Council members

Professor Simon Best OBE, FRSE, joined Council as a lay member in 2019. His term on Council runs until July 2028.

Simon is a life sciences and biotechnology entrepreneur, and is Lead Independent Director at the pharmaceutical company Liminal Biosciences, which is dedicated to healing conditions such as fibrosis.

Simon’s track record in life sciences commercialisation has seen him founding and developing substantial ventures, including Ardana; Zeneca Plant Science; Evofem in the United States, which focuses on products supporting women’s sexual and reproductive health; and Roslin Biomed, spun out from The Roslin Institute at the University of Edinburgh. Simon was Chair of commercialisation for Edinburgh BioQuarter from 2010-15.

Simon is an alumnus of the University of York (BMus, 1977), holds an MBA from London Business School, and was awarded an honorary degree from York in 2004. Simon was awarded an OBE in 2008 for services to the pharmaceutical industry. Simon has been awarded such accolades as Science and Technology Venturer of the Year (1999) and Technology Pioneer of the Year (2000). Simon is a Visiting Professor of Medicine at the University of Edinburgh.

Building on his first love of music, Simon started his career as music talent-spotter and started a record label, working with the 1980s electropop-synth band, The Human League.

Sanjay joined the Council in July 2025, his term runs until July 2028. Sanjay is Chair of Kick It Out, English football’s leading inclusion charity. He is a frequent public commentator and recognised thought leader on inclusion. He has led English football’s parliamentary and regulatory response to online abuse with many recommendations reflected in the Online Safety. Sanjay is also Chair of Athletic Ventures, an innovative joint venture between UK Athletics, London Marathon Events and The Great Run Company piloting a new model for delivering major events in  the UK. Sanjay is a Board member at the Lawn Tennis Association and is a member of the Inclusion Advisory Board at the Football Association. Beyond sport, Sanjay is Chair of the Satellite Applications Catapult which incubates innovation in the UK space technology industry. Sanjay was previously a Partner at business consultancy EY and enjoyed a 30 year career in law, technology and innovation. 

Philip Carpenter joined Council on 1 August 2017 and his term of office runs until July 2027. He became Pro-Chancellor on 1 August 2018.

Philip is by background a publisher for higher education with an interest in the ways in which publishing and digital technologies can support the development of teaching, learning and research to enhance student outcomes and enable the impact of the research community.

After leaving Oxford University, he joined Blackwell Publishers in 1979, where he published extensively across the Humanities and Social Sciences. Following the merger with Blackwell's sister company Blackwell Science in 2000, he took responsibility for the company's combined book publishing across the whole academic spectrum for the global market, including particularly its development in the United States and Asia.

When John Wiley Inc acquired Blackwell Publishing in 2007, he took on the leadership of the combined journal and book publishing of the merged company in the Social Sciences and Humanities. He subsequently became Senior Vice President for Wiley's journal programme, then in 2014 Executive Vice President for Research, with responsibility for all the company's digital products and services for the global research community.

He has taken an active interest in how the publishing industry can support universities and governments in the development of higher education. He served on the Board of STM, the International Association of Scientific, Medical and Technical Publishers, from 2013 to 2017 and in 2021-22 as its CEO on an interim basis.

He is a non-executive director of the Institute of Physics Publishing and Advisory Board Director of Kortext, the leading UK student learning platform.

Thomas Flynn joined the University Council as a lay member in July 2025, his term runs until July 2028. 

Tom has a longstanding affiliation with the University having completed a PhD at York in political science. Tom is the CEO the Girls' Learning Trust, a role he has held since September 2024, having originally joined as COO in September 2022. Before this, he was a senior leader within the higher education and charity sectors for over ten years. He was previously the Managing Director at Imperial College Union – one of the largest students’ unions in the UK, having held similar posts at several other universities. In his spare time, alongside his work with the University of York he is a governor and board member of Newham College London, and a trustee of Oxford Brookes Students’ Union.

Professor John Loughhead CBE OBE FREng FTSE joined Council in 2019 and his term runs until July 2028.

John is a specialist in industrial research at the interface of industry and academia, and was Chief Scientific Adviser at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) from 2016 to 2020. Prior to this he held roles as Chief Scientific Adviser at the former Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC), Director of the UK Energy Research Centre (UKERC) and Corporate Vice-President of Technology and IP at global transport company, Alstom.

He is a past president of the UK Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering and its Australian counterpart, and a Fellow of Queen Mary University of London (QMUL), and an Honorary Professor at the University of Cardiff.

