St George’s Council includes the following independent Council members, none of whom are staff or students at the university.
Christine Swabey (Chair)
Christine joined the Council in 2021. Christine has operated at a senior level in the commercial, public and third sectors, with significant Chair experience. She has had a particular focus on delivering consumer focussed service improvement, notably in education, health and social care and is experienced in developing strong governance within complex accountability frameworks, forging strong relationships with multiple stakeholders.
Following an early career in financial services, working for a US commercial bank managing major client relationships in Europe and the Middle East, Christine has held a number of public sector roles, including Chair of Kingston Hospital NHS Trust and Non-Executive Director of South West London and St George’s Mental Health Trust, as well as broad-ranging charity experience, including most recently Vice Chair of the Royal Hospital for Neuro-disability.
Her interest in health and education is broad-ranging, encompassing a deep engagement with special educational needs, notably autism, serving both as a Trustee of Ambitious about Autism and Chief Executive of leading medical research charity Autistica. She served as a Governor of St John’s School Leatherhead, a leading co-educational independent school for children aged 11-18 years, and as Vice Chair of Kingston University. Christine has served on the Board of the Manchester-based Northern Consortium, a group of UK universities delivering transnational educational programmes with international partners to facilitate the progression of international students to UK universities. Christine is also Chair of the Independent Schools Inspectorate, which provides assurance to the Department for Education and parents of the quality of education in independent schools in England and internationally.
Christine serves as a Magistrate as a member of the Greater London Family panel.
Godfrey Allen
Godfrey joined the Council in 2021. He is a Non-Executive Director at Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust, having been a NED at Croydon Health Services and Wandsworth PCT, as well as the Chair of NHS South West London Support Services Partnership Board. The former founding Chair of South Thames Colleges Group, Godfrey remains a board member on two International NGOs, including the International Association of Youth and Family Judges and Magistrates. Godfrey has held CEO and MD roles since he was 27 in the public, private and charitable sectors.
Godfrey holds a MSc in Public Service Management and is a Fellow of the Institute of Directors, Chartered Institute of Management, and the RSA.
Jonathan Curtiss
Jonathan joined the Council in 2020. Jonathan is an Executive Director at the Bank of England whose current brief spans HR, procurement, security, property and some aspects of finance and technology. He is a member of the Remuneration Committee, the Investment Board and a trustee of the Bank’s pension scheme. Jonathan’s career at the Bank spans an impressive 37 years and has included a stint as a foreign exchange dealer, although the main focus has been human resources, transformation and change.
Jonathan managed the induction process and communications campaign when around 1,200 new staff joined the Bank in 2013 after the Financial Services Authority was disbanded. He also conducted a review of the HR function and helped to transform it into a more modern and agile service, also working on the procurement of a new HR system to support this transformation.
The area in which Jonathan currently works – Shared Services – was formed in September 2019 and Jonathan is leading its journey towards a new more efficient target operating model. He also led the Programmes and Strategic Change Unit from 2015 to 2017. During his tenure there, Jonathan oversaw an annual investment portfolio of around £80m and also simplified the project management framework, reducing barriers to initiating new projects.
Outside of work Jonathan has lent his strategic thinking and practical experience to help the chief executives of charitable causes including The Nehemiah Project, Sutton Mencap and Rhyl City Strategy. Jonathan is also a NED at the Samaritans.
Jonathan has previous Board-level experience in higher education institutions. He advised the Nottingham University Strategy Board on their plans to transform by 2020 through a series of projects and was invited to become deputy Chair. He also served from 2016 to 2019 on Nottingham University’s Audit and Risk Committee.
M 'Josh' Joshi
M ‘Josh’ Joshi joined the Council in 2021. Josh has over 25 years’ experience as a senior executive of international technology and telecommunications businesses. Josh is currently Executive Chairman of AtlasEdge, a pan-European edge data centre platform, and Operating Partner of DigitalBridge, a leader in global digital infrastructure.
Previously Josh was chief financial officer of Interxion Holding NV, a pan-European datacentre business, publicly listed on the New York Stock Exchange and headquartered in the Netherlands.
