Board of Governors
The Board of Governors has oversight of the educational character and mission of the University with specific responsibilities for financial probity and the effective use of resources.
The Board comprises both lay and appointed members. The Vice-Chancellor is an ex-officio member of the Board. The Chair of the Board, and Pro-Chancellor, is elected from the lay governors.
The Board of Governors seeks to conduct its affairs in accordance with the requirements of the CUC higher education Code of Governance, the Seven Principles identified by the Nolan Committee on Standards in Public Life, and the OfS Public Interest Governance Principles.
The Board’s work is outlined in the Statement of Primary Responsibilities.
Committees
The Board is supported by four committees which undertake detailed or specialist work. You can find out more about them below:
The Audit & Risk Committee provides oversight of the financial reporting process, the audit process, the University’s system of internal controls and compliance with laws and regulations.
Finance Committee provide assurance to the Board of Governors on the short and long-term financial sustainability of the University, through the general supervision of the University’s finances.
This committee advises the Board on governance arrangements and procedures, including the appointment, induction and development of the Chair, Deputy Chair and all other governors. It also advises the Board on matters relating to the appointment of the Vice-Chancellor and other senior postholders.
Remuneration Committee determines all matters concerning the salary and employment terms and conditions of designated senior postholders and those senior staff on management contracts. This includes oversight of the University’s remuneration and reward policy framework.
Board of Governors profiles
Mark Wilkinson
Pro-Chancellor and Chair of the Board
Mark has had extensive experience in the NHS, first joining in 2010 and taking on numerous strategic management roles in this time. He has recently retired from his role as Cheshire East Place Director for NHS Cheshire and Merseyside. In this role, Mark was responsible for planning, performance, and service integration across health and care, 100 staff, £700m budget serving the population of Cheshire East.
As well as his strategic experience gained through the NHS, Mark also has significant exposure to corporate governance roles, at various points serving as a trustee for Age Concern Preston and South Ribble, Public Sector Director for East Lancashire Building Partnership Ltd, and Finance Committee Member of the Maharishi Free School in Skelmersdale. He currently serves as Group Board Director for Bolton at Home Limited, a provider of social and affordable housing.
Mark joined the Board of Governors in September 2023. He was appointed as Pro-Chancellor and Chair of the Board in January 2026.
Ian Cleminson
Chair of the Finance Committee
Ian has a long-standing connection to Edge Hill University, having previously studied here as an undergraduate student. Since 2006, he has served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Innospec Inc., where he oversees a global workforce of 2,450 employees across twenty-two countries.
During his tenure at Innospec, Ian has led a comprehensive organisational transformation centred on strategic growth, operational excellence, and responsible business practices. His leadership has played a key role in integrating multiple acquisitions, enhancing global compliance and cybersecurity, and launching major initiatives.
Outside work, Ian is Chair of the Board at Surface Transforms plc. He is also president of Warrington RUFC.
Ian joined the Board as an Independent Governor in November 2025.
Antony Lockley
Chair of Remuneration Committee
Antony is the Director of Strategy and Assistant Chief Executive of Blackpool Council, responsible for a diverse portfolio including policy and performance, commissioning and research, housing and headline place strategy. He leads on the development of corporate strategy and policy, is the council’s lead interface with central government and regional partners, and is lead chief officer for the council’s wholly owned companies.
Antony lectured in housing and regeneration at the University of Salford from 2008-14, and continues to guest lecture on these areas. Antony holds higher degrees in modern history and is a fellow of the Royal Geographical Society.
Antony has extensive governance experience, having served on the boards and committees of charities, academies, colleges and housing associations. He is also Vice-Chair of Village Manchester Football Club.
Antony was awarded an OBE in the King’s New Year Honours 2024 for services to Local Government.
Antony joined the Board as an independent governor in October 2022 and serves on the Audit & Risk Committees. He assumed the Chair of the Remuneration Committee in November 2024.
Claire Blennerhassett
Teaching Staff Governor
Claire is a senior lecture within the Faculty of Health, Social Care and Medicine. She joined Edge Hill University in 2015, after working as a Registered Dietitian within the National Health Service for 6 years. This included a period as a research dietitian at the University Hospital of South Manchester. Claire’s early career was spent within a Liverpool based accountancy firm, before returning (in 2004) to education, as an undergraduate student at Edge Hill University.
