Jo Jones
Chief Financial Officer, University of Sheffield
Jo joined the University of Sheffield in February 2020 as Chief Financial Officer. Prior to this, she was Finance Director at Queen Mary University of London.
Over her career, Jo has taken a lead role on a number of successful projects. This includes working with Siemens to open the first new school of engineering in 24 years at Lincoln. While working at Oxford Brookes, she helped oversee the financial management of a £120m teaching and learning building. To deliver Queen Mary University of London's 2030 strategy, she raised a £160m private placement to fund teaching and research infrastructure requirements.
Committee membership: Finance Committee
Sarah Randall-Paley
Director of Finance, Lancaster University
Sarah qualified as a Chartered Accountant in London with KPMG, before relocating to the North West where she has been the Director of Finance at Lancaster University since 2009, responsible for both finance and procurement.
In 2010, Lancaster was successful in winning the ‘Outstanding Finance Team’ in the Times Higher Education Awards (THELMAs), and in the 2014 THELMAs Lancaster was shortlisted for ‘Outstanding Procurement Team’.
In addition to Director of Finance at Lancaster University, Sarah is Chair of the national British Universities Finance Directors Group, a member of the national TRAC Development Group, and Governor of Lancaster Girls’ Grammar School.
Committee membership: Audit Committee Chair
Professor Wendy Robinson
Pro-Vice Chancellor for Education, Lancaster University
Professor Wendy Robinson is responsible for leading Lancaster University’s strategy for continuing to deliver an excellent transformative and innovative educational experience for all students, and to ensure that the quality of the student experience remains at the heart of University activity.
Wendy joined Lancaster from the University of Exeter where she was Pro-Vice-Chancellor and Executive Dean of the College of Social Sciences and International Studies. She joined Exeter in 2006 as a Professor of Education, and held positions including Head of the Graduate School of Education, Associate Dean (Education) for the College of Social Sciences and International Studies, and University Academic Dean for Students. Whilst at Exeter, Wendy led on important developments within the University, including serving on University Council, leading Exeter’s strategic review of postgraduate taught programmes, leading the Exeter Effective Learning Analytics Project, chairing the University Race Equality Group and Widening Participation Operations Board and, in the region, as Chair of the South West Academic Trust.
Wendy is a co-opted member of the UCAS Audit Committee and is a Principal Fellow of Advance HE. Wendy achieved First Class Honours from the University of Cambridge, a Masters with Distinction from the University of London and then a PhD in the History of Education, again from Cambridge, before building her academic career at the Universities of Cambridge and Warwick. Wendy’s academic specialism is in the history of the development of the teaching profession, where her work has been influential around the world.
Committee membership: Audit Committee
Liz Rylatt
Chief Finance Officer, City, University of London
Liz was appointed CFO of City, University of London in August 2016. As CFO, Liz has responsibility for the Finance and Property & Facilities teams.
After graduating from Newcastle University with a BSc in Computer Science Liz qualified as a Chartered Accountant with KPMG, also in Newcastle.
She then spent a number of years in lead finance roles with various retail organisations (John Lewis/House of Fraser and Laura Ashley), before using her financial skills in a new sector.
Liz spent 18 years with the BBC working across the Corporation in a number of Divisional and Corporate finance roles. She prepared the business case for the set-up of the 24 Hour News channel and the News Online service. As CFO of the Operations Division she supported the COO of the BBC leading the Property, Technology, Marketing and HR functions as well as Finance. During her tenure Liz was involved in a number of transformation projects in both Finance and Operations delivering savings back to the business.
For the last two years Liz was Executive Director Finance Operations and Members at the Institute of Chartered Accountants, where she led a property renovation project at Chartered Accountants Hall.
For the past three and a half years she was a Governor of Kingston University, partner Governor for the School of Business and Law and a member of the Audit Committee. She was also on the International Advisory Board for Newcastle University Business School.
Committee membership: Finance Committee