Iain Ellwood
Independent Member of the Board of Governors
Iain is the Chair UK of Design Bridge & Partners, a leading global creative business and part of WPP. He has significant international leadership experience at creative agencies and has guided numerous Boards of global enterprises on their strategic vision. He spent the first six years of his career living in Japan, Hong Kong and The Netherlands. Iain is an active Non-Executive Director and a Mentor to Scale-ups with the British Design Fund.
Commenting on his appointment, Iain Ellwood said, “It’s wonderful to share the University’s ambition of fusing creativity with technology to unlock greater social progress for people, the region and the world.” He is a champion of neurodiversity; in the belief that it unlocks greater originality and better reflects real world society.
He holds an MA. Communications, Culture & Society from the University of London (Goldsmiths College) and a BA. (Hons) Industrial Design 1St Class from the University of Northumbria. He has been a guest lecturer at the Royal College of Art and London Business School. He is an active member of the Harvard Business Review Advisory Council and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (FRSA). He has authored several best-selling management books including The Economist book, “Marketing for Growth”.
Term of Office:
- March 2024 to February 2028 (first term)
Sub-committees:
- Member of Nominations Committee
- People & Culture Advisory Panel
Registered interests:
- Design Bridge and Partners, Chair
- BDF Advisors Ltd, Mentor (British Design Fund)