John has strong regional roots and lives in West Yorkshire with his wife, who spent her entire career working in Yorkshire.

Judith McNicol joined Council as a lay member in 2019 and her term of office runs until July 2028.

Judith joined the British Museum in June 2025 as its Managing Director and is responsible for leading departments critical to
the Museum’s operations including Human Resources, Information and Visitor Services and Security. From 2018, Judith was the Director of the National Railway Museum (NRM) in York, part of the prestigious Science Museums Group (SMG). Prior to this Judith held group-wide senior posts in the wider SMG, including as Director of People and Culture, Change Director and Commercial Development Director.

With a commitment to outreach and opening access, Judith herself completed a Foundation Degree (FdSc) in Countryside Management as a mature student from Bishop Burton College.

Judith has lived in Yorkshire for 20 years and is committed to the future success and growth of the City and its major institutions, including the University.

Dr Philip Rycroft CB joined the Council as an independent member in February 2020. He was appointed to serve as Vice-Chair of Council and Senior Independent (Lay) Member of Council from August 2025 until July 2028.

Philip has had a distinguished career as a senior civil servant, holding senior roles in both the Scottish and the UK governments. He was responsible for Higher Education policy in Scotland between 2006 and 2009 and was Director General in the office of Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg between 2012 and 2015. Philip’s most recent role was as Head of the UK Governance Group in the Cabinet Office, with responsibility for constitutional and devolution issues, and as Permanent Secretary at the Department for Exiting the EU (DExEU). He left the civil service in 2019 and is now a non-executive director, independent consultant and academic.

Philip was awarded the Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) in 2014 for services to the UK’s devolved and coalition governments.

His own academic background is as an historian; he completed a Doctorate of Philosophy (DPhil) at the University of Oxford in the late 1980s on the local social and economic history of part of the West Riding of Yorkshire in the 18th and 19th centuries, in the course of which he visited York to use the archives of the then Borthwick Institute of Historical Research.

In September 2019, Philip took up a distinguished visiting fellowship at the Bennett Institute for Public Policy at the University of Cambridge, and holds an Honorary Professorship at Edinburgh University. His current research interests are in the governance and politics of the United Kingdom.

Abisola Barber-Sherwood was appointed to Council as an independent (lay) member in June 2022 and her term of office runs until July 2028.

A Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE) graduate from the University of York, Abisola is Global Head, Thematic Risk for the Institutional Clients Group at Citibank, and has previously held a number of senior positions in banking and finance, including at Barclays Investment Bank.

Abisola is also a professional development consultant and holds experience in and exposure to an array of industries and professions including Entertainment, Public/Third Sector, and Commercial Services. Her formative years were spent in Government and Politics, as a Strategic Advisor and Board Member for several Local Government Groups and National Agencies – providing strategic guidance for content, execution and delivery of key Children and Young People’s Services.

Abisola has been shortlisted for, and won, numerous accolades for her work promoting women and diversity in finance, including Barclays Plc’s UK Winner and Global Finalist: ‘Citizenship and Diversity Role Model’ 2020 and Finalist in the same year in Athena40/Global Thinkers Forum for the world’s most innovative women.

Abisola sits on the Advisory Board for the University’s School for Business and Society. She also holds an MSc in International Public Policy from UCL, along with a clutch of professional qualifications under the Capital Markets Programme.

Helen Simpson joined the University Council in July 2025, Helen's term runs until July 2028. Helen plays a key role in the North Yorkshire region, Chairing the York and North Yorkshire Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) Board. Helen's career includes senior executive roles with BT where she led digital growth businesses and major deals, developed strategy and built commercial partnerships before leading BT’s volunteering programme globally. Helen's non-executive work has included roles with a number of charities, in areas ranging from homelessness to housing. In 2020 Helen was awarded an OBE for her services to charity.  

Owen was appointed as a co-opted member of Audit and Risk Committee in February 2020, became a member of Council in November 2023 and was appointed as University Treasurer and Chair of Finance Committee from August 2025. 

An alumnus in economics of the University of York, Owen is a chartered accountant with over 16 years' experience of private equity investing in both Europe and North America.

Owen spent five years with Granville Baird, now Key Capital Partners, based in Leeds and London, for which he is a Managing Partner. Prior to joining Key Capital Partners, Owen was a partner in the Mezzanine Fund of the Royal Bank of Canada, based in Toronto. During that time, he held a number of non-executive directorships of client companies.

