Board of Governors

Independent Governor and Chair of the Board of Governors, Richard has more than 30 years' experience of finance, M&A and corporate relationship building. He was also previously a partner for Deloitte.

Richard grew up in South Wales and has a law degree from the University of Birmingham.

David is an Independent Governor and Chair of the Finance and Resources Committee.

David is a chartered accountant, with a career spanning more than 20 years in a variety of global finance roles in large UK corporates including Marks & Spencer and Diageo.

He has led finance teams around the world and brings a wide range of experience across all aspects of the finance function from systems and process implementation and governance to commercial finance and pricing, control and compliance, and performance management.

He is also a non executive board member at Brandon Trust, Audit Wales and Hockey Wales.

She is an accredited member of the European Mentoring and Coaching Council, IPD graduate, ONC public admin, NLP coach and IIP advisor. Debbie was previously Chief People Officer at Inmarsat PLC then the world’s leading satellite communications provider 2000 - 2017 and Chair of the British Medical Association ‘Living our Values’ Panel.

Independent Governor, Chair of the Remuneration Committee and member of the Audit Committee, Frances was previously a senior civil servant having worked for the Welsh, Scottish and UK Governments. Frances held a number of senior policy and delivery roles across Government covering taxation, housing, transport and health. Retired in 2022, Frances is a Commissioner with the Democracy and Boundary Commission Cymru and also offer project assurance consultancy for the public sector.

Ian is an Independent Governor and Chair of the College Merthyr Tydfil.

Ian is the Chief Executive of WJEC, Wales’ largest awarding body. He joined WJEC in 2002 and has been Chief Executive since 2020. When he joined WJEC, Ian was initially appointed as Deputy Director for the National Grid for Learning project, before becoming Director of IT.

Prior to joining WJEC, Ian worked for a local authority, where he was responsible for the strategic development and implementation of technology that supported both administration and more importantly, teaching and learning.

He is a member of the Joint Council for Qualifications Board. 

Michael is an Independent Governor and Chair of the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama.

A Non-Executive Director of the BBC, and formerly Chair of CBI Wales, Michael is a Welsh business leader with wide-ranging global experience. He is influential in shaping public policy and his business advice has been sought after by governments in both Westminster and Cardiff. With extensive knowledge of commercial and non-profit organisations, he started his career as an investment banker in London before returning to Wales to run a business. By invitation of the Secretary of State for Wales, he chaired “Building a More Prosperous Wales”, a report for the UK Government on the Welsh economy and has an OBE for services to business and entrepreneurship.

Independent Governor and a member of the Finance and Resources Committee, Michael Stevens was previously group CEO of Shearwater Group, former Head of International Markets and Board Member of Airbus Defence & Space UK, as well as former CEO of Cassidian UK.

Michael joined Airbus Group from BAE Systems in April 2012, leaving Airbus to join Shearwater in September 2016.

With a background in electrical/electronic engineering and an MSc in information systems management, Michael has held various senior & board level roles in design & development, manufacturing, project/programme management, strategy, business development and business management over the last 30 years in the areas of leading edge technology, complex systems, solutions & services primarily within the security, defence, cyber & information sectors.

Independent Governor and member of the Audit Committee, Philip was Chief Executive for the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales from 2004 – 2012. He is now a HE Consultant.

Assignments in recent years include advice on higher education restructuring, funding and strategy in Ireland, Trustee of JISC (the body that provides digital infrastructure and services to UK HE and FE) and Chair of its Audit and Risk Committee, as well as Consultant to the 2020 and 2026 Research Assessment Exercises in Hong Kong. 

Prior to HEFCW, he was Professor of Government and Technology Policy, and Pro-Vice Chancellor, at the University of Manchester.

Sion is an Independent Governor and member of Culture, People and Values Committee.

Sion has 25 years experience leading brand and marketing teams in the UK, the US and across Europe.  

He has led local, national and global organisations encouraging participation in grassroots sport, and was a member of Lancaster University’s Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Committee.

Sion has a degree in European business studies from Coventry University and an MBA from Lancaster University.

Sharon is an Independent Governor. With over 30 years experience working in post-16 education including work based learning and higher education, Sharon is the principal at Cardiff and Vale College.

Under Sharon’s leadership, the college has won a number of awards for the quality of provision. She has also been instrumental in the introduction of a unique programme offering vocational education to year 10 and 11 learners, resulting in a direct corollary with the reduction of NEETs in the Cardiff region.

