The Board oversees the strategic development of the university and ensures the effective use of resources and the general solvency of the institution.
The Board comprises members from within higher education, industry and commerce as well as representatives from our wider community of staff and students. The Vice-Chancellor and certain members of the University Executive Team are Board Members.
Who is on the University Board?
External members
Sir Martin Davidson (Chair)
Sir Martin has over 45 years of experience in government, international affairs and charities. He is an accomplished leader, Chief Executive and Chairman with significant achievements in business transformation and growth and with expertise in governance, nominations and strategy development. He was knighted in January 2014 for services to British cultural, scientific and educational interests worldwide.
Martin held several roles at the British Council, most particularly in China, first working in China in 1984 and becoming Chief Executive Officer in 2007. Throughout his career, he has worked closely with UK HE, supporting Universities UK, the mission groups and individual British institutions to develop their involvement in international higher education, including the development of joint courses, creating long-term relationships, joint research and deep institutional partnerships. He has held a wide range of non-executive roles, several as Chair, and is currently Vice-Chair of the Royal National Institute for the Blind.
Sir Martin holds an MA in English Language and Literature, a Diploma in Management and speaks French and Chinese (Mandarin and Cantonese). He was appointed Chair of the University Board from 12 July 2025, and is Chair of the Nominations Committee, Honorary Awards Committee and a member of the Finance & Resources Committee, Student Experience, Quality & Standards Committee and the Remuneration Committee.
Karima Fahmy (Deputy Chair)
Karima is a corporate lawyer having trained and practiced at the international law firm Hogan Lovells before moving in-house in 2011 to Grosvenor Group, one of the world's largest privately owned property businesses. Karima was Group General Counsel at Grosvenor from 2016 to 2020.
Karima currently holds a number of Non-Executive Director positions with companies in the UK Real Estate sector. She is also a Trustee of Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity and United Learning Trust.
Karima has a degree in Law from Cambridge University. She has also completed leadership courses at Harvard, IMD and the Cambridge Institute of Sustainability Leadership.
Karima is currently Deputy Chair of the University Board and Deputy Chair of the Nominations Committee.
Dr David Crosby
David Crosby is a medical research strategist and leader with a track record of thought leadership and driving progress in biomedical research. He has experience of creating research strategies, business cases and delivery programmes across complex discovery, translational and clinical research environments.
David has a track record of major partnership deal delivery and has driven research progress in academic, industrial, public and charitable sectors, and multiple disease areas (including oncology, cardiovascular and immunology), acquiring insights and approaches from each. Having previously worked for the University of Bristol, BOC Medical/Linde Gas Therapeutics, the Medical Research Council and the Office for Life Sciences. He is currently Chief Research Officer at Kidney Research UK.
David is a member of the Audit, Risk & Governance Committee.
Maggie Frost
Maggie is currently Finance Director of The Data and Marketing Association, joining in February 2024.
Previously Maggie was Group Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer for 16 years of a leading London advertising and marketing business, VCCP Group, which is private equity owned. Maggie trained as a chartered accountant at KPMG.
Maggie has had considerable experience of managing the finances and operations (HR, IT, Legal and Business Support) of large organisations including their international subsidiaries.
Maggie has a history of supporting charities through her previous work as a trustee including for Westminster Victim Support and is currently chair of the Coroner’s Court Support Service. Maggie is a Fellow of the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising (IPA), for whom she was Honorary Treasurer for 8 years.
Maggie is Deputy Chair of the Audit, Risk & Governance Committee.
Nicolas Frost
Nick is a finance professional with over 20 years of working in a range of senior finance roles across public companies and private equity firms, focusing on financial technology. Nick's experience includes a balance of strategy formation and growth, with implementing risk management and governance systems to FCA and other regulatory standards.
Nick brings this knowledge and industry expertise to his role on the Board, having previously held CFO positions at several firms, including the London Stock Exchange Plc.
Nick is the Chair of the Finance & Resources Committee.
Karl Hoods, CBE
Karl is an experienced and award-winning CIO, successfully leading and transforming large technology and digital functions in challenging environments across a range of sectors.
He is currently the Group Chief Digital and Information Officer at the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero and the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology and Government Chief Transformation Officer. Prior to this, he worked in similar roles at Save the Children, Department for Education and Partnerships for schools.
Karl is a BU graduate and has a Bsc (Hons) in Information Systems Management. He is a member of the Finance and Resources Committee and Remuneration Committee.
Karl was awarded a CBE in the 2024 King’s New Year Honours for services to technology and education.
Simon Jackson
Simon Jackson is a Chartered Accountant with extensive experience of working in senior finance roles for FCA regulated and Channel Island regulated businesses with experience of AIM floatation and subsequent rapid growth both organic and by way of acquisition. He is currently Chief Finance Officer at WH Ireland Group Plc.
