Meet the Alumni Council members

Nick Wilkinson - Chair of the OUBS Alumni Council

Chief Executive Officer, Strategist, Entrepreneur, Advisor, Author, Screenwriter, Director and Producer.

Area of Expertise: Executive Management, IT, Strategic business planning, Entrepreneurial development

Qualification: MBA

Nick is a senior business executive with extensive general management experience coupled with expertise in the global software and information technology services industry. Nick is also a published author with fictional works on the business world, and a screenwriter, director, and producer in the film & TV industry.

He has achieved success across the commercial spectrum: Fortune 150, private equity backed, privately-held and bootstrapped start-ups. Prior to this Nick served in the Royal Air Force as a Supply and Movements Officer for nine years.

Nick remains very interested in the 'academic' aspects of the business world, particularly in the area of strategy and the impact of digitisation on productivity and the future of work. Nick utilizes his career experience to guide and support thedigital platform of the Alumni Council and the Business School.

Dr Sadia Ahmed - Vice-Chair of the OUBS Alumni Council

Innovation Director

Area of Expertise: Technology, sustainability, innovation, partnerships, strategy and business development 

Qualifications: PhD in Computational Ecology, Postgraduate Certificate in Business Administration, MSc Ecology, evolution and conservation, BSc Hons Biology 

Sadia is an experienced business leader with a demonstrated history of working at the forefront of innovation and R&D, often working at the intersection of business, academia, industry and policy. She has an extensive background in sustainability, technology and business development, and is keen to bring this experience to advance the Council. She is a member of the IoD, Chatham house and several advisory boards. She cares deeply about having a positive impact on people and the planet. 

Ailsa Darroch

Independent Consultant, Trustee – Voluntary Sector

Area of Expertise: Executive Search and Research, Investment Banking, Arts Administration 

Qualification: MBA

Ailsa’s professional background is in international investment banking, initially as a practitioner, working for over 10 years in the Fixed Income sector, before transitioning her skills to Executive Search consultancy. In this role, she has led cross-border and cross-product projects for her institutional clients and mentored individuals seeking a career change. During the course of her career, she has lived and worked in London, Continental Europe and the Middle East, thus gaining valuable expertise in international business practices and cross-cultural relations.

Aside from her professional life, Ailsa has a strong interest in music and the arts, which now manifests itself through a series of volunteering roles in this sector. She has successfully led an 80 year old Choral Society through a series of critical organisational changes, and has recently undertaken a challenge to re-invigorate another charity which aims to coordinate, develop and promote all arts activities across her local government district.

Dr Rajeev Gupta

Consultant paediatrician, NHS, Barnsley Foundation Hospital, Chairman, International Business Federation

Area of Expertise: Medical diagnostic and management skills, Change management, Project management

Qualification: MD, MBA

Rajeev is a well-respected Consultant Paediatrician with 30+ years medical experience and 20+ years of experience as a Senior Clinical Lecturer at The University of Sheffield. He is also Chair of the International Business Federation. Rajeev has a unique combination of professional qualifications and experience which will be of immense value to the council.

Gillian Hannon

Pharmaceutical executive

Area of Expertise: Pharma, Procurement, Licensing

Qualification: MBA, LLM

Gillian is a seasoned pharmaceutical executive with expertise in global drug development specifically around scientific affairs procurement and vendor management for biotech and large pharmaceutical/medical device companies including Mundipharma, GSK, Roche and BTG.  Aside from R&D sourcing she has procured regulatory, drug safety and medical information platforms to support functional needs. Gillian is passionate about using her OU MBA ‘toolkit’ and experience to drive innovation that makes a difference to patients with unmet needs. As a practical and goal orientated individual, she has a reputation for fostering collaboration with internal and external stakeholders to create win/win contracts that leverage substantial savings through process enhancements and preferred provider discounts; known by her colleagues as ‘the fixer’ she is particularly adept at steering complex sourcing transactions and optimizing functional budgets. 

Tillmann Henssler

Manager EDI, Pfizer

Area of Expertise: EDI, Disability leadership, Pharma

Qualification: MBA

Tillmann Henssler, graduated from the OU Business School with his MBA in 2000 while living in Germany. Currently working as a Manager for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) at pharmaceutical giant, Pfizer, Tillmann has much commercial experience in pharma, procurement and DEI.

Tillmann is also committed to raising awareness and helping to reduce unconscious bias toward persons with disabilities. Pfizer awarded him with the Global Disability Leader award in recognition for his engagement with the disability community. Tillman’s contribution and commitment to inclusivity within his organisation and society was also recognised as he was named 'Highly Commended Alumni of the Year' in the Open University Business School Student and Alumni Awards in 2018. Likewise, in 2019, Tillmann became the first OUBS alumnus to be recognised in AACSB’s Class of Influential Leaders, thanks to his work on diversity and inclusion at both Pfizer and OUBS. The accolade celebrates notable alumni from AACSB-accredited schools whose inspiring work serves as a model for the next generation of business leaders.

