Governance

The Open University was established by Royal Charter in 1969 and is governed by two statutory bodies: the Council and the Senate.

For detailed information about The Open University’s formal governance structure; please visit the OU website.

In addition, OUBS has appointed an International Advisory Board (IAB) which works closely with the Executive Dean and management team, in an advisory role, to provide international business and management expertise to support the delivery of our research and teaching.

International Advisory Board members

James Cullens

Chair of the International Advisory Board

James currently works between London and Montréal and previously has lived and worked in the Former Soviet Union, Hong Kong and New Zealand, with wide experience of Higher Education.

Sanjeeb Chaudhuri

Independent Director and Audit Committee member, Aditya Birla Group

Sanjeeb's current portfolio includes Retail, FinTech and Marketing Tech businesses. As well as Independent Director and Audit Committee member at Aditya Birla Group, he is a founder Director of Stab, a UK registered FinTech platform for real estate brokers.

Andrew Craissati

Investor & Adviser

Andrew is a highly experienced investor and adviser. He operates across Europe and North America and with heavy experience of Asian markets.

Bruce Lee

Senior Vice President IT Infrastructure and Operations for Centene Corporation

Centene is focused on providing government sponsored healthcare throughout the US and in international markets, including Spain and the UK. It is based in St Louis Missouri.

Edward Marram

Founder, Chief Executive Officer, and Chairman of the Board of Geo-Centers, Inc

Dr. Marram has taught business practices to faculty, graduate students, and entrepreneurs in the United States, South America, and in both Eastern and Western Europe and has developed executive training programs in Scotland and in France.

Jay O’Connor

Partner, Euler Partners

Jay works with organisations to define and communicate their purpose and strategy, engage with stakeholders and manage change. She is currently conducting doctoral research on state governance and democratic accountability at UCL's Department of Political Science & School of Public Policy, and is a member of the IoD's Centre for Corporate Governance Working Group on Stakeholder Governance, and the European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI).

Namrata Sarmah

Chief Product Officer at INTO University Partnerships

Namrata is a a strong supporter of Diversity & Inclusion in the workplace, and is a popular voice in the Women in Product & Tech community. She is a Board Advisor at a few startups in London.