Meet the leadership team dedicated to continue improving BU day by day, year on year.
Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive Officer – Professor Alison Honour
Professor Alison Honour became Vice-Chancellor and CEO of BU in September 2024.
With a background in creative industries and pedagogy for social entrepreneurship and innovation before moving into management, Professor Honour has held a range of senior leadership positions in the higher education sector across over 25 years, working at four post-92 universities.
A passionate supporter of equality and inclusion, Professor Honour’s previous roles have seen her actively support access and participation activities to give opportunities to students from a diverse range of backgrounds, and she was the first person in her family to attend university.
Read more of Professor Honour’s profile
Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Provost – Professor Niamh Downing
Niamh is a strategic leader who has held a broad range of senior roles in higher education. She is a Professor of Environmental & Public Humanities, with UKRI-funded research as a Principal and Co-Investigator. Niamh was founding Principal & Chief Executive Officer at Corndel College London, where she established a new higher education institution delivering degree apprenticeships to multiple FTSE 100 clients.
From 2020 to 2023, she was Provost & Deputy Vice Chancellor at Regent’s University London, where she led significant strategic transformation, including an industry-connected degree model, step change from Bronze to Silver in the TEF 2023 and the development of the new university strategy.
Prior to joining BU, Niamh was Pro Vice Chancellor (Education & Student Experience) at Canterbury Christ Church University, where she led a new Academic Framework and Portfolio Review.
Pro Vice-Chancellor – Dean of the Faculty of Media, Science & Technology – Professor Christos Gatzidis
Prior to his appointment as PVC Dean at Bournemouth University, Christos held the position of Executive Dean of the Faculty of Science and Technology at BU from April 2023, with responsibility for the Departments of Computing and Informatics, Creative Technology, Design and Engineering, Psychology, Life and Environmental Sciences plus Archaeology and Anthropology.
His area of research is in computer graphics and gaming technologies and he has published work in key academic journals in this field, including Springer’s Visual Computer, Elsevier’s Computers and Graphics, Wiley’s Computer Animation and Virtual Worlds and ACM’s Computers in Entertainment.
Christos continues to develop his domestic and international profile in his areas of scientific interest through additional publications, PhD supervisions, as well as acting as Principal Investigator for externally funded research projects.
Interim Pro Vice-Chancellor – Dean of the Faculty of Business & Law – Professor Malcolm Kirkup
Malcolm is an experienced academic leader with 38 years in higher education across leading UK universities, including Cranfield, Aston, Loughborough, Birmingham, Lancaster, Exeter and Edinburgh.
Most recently, he served for seven years as Dean of Westminster Business School and Pro Vice-Chancellor. As Dean, Malcolm led a successful restructure, achieved substantial growth in revenue and enhanced teaching quality and the student experience.
As Pro Vice-Chancellor, his leadership portfolio included the development of the university’s Knowledge Exchange Strategy and the People and Culture Strategy.
Interim Pro Vice-Chancellor – Dean of the Faculty of Health, Environment & Medical Sciences – Dr Carly Stewart
Dr Carly Stewart is an interdisciplinary social scientist with a research background across sport and health. She has held a range of senior academic and leadership roles at Bournemouth University, including Deputy Dean and Head of two Departments, and is a qualified executive coach.
In November 2025, she was appointed Interim Pro-Vice-Chancellor and Dean of the Faculty of Health, Environment and Medical Sciences, where she leads the faculty’s academic, research and civic engagement priorities, and works closely with regional health and care partners.
Chief Operating Officer – Gerry Greyling
Appointed Chief Operating Officer at Bournemouth University in October 2025, Gerry has more than 20 years’ experience of driving transformational change, operational excellence and delivering strategic growth within universities in the UK, South Africa and Singapore.
Gerry’s previous institutions include Imperial College London, Regent’s University London, Kingston University London and most recently, Canterbury Christ Church University, where he was Executive Director of Student and Academic Services, sitting on the university’s Transformation Board.
Interim Finance Director – Judi Roberts
With more than 20 years’ experience in financial management, Judi joined Bournemouth University in January 2015 as a business accountant, before moving into leadership roles, becoming Head of Financial Planning Analysis and taking on the Interim Finance Director role in early 2025.
Judi works as a part of the University Executive Team to oversee the university’s finances and supports strategic decision-making. Judi’s previous roles include Barclays Bank.
Interim Chief People Officer – Peter Mitchell
Peter is a senior Human Resources (HR) executive (Chartered FCIPD) with more than 30 years’ experience of HR management within the higher education and health sectors.
During the last decade, Peter has provided interim HR leadership at three universities and two NHS trusts, including overseeing major cultural transformation projects.
He joined BU in early 2025 to take up the role of Interim Chief People Officer as part of the University Executive Team. In this role he leads the HR and Organisational Development Teams.