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A former Whitehall lawyer has been appointed as an independent governor at the ³ÉÈËBÕ¾.

Tim Heywood was a senior civil servant and Whitehall lawyer advising the government on its major projects and national policy initiatives from ‘Building Schools for the Future’ and numerous Private Finance Initiative (PFI) projects (including the construction of the GCHQ Headquarters in Cheltenham) to major IT infrastructure programmes for schools, hospitals and government departments.

He has also advised on and had a hand in shaping legislation on devolution, the NHS, human rights and the regulation of investigatory powers.

“I’m delighted to be joining the Board of Governors and look forward to supporting the Executive and wider team as the University continues to broaden its educational offering to students; improve its already outstanding facilities and build on its uniquely supportive culture,” Tim said. “The University is emerging from the pressures of Covid, resilient and full of purpose.”

Tim was director of commercial law at the Treasury Solicitor’s Department and Deputy Legal Adviser at GCHQ. He was also general counsel at what is now the National Cyber Security Centre.

He is a Partner at Gunnercooke LLP where he specialises in public procurement; public law; subsidy control; information law; cyber; technology and regulatory issues.

Tim has held a number of senior leadership positions including a non-executive directorship of an NHS Trust and has chaired or been a member of numerous committees ( public and private sector) including Audit Committees, Governance and Risk, and Remuneration Committees. He is currently a member of the Law Society’s Technology & Law Committee.

Tim is one of three new independent Governors appointed at the ³ÉÈËBÕ¾ recently.

Sarah Speck, Chair of Governors, said: “We’re delighted to welcome a number of new, independent governors to the Board, who all bring with them a variety of expertise, from different professions and backgrounds, which will be invaluable to the University going forwards. We are so grateful to have such fantastic people, with a passion for education, giving up their time to help drive the future of the University.”