Advisory board

Board members share their strategic insight with the business school, contributing to our education and research agendas. Members share our values and our commitment to make a real difference to people, practice and society by advancing, supporting and shaping responsible enterprise for a fairer society. Their guidance ensures that we comply with best practice in ethics, responsibility and sustainability.

We work with our advisory board to ensure that our courses remain relevant and up-to-date, and that our graduates have the skill set needed for professional practice, employment or to start their own enterprises.

They also bring opportunities for the school to partner with industry and professional practice on research collaborations, mentoring and work experience for students.

Who's on the board

• Veronica Povey - Chair of the Advisory Board
• Sam Baker
• Sarah Birkbeck
• Rosemary French
• Julia Gallagher
• Tor Hatton
• Matt Knight
• Tanya Petherick
• Alan Larkin
• Milan Patel
• Adrian Phillips

• Amy Lishman
• Desiree Artesi
• Rebecca Sewell
• Paul Stanton
• Mia Collins
• Richard Freeman
• Richard Womack
• Kyriakos Baxevanis

Veronica Povey, CBE, FCMA (Chair of SAB)
Finance Director, HO & Strategic Programmes, MOD
OSTC

After graduating with a Physics degree from Aston University in Birmingham Veronica specialised in optical engineering, working in the aerospace and defence industry before making a complete career change and joining the fast stream civil service.  She trained as a tax professional in HMRC, joined the senior civil service and became a qualified accountant (FCMA). 

She went on to hold many Finance Director roles across Whitehall, become Director of Public Spending at HM Treasury and more recently she was Finance Director at the Ministry of Defence.  She is passionate about supporting women and under-represented groups to succeed and become influential leaders in the workplace, leading allyship groups, supporting networks and mentoring.  

Sam Baker
Managing Director
OSTC

Graduating in 2003 from the University of Brighton my first role was a graduate trader for OSTC. I went on to assist in training graduates in the Bromley headquarters before launching OSTC Brighton. OSTC Brighton is one of 14 OSTC group offices worldwide that recruit and develop graduates to trade on the world’s leading exchanges. OSTC Brighton has forged strong links with the University since its opening in 2011, sponsoring the Trading Room at Mithras House and hosting the annual Brighton versus Sussex Trading Challenge

Sarah Birkbeck
Legal Director
Irwin Mitchell LLP

Sarah is a legal director in national law firm Irwin Mitchell LLP, based in its Gatwick office. Sarah has lived and worked in Sussex for twenty years and is passionate about encouraging people from the local community from all walks of life into a fulfilling career in law. Sarah specialises in resolving commercial disputes, particularly those involving intellectual property, breach of confidence, defamation and privacy.

Rosemary French OBE
Non-Executive Director
Freedom Works

Rosemary spent 24 years in corporates and SME’s followed by 16 years in not-for-profit economic development and business support.  Her retail buying and marketing career included John Menzies and Boots plc, joining the plc board of Ryman, Athena and Dillons Bookstores as Group Marketing Director at only 32.    She then became Managing Director of a £20m stationery and card manufacturing company in Oldham with 120 employees. She has led a £13m Management Buyout and two smaller Management Buy In’s as MD and shareholder within venture capital owned small businesses. In the 2000’s Rosemary was CEO of Business Link Surrey where she championed the business support and training needs of women. Between 2006 and 2009 she sat on the Advisory Board of the University of Surrey School of Management.  She was Executive Director of the Gatwick Diamond Initiative from 2010-2020, a business led economic partnership driving economic growth.

Rosemary is also President of Cranleigh Chamber of Commerce. Her OBE, awarded in June 2014, is for services to women in business. 

Julia Gallagher
Head of Sales, Marketing & Partnership
VisitBrighton

Julia brings over 30 years of leadership experience in the visitor economy, with a career spanning domestic and international markets across both B2B and B2C environments. As the strategic lead of VisitBrighton — the city’s official tourism organisation — she partners with over 500 member businesses to attract 12 million visitors annually who  generate £1.2 billion in economic impact and support 24,000 full-time equivalent jobs, playing a vital role in the prosperity of Brighton & Hove.