Dr Zoe Lawson

Senior Scientist, Johnson & Johnson

Area of Expertise: Scientific Research, Project Management/Operational Development

Qualification: Ph.D. Biochemistry, MBA

Zoe Lawson is a senior scientist working in large molecule (monoclonal antibody) drug production for Johnson & Johnson in Switzerland. Prior to this, worked at CERN in Geneva (home of the large hadron collider) in the Knowledge Transfer/Applied Innovations team, where she was a sector specialist for applications of CERN technologies to the life and chemical sciences.

Zoe holds a PhD in biological chemistry (atomic structure of transmembrane protein targets for rational drug design) from the University of Birmingham, UK and an MBA from the Open University, UK. Prior to joining CERN, Zoe worked in a variety of postdoctoral and tech innovation roles at research institutes and organisations in the Philippines, Malaysia, France and her native UK.

In addition to her role as OUBS alumni council member since 2019, she is also an ambassador and EMEA board project lead for the HBA (Healthcare Businesswomen’s Association). Furthermore, Zoe was nominated by OUBS in 2023 for the global AASCB Influential Leader award which she was delighted to subsequently win!

David Monk

Executive Clinical Director

Area of Expertise: Healthcare, Charity sector, leading volunteers

Qualification: MBA

David completed his BSc (Hons) (Open) and Master of Business Administration at The Open University Business School between 2004 and 2012 while working full-time for the NHS. David was later awarded our Alumni of the Year 2021 for his leadership role with his local health system and St John Ambulance during the COVID-19 pandemic. Sanctioned by King Charles III he was further awarded an MStJ by the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St John of Jerusalem in November 2022. Currently holding several prestigious positions, including Executive Clinical Director for St. John Ambulance Cymru.

Mike Stevenson

Principal, Amazon Web Services

Area of expertise: Technology strategy, financial technology, leadership

Qualification: BSc (Computer Science), MBA (Technology Management), MSc (Economic History)

Mike is a Principal at Amazon Web Services, a subsidiary of Amazon inc. In this role he strategically advises senior leadership at the world's largest universal banks and financial institutions across the US, EMEA, and APAC, while building and leading large and complex global transformation programs. His remit covers the full range of financial technology - including cloud migration, AI/ML, data lakes, distributed ledgers, mainframe modernization, and high-performance computing - along with the definition of long-term target operational states, firm-wide modernized operating models, and improved business processes. Prior to joining AWS, Mike had a long career in financial technology, leading global technology teams and departments for banks and financial institutions.

Sara Vermeulen-Anastasi

Senior Leader

Area of expertise: Marketing, Communications and Sustainability

Qualification: MBA 

A senior leader with 25+ years expertise marketing, communications and sustainability, Sara has extensive experience in supply chains, innovation, and digitization working for fast-paced and transformative industries from pharma and food to hi-tech, geospatial, and logistics. Sara has a strong track record of leading integrated marketing and communication strategies to drive growth and transformation, foster engagement and maximise impact. A dual British and Swiss citizen, she speaks four languages, and is keen to use her experience to support the Alumni Council and Business School.

Martin Wardhaugh

Non Executive Director & Consultant

Area of expertise: Business strategy and Leadership

Qualification: MBA

Martin retired from full time employment in 2022 following the successful sale of Arran Isle, a group of companies that he co-owned and served as Group CEO since 2016.

Arran Isle Limited was a £250m turnover, international building products group, headquartered in the UK, with significant operations in North America (14 locations), 10 business units in Europe, and sourcing, manufacturing and sales operations in China.

Following an early career in finance, Martin used his MBA as a springboard into general management positions, developing strategic plans and converting them into action. He has more than 30 yers experience in commercial enterprise leadership and change management across a range of sectors, countries and organisation sizes.

Martin has served on the Alumni Council for 7 years.

Rob White

Head of Data Engineering, STARK UK

Area of expertise: Finance, IT, Data engineering

Qualification: MBA

Rob is a former Chair of the OUBS Alumni Council and is currently the Head of Data Engineering for STARK UK. After a short spell working for the Ministry of Defence, Rob transferred to the Finance Sector working and leading in IT (specifically data), where he remained for over 20 years. Wanting to try a different sector he took an opportunity at STARK when offered at the end of 2022. Rob also works for several non-profits, including MPNE and Great Ormond Street Hospital, where he leverages his knowledge of data to generate policy around the use (and misuse) of patient data.