Speakers

Keynote Speakers:

Day 1 03 July

10:00 Martin Bean, Vice Chancellor, The Open University

14:30 Ewart Wooldridge CBE, Chief Executive of the Leadership Foundation for Higher Education 

After dinner speaker Greg Whyte, Professor of applied sport and exercise science, Liverpool John Moores University, celebrity trainer and Olympian

Day 2 04 July

09:00 Panel session chaired by Mike Baker, Journalist and broadcaster

14:45 Sir Alan Langlands, Chief Executive of the Higher Education Funding Council for England

Speaker Biographies

Martin Bean, Vice-Chancellor, The Open University  

Martin Bean is Vice-Chancellor of The Open University, the UK’s largest academic institution and a global leader in the provision of flexible and inspiring learning.

He is the fifth person to lead the institution in the four decades since its creation in 1969, in which time it has provided quality, innovative, accessible education to millions.

Before joining The Open University in October 2009, Martin was General Manager within Microsoft’s Worldwide Education Products Group where he focused on developing solutions to help the global education community address its challenges. In this role he was responsible for product management, business development and marketing.

As well as commercial roles spanning from Europe to Asia Pacific to North America, Martin is heavily involved in shaping education in the developed and developing world, and is currently a member of The British Council’s Board of Trustees and the Commonwealth of Learning’s Board of Governors.

The 47 year old Australian holds a Bachelor’s degree in Adult Education from the University of Technology in Sydney, Australia. He now lives in Buckinghamshire with his wife and three daughters.

Ewart Wooldridge CBE, Chief Executive, Leadership Foundation for Higher Education

Ewart Wooldridge took up his appointment as founding Chief Executive of the Leadership Foundation for Higher Education (LF) in January 2004, with the aim of developing leadership, governance and management skills in higher education. In 2006 and 2010 the LF received very positive endorsements of its contribution to building the leadership capacity of HE and transforming the level of participation in leadership development.

As well as leading the LF, Ewart directly undertakes consultancy work in the sector, focusing particularly on senior team development, coaching and organisational development interventions.

Previously he was the Chief Executive and Director of the Civil Service College, now the National School of Government. He was a director within the corporate development group of the Cabinet Office, actively working on civil service reform.

His earlier career spanned HR and line director positions in private and public sectors, engineering, printing and the media (Granada plc and TVS television).

Between 1992 and 1996 Ewart was Director of Operations at London’s South Bank Arts Centre, and subsequently a Chief Officer of Hampshire County Council, responsible for lifelong learning, cultural and community services.

He is a Companion of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD). He was a Vice President of the CIPD from 1993 to 1995, and chair of the National Forum on Counselling and Career Management for many years after that. He helped found the Winchester Festival and is active in his local community in Hampshire. Ewart was awarded the CBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours in 2004 for his contribution to leadership development.

Sir Alan Langlands FRSE, Chief Executive of the Higher Education Funding Council for England

Sir Alan Langlands is the Chief Executive of the Higher Education Funding Council for England, responsible for promoting and funding high quality education and research in universities and colleges with higher education programmes.

He was formerly the Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Dundee (2000-09) and Chief Executive of the NHS in England (1994-00). He also has a particular interest in the scientific basis of health services and he chairs the boards of UK Biobank, a major genetic epidemiology study funded principally by The Wellcome Trust and The Medical Research Council, and the Health Foundation, a UK-wide charity committed to improving the quality of healthcare. He is also a coopted member of the Office for the Strategic Coordination of Health Research.

Sir Alan was knighted in 1998 for his services to the NHS, he is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh and an Honorary Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences.

Sir Alan is a science graduate of the University of Glasgow and was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University in October 2001. He has also been awarded honorary doctorates by the Universities of Dundee, Edinburgh and the National Institute of Technology Jalandhar, India, and honorary fellowships by the Royal College of Physicians, the Royal College of General Practitioners, the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons (Glasgow), the Faculty of Public Health Medicine, the Institute of Actuaries and the Chartered Institute of Public Finance.