Council Members

Dr Sally Howes OBE joined UEA as Chair in August 2021 and is also President of Fitzwilliam College Society, Cambridge. Non-executive roles have included the Chair of the UK Space Agency, Council Member of Surrey University and Chair of Surrey University Research Park, Independent Director of the Copyright and Licencing Agency (and Chair of its Audit and Risk Committee), NED of Parliaments Joint Investment Board (and independent member of several major programme boards in Parliament) and Chair of HR Wallingford Group Limited.

She supports Government, reviewing and assisting those leading major programmes, helping them to address complex digital transformation, commercial and governance challenges.

Jenny Watson joined the UEA Council in August 2025. Jenny currently chairs both the Independent Press Standards Organisation and Broadland Housing Group, and is the Senior Independent Director at the Reclaim Fund. , and a non-executive director at the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. Previous roles include as past chair of She was until recently Chair of GAMSTOP Group, the Electoral Commission and the Equal Opportunities Commission, and she is a former trustee at the Norfolk Community Foundation. Previous roles include as a past chair of both the Electoral Commission and the Equal Opportunities Commission.

Professor David Maguire joined UEA in May 2023 as Vice-Chancellor & President, providing academic and administrative leadership to all elements of the institution. He has more than 25 years’ experience in higher education, including having been Vice-Chancellor of the University of Greenwich from 2011 to 2019 and Interim Vice-Chancellor at the Universities of Dundee and Sussex as well as Interim Principal at the Dyson Institute of Engineering and Technology.

He worked for global technology company, Esri, for 20 years in the field of Geographic Information Systems and is a former Chair of the Board of Jisc – the UK digital, data and technology agency focused on tertiary education, research and innovation. He was also a member of the Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI) advisory board and the Universities UK Board. David is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society (FRGS) and is the author of over 100 papers and seven books.

Steven McGuire is Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Pro-Vice-Chancellor International. Prior to joining UEA in June 2024, he was Dean of the University of Sussex Business School and a member of the University of Sussex’s Executive Team. He has held previous academic appointments at Aberystwyth University, Audencia Nantes School of Management, the College of Europe and the University of Bath. His research interests are in the areas of international political economy, international business and corporate political activity. His recent papers have been published in Journal of International Business Policy and Management International Review. He has served on the Council of the Chartered Association of Business Schools as well as a Fellow of the UK Trade Policy Observatory.

He holds degrees in politics and international relations from the University of Calgary and the University of Toronto and a doctorate in international political economy from the University of Oxford.

Julian Blow is Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research and Innovation. Julian joined UEA in 2024 from the University of Dundee, where he had been Dean of the School of Life Sciences. Under his leadership Dundee was ranked the top university for biological sciences research in both REF2014 and REF2021 and was recognised for a range of sucessful enterprise initiatives in the biosciences.  at the University of East Anglia. He leads UEA's research and innovation strategy, supporting the development of world-leading research, fostering interdisciplinary collaboration, promoting partnerships with external organisations, and enhancing the University's contribution to society and the economy.

In recognition of Julian’s research achievements, he has been elected Julian is an internationally recognised scientist whose research has made major contributions to understanding DNA replication and genome stability. He is a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, and a Member of the European Molecular Biology Organization. He has served on many national and international scientific committees, including for the BBSRC, CRUK, ERC and NIH. He is currently Chair of the Scientific Committee of the Lister Institute. Before joining UEA in 2024, Julian was Dean of the School of Life Sciences at the University of Dundee. He has extensive experience of research leadership and has contributed to national and international research policy through roles with organisations including BBSRC, Cancer Research UK, the European Research Council, the US National Institutes of Health and the Lister Institute of Preventive Medicine.

Simon joined UEA Council in January 2023. Simon has nearly twenty years’ experience working as a senior officer in local government. He is currently the CFO of the Office of Police and Crime Commissioner for Norfolk. Prior to this he was the Executive Director of Finance & Commercial Services at Norfolk County Council. Simon worked at the BBC for 10 years in senior finance roles across TV, radio and new media.

Simon has a wealth of experience in trustee/director roles; he has been a trustee at The Nancy Oldfield Trust for the past ninefour years and Norwich City Community Sports Foundation for the past six four years. Previously he has been Chairman of Directors for Equinox Enterprises LTD (Great Yarmouth Borough Council’s property company) and was Vice Chairman and Chairman of local children’s charity Break for over 11 years. Simon is also the Vice Chair of the board of governors of Town Close School, Norwich.

