Board

Amanda is Vice-Chancellor and President of University of East London and has over 15 years’ experience of Board-level executive and non-executive roles. Amanda is also Chair of London Higher, HEA Principal Fellow and a Council Member for the Association of Commonwealth Universities. A Professor in International Business, she has an extensive record of forging successful collaborations within and between higher education and business, with a diverse senior leadership profile including at Newcastle University, University of Salford, and Durham University as Principal of St. Cuthbert’s Society, a college at the institution.

Amongst Amanda’s numerous notable achievements, she led the development of the University Academy 92, building the distinctive industry-facing ‘Target Talent Curriculum’, founded by Manchester United’s Class of ’92 and Lancaster University. At the University of East London, one of the most socially inclusive universities in the UK, with a community of over 40,000 students representing 160+ nationalities, she is leading considerable success in advancing the diversity of the talent pipeline, building health gain to drive learning gain and delivering a transformative contribution for a healthier, happier, greener and fairer world.

Amanda's vision for her role is stated below.

"With sport playing an integral role in university life and beyond, collaboration must be at the heart of BUCS and will be a key feature of my tenure as Chair. Strengthening ties between universities, colleges, sports organisations, business, government and local communities to create an ecosystem of benefit to all. Together we will advance a culture of excellence, innovation and inclusive practice, shaping the future impact of higher education sport.”

Carrie is a Founding Partner of Brave Within, a leading professional services consultancy working with directors to drive the integration of good governance from within the core of an organisation.  Former General Counsel and Company Secretary for a global corporation, Carrie has over 12 years of experience operating as a member of the C-Suite advising and supporting Boards, Risk and Compliance Committees, and Executive Teams on their governance, legal, compliance and risk responsibilities and obligations. Outside of Brave, Carrie holds several advisory board roles helping SMEs with strategic input and advice.  She is also a Governance and Policy Ambassador and National Spokesperson for the Institute of Directors. 

Kath is an Ambassador and Consultant with leading law firm, Travers Smith. She was formerly Chair of Travers Smith (the first woman to hold this role) and has over a decade of senior leadership experience, both at Travers Smith, and as a non-executive director in the public sector. Kath chaired her firm’s Diversity and Inclusion Board for many years and is a passionate advocate for the benefits which flow from greater diversity. She has been recognised as one of the 20 leading allies in the EMpower Ethnic Minority Role Model Lists, a list which showcases business leaders who are breaking down barriers at work. Kath was appointed to the position of Senior Independent Trustee on 30 April 2025.

Russell is former Sales and Marketing Director of England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and has over 20 years of experience in commercial and marketing. Prior to the ECB, Russell was a Director at The Football Association (FA), overseeing marketing and digital. 

Simon is a Chartered Management Accountant. His previous accountancy roles were in a mix of public and private sector roles including running his own accountancy business.  He was appointed to the Board at the AGM on 9 December 2020 and is looking forward to being able to contribute to such an important part of many students’ time at University and College.   He loves watching all sport at all levels and in recent years has tried to keep fit by participating in running based sports like orienteering, speedgolf, parkruns and triathlon. 
In his Board role, Simon also chairs the BUCS Finance and Audit sub-committee. 

Dan is Director of Sport at the University of Nottingham, and has worked in HE Sport for 30 years, working at the Universities of Portsmouth, Essex, Royal Holloway and York prior to Nottingham. Dan has held a number of voluntary roles in BUCS over this time including Senior Managers Executive, Chair of BUCS Hockey SAG, Member of Sports Review implementation Group, as well as coaching and managing English & British Universities Hockey teams. Away from BUCS, Dan has also been a Team Manager for England Hockey and currently sits on the TASS Management Group.

Fiona is Head of Sport at De Montfort University. Fiona has worked within HE sport for the last 20 years. Initially as a student sabbatical and then in various roles from facilities, competition, sport participation and supporting talented athletes. Fiona is passionate about ensuring sporting opportunities are accessible as possible for all communities. Fiona has previously held various voluntary roles within BUCS, chief umpire at BUCS rowing regatta, chair of comps group and latterly chaired the subscription fee working group.

Katy advises the direction of BUCS sport and competitions, both national and international level. As the Director of Sport at Newcastle University and a former Rugby England representative, Katy's expertise is around sporting structures, competitions, recruitment and partnership development.

Alex is the elected Student Trustee, working with Karl to lead the Sabbatical Officer Network and represents the voice of students on the board. Alex is also the Athletic Union Officer at Newcastle University.

Karl is the elected Student Trustee, working with Alex to lead the Sabbatical Officer Network and represents the voice of students on the board. Karl is also the President of Glasgow University Sports Association.