Throughout her career, Julia has built a reputation for cross-sector collaboration, forging strong partnerships across private and public sectors. She is responsible for shaping and delivering long-term strategies to grow both leisure and business tourism, ensuring that Brighton & Hove’s visitor economy is strongly represented at local, regional, national, and international levels. Julia actively contributes to key regional bodies, including the Brighton & Hove Destination Experience Group and the Local Visitor Economy Partnership for East Sussex, Brighton & Hove, and West Sussex. Through these roles, she advocates for the interests of the sector and helps shape sustainable, inclusive growth across the wider region.

A graduate of the University of Sussex and a long-time resident of Brighton, Julia is deeply rooted in the local community. She is committed to advancing inclusive outcomes for residents, students and visitors alike. She contributes her expertise to the NHS Genomic Medicine Service Project Advisory Team and the ARID1B Syndrome Research Group.

Tor Hatton
Lawyer / Career and Mindset Coach / Founder of Tor’s Law

A University of Brighton Law Graduate and now Senior Commercial Dispute Resolution Lawyer. Having spent well over a decade in the Legal industry, (mostly in the City of London), Tor has experience working on small, large and complex matters, for a range of business clients that span the globe.

The Founder of Tor’s Law – a Career and Mindset Coaching Service, helping Lawyers & All, to live life happy and be better than yesterday. Tor welcomes everyone who is ready to move forwards with their career and/or their way of thinking. Working with Junior / Mid-Level / Senior Lawyers, Management, future Lawyers, and more; Tor’s Law offers tailored 1:1 Coaching support to a variety of individuals and organisations, in the Legal sector and beyond.

Passionate about good mental health, social mobility, diversity and inclusion, Tor has also formed a network of Lawyers that collaborate to provide talks (to people all over the world), with the purpose of motivating and inspiring – whatever level you’re at.

Matt Knight
Managing Director
Akro Valve

Matt joined Akro Valve in 2017 to take over the leadership role in the company. He has previously worked for British Gas and Shell in operational engineering roles, principally offshore on drilling and production platforms in the North Sea. He also worked in research and development for the Ministry of Defence, where he worked on the various rocket and missile programmes in the UK and US. He holds a BEng in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Hertfordshire and a PhD in Mechanical Engineering from University College London. He is a volunteer STEM ambassador and Enterprise Adviser in East Sussex.

Tanya Petherick
Founder & CEO
Club Central

Tanya Petherick is the founder and driving force behind the Club Central Conference. With a career that spans global marketing, entrepreneurship, and business development, Tanya’s journey is a testament to adaptability and lifelong learning. After starting out in freight forwarding and discovering a passion for travel, she transitioned into marketing, eventually becoming EMEA Marketing Manager for a US-based software company during the dot-com boom.

Seeking more meaningful work, Tanya joined a growing childcare business, helping to scale operations and drive strategic growth. Alongside her professional evolution, she earned an MBA with distinction and a Level 7 qualification in Coaching and Mentoring. Today, Tanya supports business leaders across sectors and serves as an Expert Adviser on Wraparound Childcare for the National Wraparound Childcare Programme. Ever the adventurer, she keeps her backpack ready for the next journey.

Alan Larkin
Head of Innovation & Technology
Family Law Partners

Alan Larkin has worked as a family lawyer for over 20 years. During this time, he has achieved accredited expert status with Resolution for family finance work and advocacy in children’s cases at court as well as training to become an accredited collaborative model lawyer.  Nowadays, Alan largely spends his time developing innovative projects within family law.  Alan started a blog in 2011 aimed at litigants in person who could not afford legal advice.  The requests for assistance generated by the website persuaded Alan that digital self-help tools could be part of the answer. Alan created a child maintenance calculator in 2013 designed to promote transparency and communication between co-parents.  It is still widely used today, and a second version of that application has been refined as a University of Brighton student final year assessment in 2018.  

Alan created and launched a family law triage application called Engage in 2014 and it has been used by nearly 600 clients of Family Law Partners, free of charge, to instruct the firm.  The resultant data has been analysed by Alan on the IBM Watson Analytics platform to determine the drivers of cost and case duration for future family law clients.  That novel work has been profiled by IBM in a discrete case study. 