Before joining Interxion, Josh worked as group finance director for Leisure and Gaming plc and Telecity Group plc, both publicly listed on the London Stock Exchange. He was also one of the founders of the private equity-backed alternative network Storm Telecommunications. Early in his career Josh worked in professional practice, latterly with Arthur Andersen & Co.
Josh holds a degree in Civil Engineering from Imperial College, London and is a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.
Gillian Norton
Gillian Norton joined the Council in 2017 when she took up the role of Chairman of St George’s University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, having joined the Trust as a non-executive Director in June 2016. In October 2019, Gillian also became Chairman of Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust. Gillian was Chief Executive of Richmond Council from 1999 to 2017 after a long career in local government including being Chief Executive of Wokingham District Council from 1994 to 1999. She was awarded the OBE for services to local government. She is a Deputy Lieutenant of London, and Representative Deputy Lieutenant of the London Borough of Richmond.
Damian Reid
Damian Reid joined the Council in 2018. He is an experienced finance and strategy professional and has been responsible for leading finance teams for over 15 years.
Damian is currently CFO at Upp Corporation Limited, a business that provides broadband to residential and business customers over its full fibre network in the East of England. Prior to that Damian was interim Finance Director at Sports Supplements Limited, an e-commerce business selling sports nutrition products in the UK and Europe under the Bulk brand, CFO of Pro Bono Bio, a developer and marketer of innovative nanotechnology-based healthcare products and CFO at Augere, a broadband services provider using wireless networks in emerging markets trading under the Qubee brand.
Damian has also held the positions of Executive Vice President, Strategy and Planning at France Telecom, a pan-European telecoms service provider and Chief Strategy Officer at Marconi, a major UK listed technology business. Damian started his career as an investment banker at SG Warburg (now part of Union Bank of Switzerland) having qualified as a chartered accountant with Arthur Andersen in 1987.
Sue Rimmer OBE
Sue Rimmer joined the Council in 2020 as Vice Chair. Sue is also Chair of the Girls’ Network and a fellow of the RSA.
Sue was Principal and CEO of South Thames College for over 16 years and has over 30 years’ experience in the further education and skills sector.
Throughout her career Sue has been actively engaged in advising on and shaping Education and Skills strategy and policy at local, regional and national levels. In addition to being CEO & Principal, Sue has held a number of external positions including: Chair of the Association of College’s, London Region; a Board member on the London Development Agency, Chair of London Capital Colleges; Chair of the Principal’s Professional Council; a trustee of the Helena Kennedy Foundation and a Commissioner for the All Parliamentary Group for Skills.
Sue has a BA (Hons) in Sociology and Psychology and a Postgraduate Certificate in Education. She was awarded the OBE in the 2011 New Year’s Honours list for services to Further Education.
Sarah Wilton
Sarah was appointed as an Independent Member of Council in April 2020, and was appointed chair of the Audit Committee in March 2021. Until January 2020, Sarah was a non-executive director of St George’s Hospitals University Trust, most recently as chair of the Trust’s Audit Committee.
Previously Sarah had been a non-executive director of Wandsworth PCT where she chaired the Finance and Resources Committee. Following qualification as a chartered accountant, Sarah’s professional career focussed on corporate finance, change management and financial services: she is currently a non-executive director on the board of two companies in the Lloyd’s and London insurance market.
Sarah was appointed a trustee, and honorary treasurer, of St George’s Hospital Charity in 2020.
Within the community, Sarah served as chair of governors of a Putney primary school for five years, and was a longstanding trustee of Paul’s Cancer Support Centre, in Battersea. She sits as a magistrate in South West London.
Sarah and her family have lived in Putney for over thirty years and have benefitted in many ways over that time from the excellent care and expertise provided at both Queen Mary’s and St George’s Hospitals.
Ewart Wooldridge CBE
Ewart Wooldridge joined the Council in 2019 and was the founding Chief Executive of the Leadership Foundation for Higher Education from 2003-2013. He has continued with a portfolio of consultancy, advisory and governance roles in the HE sector. He is currently a member of the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales.
