Meet the Executive Team
The Executive Team is responsible for overseeing Futureworks operations, determining strategy and direction, and managing strategy implementation. The Team comprises three shareholder directors, one of whom is the Futureworks founder and Principal, three independent non-executive directors and the Vice-Principal.
Chris Mayo, Principal & Founder of Futureworks
Chris has operated within the higher education sector for more than 22 years in a career that has seen him work throughout Europe and America in various roles, including the first certified Pro Tools Expert Instructor in Europe, senior lecturer and director of facilities. Under his leadership, Futureworks has developed into one of the UK’s leading creative educational institutions and is on track to achieve degree awarding powers in the near future. The institution’s growing reputation was recently reinforced by a QAA review that awarded Futureworks a total of three commendations – the first independent provider to achieve this.
Prof. Rob Campbell, Chair of the Board
Professor Campbell is Emeritus Professor of Philosophy at the University of Bolton and was, until 2015, Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Academic) there. He is Director of Quality Assurance at Finito Education, Governor of the United Kingdom College of Business and Computing and chair of the NHS Advisory Committee on Clinical Excellence Awards for the North West. Professor Campbell trained as a philosopher and has published books and articles on business ethics, jurisprudence, legal and social philosophy, medical ethics and health policy. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, the Royal Society of Medicine and Fellow and trustee of the National Forum for Health and Wellbeing.
Professor John Brooks, Director
Professor Brooks was Vice-Chancellor of Manchester Metropolitan University from 2005 until 2015. He led a significant change programme consolidating campuses and investing £250M in new builds with an emphasis on environmental sustainability. He was also Vice-Chancellor of The University of Wolverhampton from 1998 until 2005 where he placed a strong emphasis on vocational education and providing HE opportunities to all. He maintains his interest in Higher Education as the Deputy Chair of The Open University. He is excited by his involvement at Board level with Futureworks and shares their ambition to not only gain Degree Awarding Powers but to become an exemplar institution operating at the interface between professional practice and academic training in the creative industries.
Gwyn Arnold, Director
Following early career positions in local education authorities Gwyn had a full-time career in HE for 35 years, before retiring from her role as Registrar and Clerk to the Board of Governors at Manchester Metropolitan University in 2014. Since then, she has pursued her passion for enabling and supporting excellence in post-compulsory education. She has undertaken numerous consultancy roles in a variety of Universities and for software companies that support HE and FE; was Interim University Secretary at the University of Bradford; and has also been a Trustee Board Member for the SHU Students Union. She is currently a Governor at The Sheffield College and a non-executive director at Istituto Marangoni [ London] Ltd, and has been a Governor / Non-executive director at Futureworks since 2017.
Alan Doyle, Finance Director
Alan joined the board of Futureworks at incorporation and has been a shareholder and Director continuously since then. In his role as Finance Director, Alan is a member of Futureworks Audit & Risk Assurance Committee, and is Chair of the Finance Commitee. He has nearly 30 years experience in the European banking and finance market where he previously led teams in the corporate and syndicated loan markets at the Bank of Ireland. Alan has a BSc (management) from Trinity College Dublin.
Ben Norris, Vice-Principal & Clerk to the Board
Ben has been working in higher education management for over 18 years, and is deeply committed to the mission of Futureworks as a high-quality independent provider of higher education. He joined the management team back in January 2007, when Futureworks first started. He has played a leading role in the development and growth of Futureworks, and was instrumental in the institution’s successful 2017 QAA Higher Education Review. He has a passionate interest in widening participation, and is Chair of a local community group in his home town of Bury.