Our Board of Trustees / Directors
In 2025 we continued to embed the new Articles of Association and governance arrangements that came into effect on 29 October 2024. These arrangements preserve the valued involvement of sector and student perspectives while safeguarding the OIA’s independence, and they are designed to remain flexible as the higher education landscape continues to change.
Under the revised arrangements, Trustees are appointed through open recruitment within a framework that sets out the skills, experience and diverse perspectives required, including student perspectives and both English and Welsh sector perspectives, in an appropriately balanced way. During 2025 we completed recruitment to fill a number of vacant sector-perspective and student-perspective positions, and in December 2025 we undertook a governance effectiveness exercise to support continuous improvement.
Board members are not involved in the review of individual complaints. The Board’s responsibilities include: preserving the independence of the Scheme and the role of the Independent Adjudicator; oversight of the performance and effectiveness of the Independent Adjudicator, the Chief Executive and the OIA Scheme; setting the budget for the OIA and the level of subscriptions payable by providers each year, and approving the Rules of the Scheme.
In September 2025, we paid thanks to Catherine Mountford as the interim Head of Leadership Office and welcomed Adam Waddingham as Company Secretary & Chief of Staff supporting the work of our Board and leading our Governance Services, Communication Services, Service Complaints, and Leadership Office divisions.
Trustees/Non-Executive Directors
Trustees/Non-Executive Directors are appointed by the Board of Trustees. They are normally appointed for a term of three years and serve up to two terms. The Board may decide to extend a Trustee’s period of service up to a maximum of nine consecutive years.
The Trustees of the charity and Directors of the charitable company, who served during 2025 and were members of the Board at the end of the period, were as follows:
Lay Trustees/Non-Executive Directors
- Sim Scavazza – Chair
- Martin Kirke – Deputy Chair, and Chair of People and Remuneration Committee
- Andrew Chandler – Chair of Nominations and Governance Committee
- Nicola Flint – Chair of Finance Committee
- Jonathan Rees – Chair of Audit and Risk Committee
Trustees/Non-Executive Directors with a sector perspective
- Professor Wendy Finlay – English sector
- Professor Osama Khan – English sector (appointed May 2025)
- Professor Shân Wareing – English sector (appointed May 2025)
- Professor Rachael Langford – Welsh sector (appointed May 2025)
- Dr Gwawr Taylor – Welsh sector (appointed May 2025)
Trustees/Non-Executive Directors with a student perspective
- Adesewa Adebisi
- Alex Stanley
- Sophie Williams