Alan’s firm has a Knowledge Transfer Partnership with the University of Brighton supported by Innovate UK to apply AI and machine learning to applications in the family law sphere.

Alan has spoken at events hosted by the Law Society and Resolution to stimulate digital working and innovation amongst legal practitioners.

Milan Patel
CEO
Dotdigital

Milan joined the Group in 2007 before being appointed as Group Company Secretary in 2009. He later took on the roles of CFO in 2015 and CEO in 2016. As a fellow member of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) and a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW), Milan has successfully overseen the Group’s admission to ISDX (now Aquis - AQSE) and its listing on AIM.

Before becoming the Group’s permanent CEO over eight years ago, Milan managed the Group’s financial management and reporting, regulatory compliance, legal, and corporate governance functions. He offers valuable strategic financial and commercial expertise to the Board. In addition to his financial acumen, he possesses a wide range of operational skills, robust leadership qualities, international business development experience, mergers and acquisition expertise, and strong decisive management skills.

As the leader of the Executive team, Milan is responsible for guiding the Company’s vision and growth strategy. Specifically, he spearheads the Group’s international growth strategy, accelerated product innovation, strategic partnership development, and acquisition strategy execution. Throughout the Company’s life on public markets, Milan has consistently demonstrated a solid track record in delivering performance against plans.

Adrian Phillips
General Counsel
441 Trust Company Ltd

Adrian Phillips started his career at Simmons & Simmons in the corporate department where he concentrated on mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures and insolvency. In 1995, he joined Visa in London becoming General Counsel and a member of the ExCom of Visa CEMEA in 1996.  He subsequently became Head of Risk and Legal Affairs in 2000. In 2006/7 he, together with his team, was responsible for the merger and IPO of Visa Inc on the New York Stock Exchange.

Adrian moved to San Francisco in 2007, where he became Deputy Chief Risk Officer and was a member of the ExCom of Visa Inc. In 2010, Adrian joined Amadeus as Head of Legal IT and Privacy based in Madrid and subsequently Nice. He left Amadeus in the summer of 2014, and was involved in several activities including setting up a compliance SaaS company and acting as a special counsel for Jones Day. He is today GC for 441 Trust Company Ltd, a company representing the interests of many banks in Europe in relation to their sale of Visa Europe to Visa Inc. for $20 billion dollars.

Amy Lishman
Head of Member Engagement and Deputy CEO
Brighton Chamber of Commerce

Amy Lishman serves as Head of Member Engagement and Deputy CEO at the Chamber. Known as a business matchmaker — once even called the “Cilla Black” of networking — Amy excels at connecting members to foster collaboration and business growth.

Responsible for nurturing the Chamber’s dynamic member community, Amy also works closely with the marketing team to promote both the Chamber and its members. In the role of Deputy CEO, Amy contributes to expanding the Chamber’s reach, influence, and impact across the broader business landscape.

A familiar face in Brighton, Amy is often seen meeting with members and building new relationships throughout the city. Outside of work, Amy enjoys quiet evenings with a good book or experimenting in the kitchen after a day of energising conversations.

Desiree Artesi

Desiree is a practising barrister with 27 years' experience in complex appellate civil litigation including, judicial review and Privy Council appeals.

Desiree has served in ethics and regulatory roles to the Bar Standards Board and Bar Council. She has been a Legal Chair at the Phone-paid Services Authority (now transferred to Ofcom) and sits as a barrister member of the Bar Tribunal and Adjudication Services. Desirée also adjudicates on complaints brought against members of the Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).

Desiree also has a non-executive portfolio with a standards or regulatory and risk focus, which includes Non-Executive Board/Trustee Member roles at the Strategic Advisory Board to the Council of the Inns of Court; the Advisory Board of the School of Law, Brighton University; and, the Honourable Society of Inner Temple.

Called to the Bar in St Lucia, Desiree has the ability to practice throughout the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court and is especially interested in international commercial arbitration with a focus on Caribbean and North American jurisdictions.