Previously, he was Principal and Chief Executive of the Civil Service College, and a Chief Officer in Local Government. Before that he worked in HR and general management roles in the media, television, and the arts. He was Director of Operations at London’s South Bank Arts Centre in the mid-1990s.
Ewart was awarded the CBE for services to leadership in the Queen’s Birthday Honours 2004. He was awarded an Honorary Fellowship by Cardiff University in 2012 and an honorary doctorate from the Open University in 2014.
All internal members of Council are staff or students at St George’s, University of London.
Professor Jenny Higham
Professor Jenny Higham joined St George’s in November 2015, becoming the first female Principal and first-ever Vice-Chancellor, and is responsible for directing all activities and developments at the university. Professor Higham led the creation of the new St George’s Strategic Vision 2030, which identifies the values and strengths that make St George’s a distinctive community and sets out how we will sustain our excellence and impact in education and research. Having led the internal transformation of the university and raised the external profile, she is now leading on behalf of the institution in merger talks.
She was the first female Chair of the Medical Schools Council, the representative body for UK medical schools. She has been actively involved in academic policy and delivery for many years in the UK and internationally. She is on the university sector boards of UUK (Universities UK), also acting as the Policy Lead for Funding, and UCEA (Universities and Colleges Employers Association). Alongside her role as Vice-Chancellor, Professor Higham continues clinical practice as a consultant gynaecologist.
Sandra Ashton
Sandra Ashton joined the Council in 2021 as the Professional Services representative, elected by Professional Services Staff. Sandra is a research support professional who has worked within the cell biology field over the last 30 years. Graduating from UCL as a mature student in 1997 and building on research support experience within competitive laboratories from Guys Hospital (Kings), Royal Free Hospital (UCL) and St George’s University of London, her experience of specialist laboratory skills and the research environment culminated in her appointment as the Head of the Imaging Resource Facility (IRF) at St George’s in 2020. With a keen interest in the research and teaching environment, in 2017 Sandra was appointed by Professor Rachel Allen as the Research Integrity Lead (St George's University) and the St George's Research Ethics Committee chair (SGREC); a post she held for two years. Since that time working in St George’s University of London Research Operations directorate and strengthening activities in that area, her focus has been to educationally and commercially develop the IRF. Sandra has also overseen multiple strategic projects here at St George's and is a PRINCE 2 certified professional.
The IRF is a multidiscipline specialist technical facility that works closely with students and staff to assist in the delivery of high-quality research and teaching orientated activities, training our student body in specialist skills and analysis that strengthen their employability and positively impact their student experience and satisfaction. The facility also works with commercial partners to provide access to equipment and technical support.
An Aurora Women’s Leadership Development Programme alumni, Sandra’s work within the facility also aims to highlight within our civic community the scope of scientific careers and interactions that are possible, working with university colleagues to enrich Outreach, STEM and Public Engagement.
Dr Jane Cronin-Davis
Dr Jane Cronin-Davis (Associate Professor Occupational Therapy) joined the Council in October 2022. Previously the Deputy Dean for Students, she is the current Dean of Welfare and Support.
She joined St George’s University of London in 2017 as the Professional Lead for Occupational Therapy. She previously worked at York St John University and Leeds Metropolitan University (now Leeds Beckett) in leadership roles. Her focus has always been to make sure that students have the best possible university experience and to maximise their potential.
Dr Cronin-Davis has a PhD in Occupational Therapy/Occupational Science (Leeds), MSc in Criminological Psychology (Birmingham), BHSc (Hons) Occupational Therapy (Leeds), BA (Hons) Psychology (Open University), BA (Open University) and a Post Graduate qualification in Academic Practice. She is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and participated in the Aurora Women’s Leadership Development programme.
External to the university, Dr Cronin-Davis has been a research grant reviewer, Chair of the Royal College of Occupational Therapist’s specialist section for mental health, involved in the development of two NICE guidelines and was the lead for the national practice guidelines for occupational therapists working in secure hospitals.
