People Committee
This Committee considers and determines matters in respect of the University's human resources. This includes ensuring that pay and conditions of employment are properly determined and implemented for all categories of employees and monitoring the University's staff composition.
Karen Martin
Chair of the People Committee and Independent member of the Board of Governors
Karen is in her first term of office as an independent member of the Board of Governors and Chair of the People Committee and Remuneration Committee. Karen’s background has been in the NHS where she has worked for 38 years. Karen has extensive experience as an Executive Board Director in different NHS organisations, including Deputy Chief Executive Officer, and a wealth of experience in transformation, Human Resources/workforce, organisational development, leadership, communications, corporate affairs and change management. Her career has spanned a range of health organisations including health authority and both acute and mental health services and has always held responsibility for education, learning and development within these different organisations.
Karen has previously been a school governor and a Trustee at Foxford School academy and is a qualified Executive Coach.
Karen is also Chair of the Remuneration Committee and a member of the Board of Governors.
Stephen Brooks
Independent Governor
Appointed in September 2021 as an Independent Governor, Stephen’s early career included international HR roles with Bank of America, General Electric, Morgan Grenfell and Deutsche Bank.
Later he moved into management consultancy and was a partner at KPMG and PA Consulting. During this time, he worked with a wide range of commercial and Government clients in the UK and abroad.
He brings expertise and practical experiences of People management, leadership, change management and organisation design.
He is currently Chairman of the commercial operations of the Faculty for Medical Leadership and Management - charity that seeks to improve leadership skills in the medical professions. His previous roles include Chairman of the East London Small Business Centre, Director of Higher Education for Capability and Trustee Director of the PA Pension Fund.
Stephen is also a member of the Remuneration Committee.
Helen Nixseaman
Deputy Chair of the Board of Governors
Currently in their first term as Deputy Chair of the Board of Governors and second term as a Governor, Helen was appointed in September 2017. Prior to this Helen was an external co-opted member. Helen is a Chartered Accountant with expertise in risk management and internal controls, with a career that has included being a risk assurance partner with PricewaterhouseCoopers. Helen has an MA in Natural Sciences and an MSc in Biochemical Engineering.
Helen is Chair of the Strategy. Finance and Resources Committee, Deputy Chair of the Board of Governors and a member of the Governance and Nominations Committee and Remuneration Committee.
Nick Sale
Chair of the Board of Governors
Appointed as an Independent Governor in September 2018, Nick became Deputy Chair of the Board of Governors and Pro-Chancellor in September 2020, before being appointed as Chair in September 2021. An experienced business leader and company director who worked as a chief operating officer in the automotive industry until early in 2018, Nick has a successful track record working throughout the world in Professional Services for both IT and Engineering Companies. More recently Nick has worked as an advisor and Non-Executive Director to both UK and International Technology Companies and is a Chartered Engineer and Fellow of the Institute of Engineering and Technology.
Nick is also Chair of the Board of Governors and Governance and Nominations Committee and a member of the Strategy, Finance and Resources Committee and Remuneration Committee.
Professor John Latham CBE
Executive Member (Vice-Chancellor)
John leads the delivery of the University Group’s strategic objectives as agreed by the Board of Governors and was appointed Vice-Chancellor in 2014. A double graduate of the University, they have a background in information technology and telecommunications, having held high-profile roles at regional, national and European levels promoting innovation, technology and economic development.
John is a non-executive Director of Health Education England (the primary funder of health related education in England), is a Council member of InnovateUK (part of the UK’s National Research Agency (UKRI)) and is a Board member of the Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership. John is additionally an advisory board member of the UK’s National Growth Board, which is responsible for the oversight of the UK’s European Structural Funds Programme.
John is the Extraordinary Professor in the area of enterprise and entrepreneurship at Stellenbosch University, South Africa and is also a member of the Board of Governors, and Strategy, Finance and Resources Committee.