In her current role, Claire is heavily involved in teaching and learning and research activities, including research supervision at MRes and PhD level. In addition, she is an active member of the SustainNET research leadership team, developing a university wide strategy for sustainability focused research. She is a member of the validation and audit standing panel, responsible for quality assurance, and an academic member of the service user and carer group that supports equality, diversity and inclusion within the curriculum. More recently, Claire joined the faculty knowledge exchange sub-committee with a view to increasing knowledge exchange opportunities within the faculty.
Claire was elected to the Board in 2024.
Jenny Foster
Support Staff Representative
Sequoia Chapman
Independent Governor
Sequoia brings a wealth of experience developing strategies and delivering transformative digital change in high profile organisations across multiple industries in both the public and private sectors. In her current role as Director of Digital Transformation for Cobalt Housing, Sequoia has developed EDI and Sustainability strategies including the ‘Engineering Your Future’ project which aimed to encourage girls from under-represented communities into engineering.
Sequoia has extensive governance experience, having served on the boards and committees for local primary schools and served as a Lay Representative for Health Education England.
Sequoia joined the Board as an Independent Governor in November 2025.
Andrew Cooper
Independent Governor
Andrew spent 35 years in Higher Education, from Lecturer to Professor, with research published on the cultural politics of language theory and also co-creative design of applied learning opportunities for students with industry and third sector organisations. Two thirds of his career was spent in senior leadership and management positions at School, Faculty and University level, where he focused on innovation and change management built around students as partners in new ways of working. This included a pivotal role in planning and then running a new campus at Media City in Salford, creating a vibrant trans-disciplinary portfolio of teaching, research and enterprise across the creative and digital media spectrum in collaboration with global, national, and hyperlocal industries.
Originally from Birmingham – and still retaining links through football allegiance – Andrew has lived in the North West most of his life. He has an enduring commitment to nurture what he calls the “white water” of next generation talent, and maintains involvement in the HE sector through consultancy and his work with the Office for Students.
Andrew joined the Board as an Independent Governor in September 2024 and serves as the Lead Governor for Research
Leon Culbertson
Academic Board Nominee
Leon joined Edge Hill in 2000. He initially worked in one of the academic departments of what subsequently became the Faculty of Arts and Sciences and in 2007 he joined what was then the Department of Research and Knowledge Transfer. He has led the development of research degrees at Edge Hill since 2009 and in 2010 he had a central role in the establishment of the University’s Graduate School. Leon led the expansion of research degree routes from what was originally only the PhD to include the Masters by Research (MRes), PhD by publication and the professional doctorate, and has overseen the development of the University’s Graduate Teaching Assistant (GTA) studentship scheme. Leon is Chair of Research Degrees Sub-Committee and a member of Academic Career Development Implementation Group, Research Management Group, Research and Innovation Committee and Academic Board.
In January 2021 the University undertook a major expansion of the Graduate School and at that point Leon was appointed to the role of Dean of the Graduate School. In that role all elements of research degrees, along with researcher development and partnership and collaboration are central features of Leon’s work but he has gained a wide range of experience of many aspects of higher education over the last twenty-five years. Particularly prominent among those is his involvement in regulatory matters, academic quality and governance.
Leon combines his management role with being a research-active academic and publishes regularly in philosophy. He became Reader in Philosophy in 2012 and has a broad range of philosophical interests. His major current preoccupations are with various matters in the philosophies of mind, language and logic, and the work of Ludwig Wittgenstein.
Leon joined the Board of Governors in June 2023.
Jo Nettleton
Independent Governor
Jo has extensive experience in the public sector, working for the NHS, Health & Safety Executive and Nuclear Installations Inspectorate before joining the Environment Agency in 2016.
Jo took up her role as the Environment Agency’s first ever Chief Regulator in April 2024 – leading the team to enable modern, future focused and effective regulation by providing influential technical leadership across the totality of EA’s regulatory activities.