Sharon sits on the Board of Wales Millennium Centre and is Chair of Its My Shout charity. She is also a member of the Welsh Government Employability Group and Creative Wales.

Irfan is the University of South Wales Students’ Union President for 25/26.

Imam is the University of South Wales Students’ Union Welfare Officer for 25/26.

Jonathan has worked with USW since 2012 delivering and supporting a positive experience for the USW community; notably as Students' Union Vice-President/President, and Newport Campus Experience Officer. Jonathan is currently the Enterprise Manager (USW Careers), supporting enterprise and entrepreneurship development for students and graduates, as well leading on business start-up through core and funded projects.

Jonathan is a Fellow of AdvanceHE (FHEA), a Unison Branch Committee member, and member of Academic Board. Jonathan is a former Student Governor and past Chair of the Students’ Union Trustee Board.

Outside of USW Jonathan is an experienced Trustee, Associate of Arts Council Wales and Co-Founder of a digital content & branding business.

Geraint Evans has worked at USW since September 1997 as a Senior Lecturer in accounting, specialising in financial management and financial reporting.

During his time at the University, he has been a Course Leader for several professional, postgraduate, and undergraduate courses.

Geraint also represented the University overseas, teaching on master’s degrees in Bahrain, Lusaka, and undergraduate degrees in France and Germany.

He also carried out various consultancy roles for the University to Bosch, S4C, Welsh Water, Barry Council, Bridgend Council, Cardiff Council, RCT Council, University of South Florida, Rosenheim University, and FOM University.

He brings to the role over 27 years of experience in higher education, with a deep commitment to students, staff, communities and the public purpose of universities. His work has focused on widening opportunity, improving student outcomes, strengthening inclusive learning environments, and helping institutions respond to change with care, evidence and ambition.

Before joining the University of South Wales, Osama was Deputy Vice-Chancellor Academic at Aston University. In that role, he worked with academic colleges and student-facing professional services to support the delivery of the university’s 2030 Strategy. His portfolio included academic strategy, academic communities, education and student experience, employability, digital learning, academic governance, online education, inclusion, and work to strengthen institutional sustainability.

Across his leadership roles, Osama has been closely involved in organisational transformation, using data, digital tools and service redesign to improve the experience of students and colleagues. He has championed the democratisation of data, making insight more accessible to academic and professional teams so that decisions are better informed, more transparent and focused on impact. His work has also included digital transformation, enterprise service management, curriculum development, and the redesign of student-facing services to create more connected, responsive and effective support.

Osama’s earlier career included senior roles at the University of Surrey and Solent University. He began his UK academic career as an Associate Lecturer at the University of Cambridge in 2002, following earlier experience in investment banking. He has taught across areas including corporate finance, derivatives, mathematical economics, real estate finance and economics, and investment management. He has also contributed to teaching at institutions including Cambridge Judge Business School, HEC Paris, the University of Hong Kong and Copenhagen Business School.

His leadership is rooted in servant leadership, collaboration, accountability and evidence-led decision making. He remains passionate about teaching and believes deeply in the power of education to transform lives. Alongside his university leadership, Osama contributes to national advisory, governance, education, inclusion and wellbeing roles, reflecting his wider commitment to social mobility, community cohesion and the role of universities as forces for good.

Dr James Gravelle became the University’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor in February 2025.

Prior to becoming DVC, James was the University’s Deputy Pro Vice-Chancellor for Academic Transformation, helping to lead the work to enhance our academic delivery and systems to support a sustainable future.

James joined the former University of Glamorgan, now the University of South Wales, in 2008 as a Research Assistant, before becoming a Lecturer and then Senior Lecturer at the Centre for Police Sciences. He completed his PhD and later became the Head of Policing and Security at the International Centre for Policing and Security. James was then appointed to Head of Policing and Community Care and later became Deputy Head of School.

He went on to become the Head of School of Health, Sport and Professional Practice, the Deputy Dean for the Faculty of Life Sciences and Education (FLSE), before becoming the Dean of FLSE in 2022.

Before joining the University of South Wales, Amanda held senior finance leadership roles across complex, multinational and highly regulated organisations, including FTSE listed businesses such as DS Smith. She also held roles within Lloyds Banking Group, General Dynamics UK, British Airways, and Ladbrokes.

Her experience spans financial transformation, performance reporting, data quality and strategic business partnering, supporting executive teams through periods of significant organisational change.