Council Members

Name

Mini Biography

Nazir Afzal OBE

Chief Crown Prosecutor for Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Cumbria.  Nazir qualified as a solicitor after studying law in Birmingham and worked in private practice until he joined the CPS in 1991. Appointed as Sector Director for CPS West London in 2003 before moving to the North West as Chief Crown Prosecutor and has a national role as CPS Director for Communities. Nazir was awarded an OBE in the Queen's New Years Honours List in 2005 for his public service and involvement with the local community and was named Legal Personality of the Year by the Society of Asian Lawyers. In 2007 he received the CPS Public Servant of the Year award and the UK Government's Justice Award.  He has also received the Law Society/Bar Council Mentoring award and was selected for the Asian Power 100 along with the Muslim Power 100 list.

Mr Tony Belisario

Managing Director VT Shipbuilding and holding similar positions in Dowty Fuel Systems/Dowty Defence and Air Systems Division and GEC Aerospace.  Mr Belisario has been Chief Executive of John Crane Polymer Engineering and Chief Executive of Advance International Group. Mr Belisario is a Brunel University Alumnus.

Ms Moira Black

An independent Director for The Payments Council and a non-executive director for Defence Equipment & Support. Ms. Black is a non-executive member of the Defence Audit Committee and Chairman of the DE&S Audit Committee and the North West London Hospitals NHS Trust. Moira is a member of the General Optical Council and was appointed CBE for services to consumers and to healthcare. Moira was a member before becoming a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales.

Ms Mary Chapman

Ms Chapman is a Chartered Director with previous appointments as Chief Executive of the Chartered Management Institute (CMI) and Chair of CMI Enterprises Ltd. Prior to that she was Chief Executive at Investors in People UK and Managing Director of the L'OREAL companies. Mary is currently a Commissioner at the National Lottery, a Non-executive Director at the Royal Mint and Trustee at the Girls Day School Trust.

Ms Nikki Cole

Works for QineticQ Limited and is a Former Director of Blue Sky Cat Limited. Ms Cole is a member of the Institute of Directors and a former Trustee of Careline and Cool2Care.

Mr David Finlayson
Deputy Chair of Council

David Finlayson has worked in the oil and gas industry for 34 years, having qualified originally as a Geophysicist. He is a Director of JFA International [Consultants in upstream (exploration and exploitation) business development].

Professor Ken Gregory

A Geographer and the Chair of Assessors for Chartered Geographer since 2004. Professor Gregory received the Founder’s Medal of the Royal Geographical Society in 1993.  Professor Gregory is a Former Warden of Goldsmiths, University of London and was made CBE in 2007 for services to Geography and Higher Education. Professor Gregory is a Fellow of University College London and has Honorary Degrees from three universities.

Professor Zahir Irani

Head of Brunel Business School.

Mrs Jane Kelly
Chair of Council

Jane Kelly runs her own Management Consultancy alongside a portfolio of non-executive and trustee roles. These have included Chaise, North West London Strategic Health Authority and; Commissioner, Appointments Commission. Her earlier career in Law in the private sector took her to Hong Kong and Brunei and later to a commercial general management role as Director of a leading healthcare company. Her current business focuses on Strategic Planning, Governance and Leadership Development, including Executive Coaching for Directors. Jane is Founder Patron and Trustee of a cancer charity: The Mulberry Centre.

Dr Bill Leahy

Head of School of Arts, Brunel University.

Ms Margaret Lenton

Former Principal of Slough Grammar School. Ms Lenton is a Justice of the Peace.

Professor Mark Lycett

School of Information Systems, Computing and Mathematics, Brunel University.

Mr Paul Markwell

Paul Markwell is Managing Director, Oil & Gas Research & Strategy at IHS CERA. In this role he oversees provision of strategic insight and advice to oil and gas industry players globally. He has over 30 years experience in general management, engineering and research and advisory roles in this sector including many years at Shell International and McKinsey & Company and has lived or worked in a diverse range of situations across Asia, North Africa, Middle East and Europe.

Mr Promise Phillips

President, Union of Brunel Students.

Ms Jo Robbins

A senior HR leader with a twenty year track record of Directorships with companies such as the VT Group Plc, Tibbett & Britten Plc, Hays Plc and United Transport (UK) Ltd.

Professor Mansoor Sarhadi

Vice-Principal, Brunel University.

Professor Ruth Simpson

Deputy Head of School (Staff Experience and Development) Brunel Business School.

Mr Bob Stiff

Environment and Sustainability Manager, Brunel University Operations Department.

Mr Christopher Thorneycroft-Smith

Mr Thorneycroft-Smith was a former Managing Director of Iveco in the UK and Eire. Mr Thorneycroft-Smith is a Brunel University Alumnus.

Mr Graham Tomkinson

Mr Tomkinson is the Chief Executive of Performance Brunel Ltd. Having over 34 years Senior Executive experience, Graham was Chief Information Officer and Interim Project Director for Duo Airways Ltd and was the Chief Operating Officer, European Management Consultancy at IBM (UK) Ltd.

Mr Rodney Westhead

Former Group Chief Executive of Ricardo plc, Chairman of the Clean Air Power plc and of Carter and Carter plc. Senior Non Executive Director – Mouchel plc 2003-2011 and Former Chairman of AEA Technology plc Audit Committee. ACTA Spa Board Member. Governor – Bilton Grange School 2000.