Simon has extensive experience of developing finance and risk systems to cope with changing requirements and regulations to provide rapid and accurate management information. He also has a wide range of board level experience and membership of finance, audit and risk and compliance, treasury, ExCo and strategy committees.
Simon is a member of the Finance & Resources Committee.
Andrew Johnson
Andrew is a lawyer and is currently Company Secretary and Head of Legal and Governance at Market Operator Services Ltd (business water markets) where he heads a team of lawyers and governance professionals and leads on market codes, litigation, commercial and governance matters (including data protection). His previous roles have included Senior Safeguarding Legal Advisor for Hampshire County Council, interim Head of Commercial at Gattaca Plc and seven years as Head of Secretariat and Legal Counsel at LV=.
Prior to his legal career, Andrew worked in IT, primarily in financial services, working as a Senior Business Analyst, Project Lead and IT Designer, across companies such Accenture, Sainsbury’s, Fidelity Investments, Nationwide and Skandia/Old Mutual.
Andrew is a member of the Audit, Risk & Governance Committee.
Joe Jones
Joe is a professional interim consultant and SME in Construction, Real Estate, Facilities Management and Digital Transformation. He has led and delivered large scale change and transformational programmes within highly governed global organisations, in both public and private sectors. He is commercially driven with a strong focus on delivering value for money, high quality services and products at pace, realising benefits for his clients and their customers.
Joe is a BU graduate, qualified Construction and Health & Safety Manager and has held senior leadership roles in a variety of education institutions. He is a member of the Finance & Resources Committee.
Dr Jo Pretty
Jo Pretty is an accomplished leader in the field of education and training, with a proven track record of shaping and delivering strategic objectives. She has a broad range of experience including governance, change management, quality improvement and financial resilience.
Jo currently works as Further Education Adviser at the Department of Education. Her previous roles have included CEO and Principal of two Further Education colleges. Jo recently completed her doctorate, which examined apprentices’ creativity in the workplace, proposing policy change for workplace learning.
Jo is Chair of the Student Experience, Quality & Standards Committee and a member of the Honorary Awards Committee.
Paul Shearer
Paul is a seasoned finance professional with extensive experience in finance, internal audit and risk management. He is currently the Director of Commercial Finance at Screwfix, a subsidiary of the Kingfisher Group. Pauls interest in finance was sparked after having been the Student Union Treasurer at the University of Nottingham. His professional career began on the graduate scheme at Marks & Spencer, where he went on to hold a number of senior finance roles across the group.
Paul is a qualified management accountant (CIMA) and holds a Master's degree in Civil Engineering.
In addition to his professional roles, Paul has extensive experience in pensions, having been a Trustee for the Kingfisher Pension Scheme for 12 years, including chairing the Investment Committee.
Paul is also a member of the Finance & Resources Committee.
Deborah Warman
Deborah Warman is a human resources and reward specialist and Chartered Fellow of the Institute of Personnel & Development. She was Group Head of Performance, Reward and Employee Relations at Marks & Spencer plc with overall accountability for group-wide strategy in all areas related to Performance and Performance Management, Reward for all employees including senior colleagues and Employee Relations and Employment Policy.
Deborah has significant experience of corporate governance senior level remuneration and reporting requirements, including those related to gender pay. She has broad HR and organisational design experience in previous roles.
Deborah is a lay member of the Employment Tribunals where she sits on more complex employment cases involving discrimination or whistleblowing claims. Deborah was appointed as a governor to the Board of Lady Eleanor Holles School from September 2022 where she is vice chair and in addition sits on the Education, Staff & Wellbeing Committee and the Nominations Committee.
Deborah is Chair of the Remuneration Committee and a member of the Finance & Resources Committee, the Honorary Awards Committee, the Student Experience, Quality & Standards Committee and the Nominations Committee.
Toby Wright
Toby is an experienced Big 4 Senior Audit Partner, Trustee & Advisor and is a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales. As an Audit Partner with Deloitte he led client engagements with a number of high profile clients and held several national and regional leadership roles in areas as diverse as risk management, audit quality and business development.
He has over 18 years’ experience as an Audit Partner working with numerous Boards, Audit Committees, Non-Executive and Executive management teams across a variety of industry sectors in financial accounting, financial and regulatory reporting, internal control, governance and risk.
Toby has an active interest in music, and is a Trustee for Southern Voices and Orchestras Live, and a member of the Grants Assessment Panel of Cathedral Music Trust. He also works with small businesses as an advisory board member with Be the Business.
Toby is Chair of the Audit, Risk & Governance Committee.
Internal members
Professor Alison Honour – Vice-Chancellor & CEO
Vacancy – Academic Staff Member of the Board
Vacancy – Senate Member of the Board
Josephine Scott – Student Member of the Board
Esther Chinenye Isaiah – President of the Students’ Union Bournemouth University (Esther is the elected President of the Students' Union at Bournemouth University)
Vacancy – Professional and Support Staff member of the Board
The Clerk to the University Board can be contacted via email: [email protected].