tribunals throughout his career.

He was invited to give evidence to the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights as part of its inquiry into Freedom of Speech in Universities. The JCHR published its report and guidance in 2018 which sets out the legal and constitutional framework in this important area.

He has contributed to textbooks, law reports and policy papers relating to the law of higher education.

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Lisa Brooks-Lewis, Duty, Assessment, and Inclusivity Manager, Loughborough University

With a background spanning Youth Justice, improving services for complex and dual diagnosis clients through collaborative working in health and sexual violence services, Lisa’s interests are in promoting equality, challenging discrimination and addressing stigma embedded within day-to-day practice.  Recent conference presentations include Security in HE and the Samaritans’ annual conference. Publications include research relating to aggression and violence in social care, and trauma informed care.

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Seamus Gillen, AHUA Associate

Seamus has not only worked extensively with the board secretary community in the UK and overseas, but has also been one of the governance professionals principally responsible for developing the secretary cadre. He was previously the Policy Director of the Chartered Governance Institute (CGI) (formerly the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators – ICSA), where he was instrumental in promoting the importance of the role of company secretary, overseeing a number of research projects which examined how the company secretary could develop the wider behavioural skills needed to succeed.

After he left the Institute, he took this work to the next level, and
created the Leadership Development Programme for Company
Secretaries and Governance Professionals, a scheme – involving
coaching and mentoring – to develop the capabilities of company
secretaries and other governance professionals.

Internationally, he created the training programme for developing the secretary cadre in Bahrain, working in association with the Bahrain Institute of Banking and Finance, and as adviser to the Central bank of Bahrain. He has trained the secretary cadre in the UAE, Mauritius and South Africa, and this wider international experience has informed the work carried out in the UK, and vice versa.

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Siân Jackson, Principal Associate, Mills & Reeve

Siân advises on all employment law matters ranging from large-scale restructures and contractual changes to industrial disputes and complex Tribunal claims for discrimination and whistleblowing. Prior to joining Mills & Reeve, Siân worked at a University for 9 years as an in-house employment lawyer and then Head of HR for Strategic Projects. Siân is a chartered member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD).

Siân specialises in the higher education and research sector and is passionate about providing expert legal advice which enables universities and research institutions to achieve their vision through their people.

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Alex Russell, Partner, Mills & Reeve

Alex is a partner in the Mills & Reeve employment education team who specialises in advising higher education institutions.  His experience includes advising on strategic people issues, complex employment tribunal claims, restructures and senior severances, international collaborations, mergers and the transfer of staff, and amendments to constitutional documents.  Alex also leads our national immigration team and supports institutions in recruiting talent from the global labour market and managing related compliance obligations.  His recent work includes helping institutions to navigate the post-Brexit immigration system.

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Professor Zihar Irani, Deputy Vice-Chancellor, University of Bradford

Professor Zahir Irani studied Manufacturing Engineering at the University of Salford before then working as a Project Engineer for several years. He then secured a full scholarship from Brunel University London, where he completed a PhD in Investment Decision Making. His professional development has seen him complete his leadership and financial management training at Harvard Business School (HBS) and University of Cambridge, respectively.

After completing a 7-year tenure as Head of the Brunel Business School, where he won the prestigious TimesHigher Education (THE) Business School of the Year award, he accepted an invitation to work in Central Government, where he was seconded to Whitehall as a Senior Policy Advisor in the Cabinet Office during the UK coalition Government. On completion, he returned to academia, to assume a Founding Dean role, of the newly established College of Business, Arts and Social Sciences at Brunel University London.

Later, he headed back up North, to the University of Bradford, where, as Dean of Faculty (Management and Law), he led a successful merger with the Faculty of Social Sciences before then assumed the role of Pro-Vice-Chancellor.

As one of the most senior Asian academics in the country, Professor Irani expanded his portfolio in 2020, when appointed Deputy-Vice-Chancellor at the University of Bradford, with responsibility for Academic, Innovation and Quality.

Professor Zahir Irani has been recognized locally by the Bradford based Professional Muslim Institute (PMI), Volunteering Interfaith Partnerships (VIP) and Age UK (Bradford and District) for his work to support vulnerable communities. He is also playing a leading regional role to support social and economic value creation, having been appointed by the Bradford Metropolitan District Council as the Chair of the Bradford Covid-19 Economic Recovery Board that developed a 5-year economic recovery plan for the district that was then approved in 2021 by the council executive and elected officials. He is also a member of the Council Wellbeing board.

In 2020, Professor Irani was named by the Sunday Times as a leading Bradford influencer.

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Becky Taylor, Associate Director, Higher Education research team, YouthSight

Becky helps design and oversee a large number of projects for university clients each year.  She joined YouthSight in July 2019. Prior to this, she spent three years at Truth Consulting and three years at MMR Consulting where she worked on research and strategy projects across FMCGs, healthcare, telecoms, banking, retail and not-for-profit client accounts.

Becky specialises in quantitative research methods with a particular interest in segmentation. She also has extensive experience in qualitative methodologies. Before beginning her career in research, she gained a first class honours degree in BSc Psychology from the University of Sheffield.

Besides work, Becky spends her time attending festivals, gigs, exhibitions and supporting charities. This month she has taken on the Three Peaks Challenge to raise money and awareness for The Pain Relief Foundation.

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Nik Diaper, Head of Para Sport, Loughborough University

Nik Diaper joined Loughborough University in June 2019 as the Head of Para Sport, with responsibility for ensuring inclusive para sport opportunities at both recreational and performance levels. Nik has worked in elite Paralympic sport for 19 years and the Tokyo Paralympic Games will be Nik’s 7^th Games with the British team where he will be seconded to the British Paralympic Association (BPA) as Deputy Chef de Mission. Prior to joining Loughborough University, Nik was the Head of Performance at the BPA and was also the Head of Sports Science and Sports Medicine for Paralympic Sports at the English Institute of Sport.