Tom Spink joined UEA Council in April 2025 and became Senior Independent Member on 1 January 2026. Tom began his career with Aviva in 2002 holding many senior roles across the organisation. Up until his retirement from Aviva in 2024, Tom was Group Sourcing and Property Director with responsibility for c.£1.9bn of spend and the commercial management of all strategic IT and suppliers and property suppliers.

In 2017, Tom became a Non-Executive Director of the East of England Ambulance Service Trust and then in 2020, joined the Board of the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital Trust as a NED, initially as Chair of the Finance and Performance Committee (which he stepped down from in December 2025) and Chairman of the Finance and Performance Committee. In March 2023, Tom became Chair of the NNUH, stepping down at the end of his tensure in November 2025. In April 2026, Tom was appointed as Chair of NHS Tayside.

David Hansom joined UEA Council in October 2023. David is a practicing solicitor and a partner at international law firm Hogan Lovells Cadwaldader LLP Clyde & Co LLP where he leads the firm’s UK government contracts law teamprocurement law team. He leads in the UK He is co-head of for the firm’s global Education Sector group and has significant experience of helping higher education institutions take opportunities and navigate risk. He has advised universities on international expansion as well as modernisation projects. David is ranked in all major legal directories and speaks French and German. David is a member of UEA Audit, Risk and AssuranceFinance Committee.

Sir Chris Husbands joined the UEA Council in October 2026. He has a thirty year career in higher education leadership, including as Director of the Institute of Education and Vice-Chancellor of Sheffield Hallam University, as Chair of the Higher Education Statistics Agency and as a Board Member of Universities UK. He is an honorary fellow of Emmanuel College, Cambridge.

Chris has worked extensively in the delivery of education reform in the UK and internationally. His current portfolio of interests includes higher education consultancy, and non-executive and pro-bono work in education and beyond; he is chair of the Education Policy Institute and a trustee of the Higher Education Policy Institute.

Paul Loft joined the UEA Council in April 2025. Paul has wide-ranging experience as a General Manager and a Finance Director in a number of retail businesses including Homebase and Habitat, GUS Home Shopping and Shoe Express/Shoe City and the Finance Director of Argos, Debenhams and Burton Menswear. As a Non-Executive Paul has been a Board Member and Audit Committee chair of organisations including Peabody, the London Housing Association, the Solicitors Regulation Authority, the largest legal regulator in the UK and Paradigm Trust, a multi academy trust which manages schools in London and Ipswich. Paul looks to bring his commercial experience to bear in organisations with a social purpose.

Dr Jonathan Paine joined UEA Council in August 2021and now chairs the Inward Investment committee and sits on the Finance committee. He is a n former investment banker and academic. Unitil 2021 he held a variety of senior roles at He is currently a Senior Advisor at Rothschild & Co., where he has worked for the past 25 years as a specialist in the telecoms, media and technology industries. He is currently a director of The Scott Trust, the owner of the Guardian newspaper, where he also sits on the board of an endowment fund which supports the paper. He is also a Supernumerary Fellow of Wolfson College, Oxford, where he sits on the chairs the Development Committee and sits on the Investment Committee. He has served as a non-executive director on the boards of a major housing association, an NHS Trust and a children’s charity. He holds a D.Phil from Oxford University and is a published author of works on the economics of literature. He is also the Treasurer of the International Dostoevsky Society.

Lisa Perkins joined UEA Council in April 2025. She is Chief Strategy and People Officer at Plexal, an innovation company that works in partnership with government, industry, academia and entrepreneurs to build innovation ecosystems and accelerate the adoption of emerging technologies to address national challenges.

Lisa has over 25 years’ experience of expertise in innovation, technology and ecocsystem development. delivering corporate innovation and cutting-edge technologies. She previously Until recently Lisa was Director ofled BT’s Research and Development Centre at Adastral Park where . Sshe was accountable responsible for showcasing and commercialising the world class research and innovation, building strategic partnerships with leading universities and industry, and translating emerging technologies into practical value. and research at the Park to derive value for the business. Lisa managed key partnerships with world leading universities and industry in conjunction with research programmes to encourage and develop premier class expertise.

Lisa led Innovation Martlesham, a thriving tech cluster of 150+ companies. She actively promoted and developed an education enrichment programme, working with schools to encourage children and teachers to develop a love of technology. As well as being chair of Tech East, Lisa is a board member of the Suffolk Business Board and a trustee for Lapwing Education. She is also a visiting professor at the University of Suffolk.