With a particular interest in the challenges faced by small jurisdictions, Desiree is an Associate of the Island Rights Initiative, a consultancy and think tank dedicated to helping small island communities facing global human rights challenges. She was also an affiliate expert of the Centre for Law and Social Justice at Leeds University.

Desiree has been a Trustee of a Black Charity focussing on providing educational and training pathways and opportunities to young black Africana and Caribbean members of the Greater London community.

As a regularly invited speaker at the bi-annual global Commonwealth Law Conference, Desiree is an active member of the Commonwealth Lawyers Association.

Rebecca Sewell
Founder, Leadership Consultant & Coach
BMETA-U Coaching Ltd

Rebecca Sewell is a leadership development consultant, coach, and founder of META-U Coaching. With a background as a senior HR leader in multinational technology companies, Rebecca has advised C-suite executives and senior leaders on enhancing team performance, navigating change, and fostering impactful, authentic leadership.

Having lived and worked across multiple countries—and experienced five redundancies—Rebecca brings a deep understanding of resilience and transformation. These experiences shaped a belief that courage and choice are essential in navigating change, both professionally and personally.

Through META-U Coaching, Rebecca creates a supportive and confidential space for leaders to build self-awareness, resilience, and intentionality. She also partners with SMEs, CEOs, and HR leaders to design and deliver leadership development programmes that drive meaningful, lasting change.

Rebecca is a Certified Professional Co-Active Coach (CPCC) and an ICF Associate Certified Coach (ACC), holding one of the most rigorous coaching qualifications in the industry. Fluent in English and German, she brings an intercultural lens to her work, helping leaders thrive in diverse and dynamic environments.

Paul Stanton
Director of People
The Hospital of St John & St Elizabeth.

Paul Stanton is an experienced Human Resources and Organisational Development leader with over three decades of service in the healthcare sector. Since 2016, Paul has served as Director of Human Resources and Organisational Development at The Hospital of St John & St Elizabeth in London, where he leads strategic HR initiatives and drives organisational growth and transformation.

Prior to this, Paul held the role of Director of Human Resources at Ealing Hospital Trust (part of London Northwest Healthcare NHS Trust) for nearly eight years, overseeing HR and OD functions across a multi-site organisation. His earlier roles include Head of Human Resources at Barnet PCT, and HR Manager positions at both Royal Free Hampstead NHS Trust and Central Middlesex Hospital.

With a career rooted in the NHS and independent healthcare, Paul brings deep expertise in workforce strategy, leadership development, and organisational change. His leadership has consistently supported high-performing teams and resilient healthcare environments.

Paul graduated from Brighton Polytechnic and is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.

Mia Collins
Founder, Entrepreneur, Corporate Sales Professional, Competitive Bodybuilder
Prep and Perform

Mia Collins is a competitive bodybuilder and entrepreneur, best known for her appearance on BBC’s The Apprentice (Series 19). Based in London, Mia is the founder of a fitness-focused meal prep business that delivers freshly cooked, nutritious meals tailored for individuals with health and fitness goals. Her business reflects her passion for wellness and her commitment to helping others lead healthier lives.

With a background in cyber security sales, Mia brings a unique blend of discipline, resilience, and commercial acumen to her ventures. She has lived in both Cheltenham and London and credits her success to a mindset shaped by personal transformation and perseverance—having experienced the challenges of launching a business and competing in bodybuilding.

Mia is driven by a mission to build a brand that’s about more than just food—it’s about creating a healthier, empowered community.

Richard Freeman
Founder & CEO
Always Possible

Richard is the founder and CEO of always possible, a strategic consultancy established in 2015 that specialises in leadership, economic development, and cross-sector collaboration. With over 25 years of experience spanning creative business start-ups, education, skills, and leadership coaching, Richard is known for transforming complex ideas into engaging, strategic projects and campaigns.

His work focuses on economic and workforce resilience, social innovation, the creative industries, the visitor economy, and vocational skills development. Under his leadership, always possible has earned accolades including Company of the Year (Gatwick Diamond) and Professional Services of the Year (Sussex Business Awards) in 2022.

