Board of Governors

Meet the Board of Governors

The AECC University College Board of Governors consists of 16 members; this includes a Chair of the Board who is an independent member, 11 other independent members, the Vice-Chancellor (ex officio), one member of academic staff and two Governors from the Students’ Union.

Please find out more about the members of this group below.

Monika Barnes

Independent Governor

Monika joined as an Independent Governor in September 2021 and is Deputy Chair of the Board of Governors.

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Jeni Bremner

Independent Governor

Jeni Bremner joined as an Independent Governor in October 2019 and in April 2020 became Chair of the Board of Governors.

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Professor Joy Conway

Independent Governor

Professor Joy Conway joined as an Independent Governor in October 2022 and sits on the People & Place Committee. Joy is the Professor of Respiratory Sciences, Centre for Health, Medicine and Life Sciences (CHMLS), Brunel University London.

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Michael Gibson

Independent Governor

Michael has been an Independent Governor since November 2019 and is a member of Finance & Performance Committee and Chairs the Digital Subcommittee. Michael is currently Vice-Chair of the Board of Governors at Arts University Bournemouth and leads major capital projects oversight for the board.

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Kim Frost

Independent Governor

Kim has been an Independent Governor since September 2021 and is Chair of the Audit & Risk Assurance Committee. He is also a member of the Governance & Nominations Committee.

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Mark Gurden

Independent Governor

Mark is an independent member of the board and has been a Governor since 2011. He sits on the People & Place Committee.

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Professor Lesley Haig

D.PT, MSc, Grad Dip Phys, SFHEA - Principal

Professor Lesley Haig is Vice-Chancellor of AECC University College. As Chief Executive Officer, Lesley works in close consultation with the Board of Governors and Senior Members of University College staff, and with a wide range of internal and external constituencies to provide the personal and professional leadership to develop the institution in accordance with the strategy, directions and guidelines set by the Board.

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Louie Jenkinson

Student Union President

Member of Board of Governors and currently enrolled on the MChiro course. Louie is the current SU president and former SU Vice President of Education.

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Greg Thornton

Governor

Greg joined as Governor in June 2022 having been a co-opted member of the Audit & Risk Assurance Committee since September 2021. He remains a member of that committee and also sits on the Remuneration Committee. Greg has always been a keen advocate for training, mentoring and promoting young people at the start of their careers to help them to achieve their goals.

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Peter Vandervelde

Independent Governor

Peter joined as an Independent Governor in September 2021 and is Chair of the Finance & Performance Committee as well as sitting on the Remuneration and Governance & Nominations Committees.

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Nick Palmer

Independent Governor

Nick joined the board as an independent governor in October 2023 and is a member of the Finance and Performance Committee and Digital Sub-Committee.

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Professor (Emeritus) Keith Wilkes

Independent Governor

Keith joined us as an Independent Governor in October 2019 and became a Senior Independent Governor in August 2023. He is a member of the Finance & Performance Committee.

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Adrian Reyes-Hughes

Independent Governor

Adrian joined the AECC University Board as an Independent Governor in October 2023 and is a member of People and Place, and Digital Strategy sub-committees. Adrian has a MSc nursing and health service management degree from City University, London.

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Barney Larkin

Independent Governor

Barney joined as an Independent Governor in October 2022 and is a member of the Finance & Performance and Digital Sub Committees. Barney qualified as a Bristol chemist in the late 90s and also holds a postgraduate MSc in Public Health from the LSHTM

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