Owen lives in York with his wife, daughter and their dog. He is a keen cricket and squash player and a long-suffering supporter of Lincoln City FC.

David is currently Chair of the University’s Audit and Risk Committee and became a member of Council in February 2021. He is a chartered accountant (Price Waterhouse) with a law degree from Cambridge University. David has worked throughout his career in the financial services sector and has held senior management roles within investment banking, private equity and asset management.

Most recently, David was co-founding partner of Pensato Capital, an asset management firm, where David was responsible for the overall management of the business, including governance, finance, risk and all legal and compliance matters. David ran this well-regarded business for some 10 years before managing its sale in 2017 to a sector consolidator.

A competitive cyclist and keen gardener, David lives in North Yorkshire with his partner and three dogs. David is also a member of the Finance, Audit and Risk committee of Battersea Dogs and Cats Home.

Professor Ken Badcock has been Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Provost since May 2023. 

Read Ken's full profile

Professor Charlie Jeffery became Vice-Chancellor and President at the University of York in September 2019. He joined us from the University of Edinburgh where he had been Senior Vice-Principal since 2014. He was a Member of Council of the Economic and Social Research Council from 2006-12 and Chair of the Political Studies Association of the UK from 2009-12.

Read Charlie's full profile

Professor Nik Brown is Professor in Sociology and Head of Department at the University of York working across Science and Technology Studies (STS) and the Sociology of Health and Illness (SHI).

Read Nik's full profile

Professor Brown was appointed in August 2024 and his term runs until July 2027.

Professor Kiran Trehan is the University's Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Enterprise, Partnerships and Engagement and Director of the Centre for Women’s Enterprise, Leadership, Economy and Diversity.

Her term on Council will run until September 2026.

Read Kiran's full profile

Karl was elected to Council as a Professional Support Staff representative from 14 December 2023 until the 31 July 2026.

Karl is a key member of the Campus Security Team and brings front line experience into the student experience to Council.

His commitment to diversity and inclusion is evident in many ways, including as a Inclusive Impact Awards judging panel member and through the diversity and inclusivity that he fosters in his role enabling students, staff and visitors alike to feel safe and included on campus.

Claire is a highly experienced practitioner who has worked in Disability Support and Inclusion within higher education for the last 24 years.  Claire currently manages the Disability Services at York and has extensive experience in the management and leadership of change initiatives specifically addressing the barriers faced by disabled students.  This includes subject lead on a university-wide project designing a new system to facilitate the implementation of reasonable adjustments. Claire is passionate about delivering an equitable education for disabled students and strives towards continuous development and improvement in service delivery to ensure the best possible student experience. 

Claire became a Council member on 16 December 2024 and her term of office runs until 31 July 2027.

Ellaie Mcclean is the PhD representative on the University of York Students' Union's Academic Committee. In this role, Ellaie represents the views of the University's diverse PhD community. Ellaie is also a member of the SU's Trustee Board. Ellaie is studying a PhD at the institute of Safer Autonomy.

Lewis Parry is Union Affairs Officer at the University of York's Student's Union. In this role, Lewis is the head of the Union and the Chair of its Trustee Board. Going out and listening to the views of students is a key part of the role. Lewis acts as a key representative for students when meeting with senior members of the University, community partners in York and national organisations. Lewis also works closely with college committees and a wide range of student leaders to make sure that everyone at York has the best experience possible. Lewis is currently completing his undergraduate degree in History and Politics.

Nigel joined the University in September 2024 as the Chief Financial and Operating Officer (CFOO). He has an extensive track record in financial and operational management, having worked at senior manager and board director levels in large, complex organisations.

Read Nigel's full profile

Vikki Goddard joined the University in Spring 2025 as Chief Academic Services Officer, having worked in higher education for almost 30 years and holding a number of senior roles including as Registrar and Chief Operating Officer. 

Read Vikki's full profile

Adam acts as the Secretary to Council and leads the Governance, Assurance and Compliance Office.

Samantha was appointed as a co-opted member of Audit and Risk Committee for an initial three-year term from 2 January 2024.

Samantha is currently Managing Director of Non-Financial Risk at Deutsche Bank, London, having worked in senior roles in global firms including Credit Suisse, McKinsey and Company and Singapore Civil Aviation Authority.

Samantha’s expertise extends to business transformation, strategy and executive coaching. A graduate in English from Cambridge, Samantha also holds an MBA with Distinction from London Business School and is currently completing an Open University BSc degree in Psychology, underlining her commitment to lifelong learning.