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) who work 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

Margaret Miller

Chair of the International Advisory Board

Maggie is a global business technology leader and CIO with over 30 years of experience, she has a long and distinguished career in the technology sector in the UK and overseas.

Janice Bell

Independent Management Consultant

Janice is a passionate business leader with an MBA from the OU. An expert in business management and transformational change, she has strong links with a variety of major UK and international organisations.

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.

Peter Cheese

Chief Executive, Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development

Peter joined the CIPD as Chief Executive in July 2012. He spent 30 years working at Accenture, culminating in a 7 year spell as Global Managing Director leading the firm’s Talent and Organisation Performance Consulting Practice.

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.

James Crotty

Independent Non-Executive Director and Adviser

Following a career of almost 25 years with American Express James has recently taken on a number of board and advisory roles for a range of institutions in the financial services sector.

James Cullens

Group Human Resources Director, WS Atkins plc

Prior to his appointment as Group Human Resources Director of WS Atkins plc, one of the world's leading design, engineering and project management consultancies, James was Group Human Resources Director of Hays Plc, a global specialist recruitment business.

Ann Francke

Chief Executive, Chartered Management Institute

As Chief Executive Officer of the CMI, Ann brings her extensive global general management experience to the IAB. She has a track record of developing people and delivering innovative strategies that result in sustainable growth.

Ron Jones

Executive Chairman of Tinopolis

Ron is the founder and Executive Chairman of Tinopolis, one of the largest independent television producers in Europe producing over 2000 hours of television annually.

Dr Arthur Langer

Professor at Columbia University

Dr. Arthur M. Langer is the Associate Chair of Faculty Affairs, Support, and Development and Academic Director of the Executive Masters of Science in Technology Management at Columbia University’s School of Continuing Education.

Bruce Lee

Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer, Fannie Mae

Reporting to the Senior Vice President and Head of Operations and Technology (O&T), Bruce is responsible for providing the technology vision and leadership to reduce the company’s complex technology infrastructure, build new capabilities, and improve safety and soundness.

Jay O’Connor

Partner, Euler Partners

Jay is a Partner at Euler Partners and works with organisations on how they listen, connect and engage with stakeholders. She has advised global companies, start-ups, non-profit organisations and higher education institutions across a range of sectors.

Peter Wright

Executive Vice President, Global Network and International Card Services, American Express

Peter Wright leads three divisions within American Express’ Global Network and International Card Services division. He is the Head of Card Services for Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) and oversees the company’s consumer card-issuing businesses and merchant acquiring partnerships within this region.