Previously, as Deputy Director and Head of Radioactive Substances and Installations Regulation, Jo led on high-profile projects, including Nuclear New Build, Nuclear Legacy and Waste, Radioactive Source Security, regulation of EPR (Environmental Permitting Regulations) at a range of industrial sectors, Local Authority Unit, Control of Onshore Major Accident Hazards Regulations (COMAH), decarbonisation (hydrogen and carbon capture) and supported a wide range of government plans and strategies.
During the last 9 years, Jo has also undertaken a number of senior EA roles, including as Chief Scientist, where she led the Chief Scientist’s Group to put strong science and rigorous analysis at the heart of EA’s work to create a better place for people and wildlife and to support sustainable development – through research, innovation, evaluation, data analysis and reporting and horizon scanning. She also led a review of EA’s regulation and subsequently set up the team that works to improve EA’s regulatory resilience for the challenges facing us now and in the future.
Jo is passionate about helping to increase diversity in the workplace, including at senior management and board level, looking for opportunities to collaborate with and learn from individuals and organisations within and beyond EA. She is a member of the IAEA Task Force of Experts – formed to advise the Government of Japan on disposal of water contaminated during the 2011 Nuclear Emergency and is a Fellow of the Society for Radiological Protection.
Jo is a Yorkshire lass and lives in Southport with her husband and 2 cats. She has a stepson, daughter and two grandchildren.
Jo joined the Board as an Independent Governor in September 2021 and serves on the Audit & Risk Committee. She is the Lead Governor for ESG.
Paul Nyamwela
Student Governor
Natalie Palin
Independent Governor
Natalie is a senior public sector leader with over 25 years’ experience across local government and the NHS, specialising in governance, strategic transformation and culture change. She is currently the Director of Transformation at Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust, where she leads a £20m portfolio of digital, organisational and cultural change.
A local resident with a personal connection to Edge Hill, Natalie is firmly aligned with the University’s mission to widen participation. She began her career in local government, leading services in youth work, community safety and adult social care, before moving into the NHS to oversee large-scale transformation programmes.
Natalie joined the Board as an Independent Governor in November 2025.
Sophie Rowley
Student Governor
Helen Stalker
Independent Governor
Helen has an Honours Degree in PR and has worked in the Communications industry for more than 25 years. She began her career in the private sector supporting a range of clients – both in the UK and internationally – across industry sectors including pharmaceuticals, finance, commercial & residential property, architecture, retail and more.
She made the move to the public sector at a time when local government was transforming and as the Head of Communications at Knowsley Council (Council of the Year 2024) she has been involved in the efforts to support communities through fundamental changes to public services, a global pandemic and a cost-of-living crisis. In addition, she has led on initiatives to better engage the private sector, market Knowsley as place and also supported major regeneration initiatives including the creation of the multi-million-pound Shakespeare North Playhouse.
Helen lives in Ormskirk with her husband and two children who attend local schools and enjoy spending their free time making the most of the fantastic community sporting facilities on site at Edge Hill.
Helen joined the Board in 2024 and serves on the Governance & Nominations Committee.
Gayle Wells
Independent Governor
Gayle is a qualified accountant and has over 24 years’ experience of working in the NHS. As Executive Director of Operations, MIAA (internal audit and advisory services provider to the NHS) Gayle leads the Corporate Business Unit. This is a role that includes responsibility for a wide range of services including Finance, Communications, Estates, HR, Data Analytics and Business Intelligence. Outside of work, Gayle enjoys playing and watching cricket and is creative, enjoying crochet and knitting for relaxation.
Gayle achieved her undergraduate degree at Edge Hill in the 1990’s and has since achieved MSc distinction from Northumbria University (part-time distance learning) in Occupational and Organisational Psychology. She is passionate about supporting individuals and organisations to achieve their full potential.
Gayle joined the Board as an Independent Governor in September 2024
If you have any queries about the Board of Governors, please contact [email protected].
Board of Governors Minutes
Useful information
We have an open recruitment process and accept speculative applications. If you are interested in joining our Board, please contact [email protected].
If you have any cause to complain about one of our governors, you should access the Board of Governors Complaints Procedure.
For all other queries, please contact the Board’s Secretariat at [email protected].