Richard has held senior roles such as Programme Director for Essex 2020, the UK’s largest celebration of STEAM, and Operations Director at Dv8 Sussex. He has also contributed to national education and training programmes and served on multiple strategic boards.

Richard was appointed to the Brighton & Hove Economic Growth Board in 2025.

A skilled facilitator, speaker, and writer, Richard is passionate about social mobility, business resilience, and technology. He is a Fellow of both the RSA and the Chartered Management Institute and holds degrees from the University of London and the University of Oxford, where he received multiple academic honours. He also hosts The Possibility Club, Brighton Paradox and Sussex And The City podcasts, featuring conversations with global leaders across business, culture, and politics.

Richard Womack
Owner (retired)
David Mann and Son Ltd

Richard Womack holds an MBA from City University, He started his career in Paris at the RATP (French metro). He worked in a team in HR trying to reduce the personnel count from 50k to 30k. On graduating in French and Business Studies he was appointed as a lecturer at the Sorbonne University teaching Marketing, Case Studies and Economic History of the Uk in the 20th century.

Back in the Uk he worked on Direct marketing for a kitchen manufacturer. The business model changed and he was involved in setting up and running 8 businesses across England and Scotland as the National Sales Manager. 

His experience led him to set up a franchise business for which he opened five new outlets in Scotland, the Northeast and SE England. The French wholesaler of the group was failing so Richard went to France to set up a wholesale operation near Paris covering the whole of France.

Returning home he took over control of David Mann and Sons a retail store in Cranleigh. In 1999 he bought out the other shareholders and became its owner. The retail outlet developed into  a department store increasing from 16.000sq ft to 40.000 sq. ft and introducing all the main department store categories ladies and men’s fashion, beauty, linens toys, lighting, sports, kitchenware as well as its existing furniture and hardware departments 2008 it was voted by Retail Week magazine as one of the top 100 stores in the world to visit along with Harrods, Peter Jones, Gautier, Harvey Nichols etc. In 2021 he retired and closed the business which had traded for 134 years.

Whilst in Cranleigh he devoted much time to the community creating many activities for the village including Christmas events and lighting which involved raising the money too! He is proud to have started a Job Club there in 1992 when unemployment was 10%. It ran until 2015 and had the support of 84 volunteers. It helped over 2000 people back on the path to work. To bring the community together he set up the Cranleigh Initiative. This involved volunteers from all walks of life from retail to schools, youth clubs and many more areas of activity. The group conducted more than 70 projects- the most notable being to raise £750,000 to build a new central Square for the village. 

Richard is passionate about trying to find new income streams for Universities. Equally he would like its expansion into executive development , keeping business leaders at the forefront of new opportunities through executive groups. He is currently working with Course Leader Barbara Grabher and hoping that new opportunities arise for the very important aspect of live projects for undergraduates.

Kyriakos Baxevanis
Founder / CEO
Brighton Hive

Kyriakos Baxevanis is a seasoned entrepreneur and business leader based in Brighton, UK, with over 17 years of experience across the hospitality, catering, and wellness industries. He is the founder and managing director of several thriving ventures, including Little Jasmine Therapies & Spa, Nostos Hove, Nostos Catering UK, and Be Well Live Well. His businesses collectively employ over 40 staff and serve thousands of clients annually across Brighton & Hove and the wider South East.

Kyriakos is also the co-founder of The Big Fat Greek Club, a vibrant networking initiative that brings together business professionals in a relaxed, culturally rich setting. His leadership is marked by a commitment to community engagement, operational excellence, and sustainable business practices.

Academically, Kyriakos holds an MBA in International Business from the University of Brighton along with his BSc Business Economics from Kingston University. Kyriakos has also completed executive education in Business Strategy, Leadership, and Entrepreneurship at the Saïd Business School, University of Oxford through the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses UK Programme. He also holds certifications from the Help to Grow: Management Programme and the Small Business Leadership Programme.

In addition to his entrepreneurial ventures, Kyriakos serves on the University of Brighton Business & Law Advisory Board and is a frequent contributor to industry panels, media features, and community events. His work has earned multiple industry accolades and recognition in both local and national press.