Lisa is passionate about connecting people, organisations and ideas to create the conditions for innovation to thrive. She has played a leading role in developing the technology and innovation ecosystem in the East of England, including as Chair of Tech East and through her leadership of Innovation Martlesham, a thriving cluster of more than 150 technology companies. She has also championed education and skills initiatives that encourage young people and teachers to engage with technology and innovation.

Lisa is Chair of the Suffolk Business Board, a trustee of Lapwing Education and a visiting professor at the University of Suffolk.

Victoria Phillips joined UEA Council in August 2024. Victoria is a solicitor retired from private practice. She specialised in trade union and employment law. She was previously Head of Employment Rights at Thompsons Solicitors LLP.

She was a member of the Internal Justice Council of the United Nations from 2012-2016. She has an Honorary Doctorate in Law from the University of East Anglia. She studied Law at UEA from 1980-83 and was President of UEASU 1983-1984.

Professor Jan Kaiser joined UEA Council in August 2024. Jan is Professor of Biogeochemistry in the School of Environmental Sciences (ENV). He joined UEA in 2006, following postdoctoral work at the Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics and the Department of Geosciences at Princeton University. Jan holds undergraduate (Universities of Hamburg and Bremen) and doctoral degrees in Chemistry (Max Planck Institute for Chemistry/University of Mainz).

Jan is a member of the UEA Senate (since 2023) and previously held several leadership roles in ENV, including Director of the Centre for Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences (COAS) and Director of Finance. As Study Abroad Coordinator, Jan has advised and guided over 120 ENV students to the successful completion of their placement years at more than 30 universities in North America, Australasia and Europe.

Dr Kim Ridealgh joined UEA Council in August 2024. Kim is Associate Professor of Global Communications in in Sociolinguistics in the School of Media, Language and Communication Studies (MLC). She joined UEA in 2014, following a visiting professorship at North East Normal University in Changchun China and postdoctoral work at the Free University in Berlin. Kim holds undergraduate (Universities of Hamburg and Bremen) and doctoral degrees in Egyptology (Swansea University). Kim holds undergraduate, master and doctoral degrees in Egyptology (Swansea University).

Kim is a member of the UEA Senate (since 2023) and is currently Head of School for Media, Language and Communication Studies. Kim has previously held the following leadership roles: Head of School for Politics, Philosophy, Language and Communication Studies (PPL), Head of Language and Communication Studies, Admission Director (PPL) and Faculty lead for Widening Participation for Arts and Humanities

Stacey Armes joined as UEA Council Support Staff Member in August 2025. She began working at UEA in 2014 and is currently the Collections Team Leader for UEA Library.

Stacey holds a BA in Art History and English Literature from UEA and recently completed an apprenticeship with UEA to gain an ILM Level 3 Diploma for Managers.

Stacey has a strong background in public libraries, early years play work and local heritage, having worked in a variety of administrative, educational and customer service roles.

She is a lifelong and active volunteer, contributing to local community groups and charities and participating in several committees, such as the Norfolk Federation of Women’s Institutes (2014-2026) and UEA UNISON (2020-present).

Jaz Brook joined University of East Anglia (UEA) Council in July 2026 and is one of two elected student representatives. Jaz recently graduated from UEA with a BA (Hons) in International Development.

Jaz serves as the Campaigns and Democracy Officer and Trustee at UEA Students’ Union for the 2026–2027 academic year and has extensive experience founding and running a sustainability and social impact consultancy and education organisation. She is an Environmental Association for Universities and Colleges (EAUC) Green Gown Awards Finalist and a TEDx Speaker. In her current role, she is dedicated to supporting students with democratic processes, campaigns, fundraising and sustainability by empowering student groups and facilitating student-led initiatives. She promotes systemic and student-led approaches to positive change to ensure all students feel represented and empowered to lead on the issues that matter to them most whilst at university.

Gray Prothero-Gibbs joined University of East Anglia (UEA) Council in July 2026 and is one of two elected student representatives. Gray recently graduated from UEA with a BA (Hons) in Education.

Gray serves as the Undergraduate Education Officer and Trustee at UEA Students’ Union for the 2026–2027 academic year. In their role, they are dedicated to strengthening student voice and partnership across the University, advocating for improvements to the student academic experience and ensuring students are meaningfully involved in decisions that affect their education. They work to develop effective student representation, improve communication and feedback between students and staff, and promote an inclusive and supportive learning environment where all students can thrive during their time at university.