Professor Jon Friedland
Professor Professor Jon Friedland is Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research & Enterprise) at St George’s, University of London having been Hammersmith Campus Director and Head of Infectious Diseases and Immunity at Imperial College London.
His major research interests are in development of host mediated therapies targeting innate immune responses in tuberculosis and in migrant health. He has published over 245 peer reviewed papers, invited editorials and reviews, and edited 3 books.
Jon Friedland was awarded the Royal College of Physicians Weber-Parkes Prize Medal for research in tuberculosis in 2005. He was elected Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences in 2008. He was elected President of the British Infection Society (2007-09). He was made Fellow of the Royal College of Physician of Ireland (FRCPI) in 2010.
In 2017, he was awarded an inaugural Fellowship of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases and in 2020, was elected to serve on the Society Executive Committee where he is Scientific Affairs Officer.
In 2022, Jon Friedland was appointed as a non-executive member of the Board of the UK Health Security Agency where he chairs the UK HSA Science & Research Committee and serves on the UK HSA People & Culture Committee. In 2022, he stepped down as Vice-Chair on the Commission for Human Medicines (appointed Commissioner 2014) and Chair of the MHRA Expert Advisory Group on Infection. He was also Chair of the Commission of Human Medicines Expert Working Group on Covid-19 Therapeutics throughout the pandemic (2020 - 23).
He has previously served on the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (2005-13) where he was Chair of the Pneumococcal Vaccine Subgroup. He was also a member of The Chief Medical Officers National Expert Panel on New and Emerging Infections (2007-12). He has served on many grants committees including for the Medical Research Council (UK) and The Wellcome Trust.
Ayesha Patel
Ayesha was the Students' Union President for 2022-23 and was a student on the BSc Biomedical Sciences programme. Ayesha is passionate about students having a positive experience both academically and pastorally. She wishes to champion this by emphasising the student voice.
Eshan Sabesan
Eshan is the President of Education at the Students' Union for 2023-24. He was a BSc Biomedical Sciences student at St George's as well as a member of the university rugby team. Eshan ran for President as he has a strong passion for change and wants other students to also have a great experience at St George's. He aims to bridge the gap between students and the University with his newly appointed role.
Professor Jane Saffell
Professor Jane Saffell is Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Education) and leads the University’s Institute of Medical and Biomedical Education. She is Professor of Cellular Neurobiology and Bioscience Education.
She joined St George’s, University in London in 2016 from a senior strategic education leadership role at Imperial College London. Originally from Kenya, her background is in molecular and cellular biology research in cell adhesion and motility, and research-based bioscience educational innovation.
Professor Saffell has a PhD in Molecular Neurobiology (King’s), MEd in University Learning and Teaching (Imperial) and BSc in Biochemistry (Imperial). She is a member of a BBSRC Grant Committee (Molecules, Cells and Industrial Biotechnology) and the Royal Society of Biology Curriculum Committee. She is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, and in 2015 won a HEA National Teaching Fellowship.
Awarded two President’s Medals by Imperial College, for Outstanding Contribution to Innovation in Education (2011) and for Outstanding Contribution to Teaching Excellence (2015), Professor Saffell is proudest of her Imperial Students’ Union awards for Best Innovation (2013) and Best Feedback (2014).
Dr Baba Sheba
Dr Baba Sheba joined the Council in 2021 as the academic representative, elected by academic staff. He comes with a background in higher education leadership and digital transformation, and serves as the Director of Digital Education with responsibility for all aspects of planning, implementing and resourcing the University strategy for digital education, including leadership of the Centre for Technology in Education (CTiE) and the Professional Education Centre (PEC). Baba is a Reader in Educational Technology and Business Strategy. Prior to St George’s, he held academic leadership roles in private higher education and consultancy.
Baba holds a PhD in Management and Governance from the University of Twente in the Netherlands. He is an alumnus of three UK Universities: King's College London (PgCAP), University of Wales (MSc Finance and Accounting), and University of Hull (BSc Hons in Management and Information Technology). He is a Project Management PRINCE2 Practitioner, a member of the Energy Institute (MEI), Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA), and Trustee of Ashanti-Akim Community Organisation (AACO).