Derek was appointed to the Board of Governors on 1 February 2017 and became Chair of the Board of Governors on 1 August 2023.
Having graduated in 1977, Derek joined a retail start-up company which grew to a chain of over 40 branches in 4 years. In that time, he did everything from driving vans to merchandising to IT systems management. He then did some EFL teaching in Saudi Arabia and Libya for a couple of years, followed by a spell working as a consultant both for a large company and also his own consulting business. This was followed by work in a few universities, doing things like setting up and running an EU Liaison Office, an International Office, and a Business Development Office.
Derek then spent 20 years working for the HEFCE providing strategic advice and linkages to HEIs, principally in London. This involved working with the most senior leaders in universities, both the executive and governing bodies, to support them through challenges and crises, and also to support strategic developments at institutions and across the HE sector. Interspersed with this has been some HE teaching in a couple of universities, and attempts at completing a PhD.