UCAS Media Limited

UCAS Media Limited is our wholly owned trading subsidiary.

For information about UCAS' commercial activities and services, please visit the business section of our website.

The Board of UCAS Media comprises the following directors, some of whom are also Trustees of the UCAS Board.

Alistair Jarvis CBE (Chair)
Chris Bernard
Professor Osama Khan
Kate Lander
Paul Sweeney
Richard Taylor
Dr Jo Saxton CBE
Kevin Allison
David Penney

Alistair Jarvis CBE (Chair)

Chief Executive
Advance HE

Outline of Alistair Jarvis's career

Alistair is Chief Executive of Advance HE.

Alistair’s previous role as Pro Vice-Chancellor (Partnerships and Governance) at the University of London included leadership of governance, communications, development, marketing, legal, inclusion, regulatory compliance and supporting partnerships with federation members.

He was Chief Executive of Universities UK (UUK) from 2017 to 2022. Leading the representative body for the UK’s 140 universities – a registered charity and six subsidiary entities – his role included influencing policy, political engagement, strategy and member engagement. Before this, he was UUK’s Deputy Chief Executive and Director of External Relations since 2013.

Previously, he was a Director at the University of Birmingham and has also held external engagement roles for national organisations in the public and private sectors.

Alistair received a CBE in 2022 for services to Higher Education and Supporting the Higher Education Sector in its response to the COVID-19 crisis.

He was educated at the Universities of Kent, Leicester, and the Institute of Education, UCL.

Chris Bernard

Chris joined UCAS Media as a Non-Executive director in April 2025, and brings 30 years of experience specialising in technology, data, and transformation, serving in both consulting and industry roles.

Chris is currently SVP, Digital Business Solutions at Elsevier (part of the RELX Group) where he leads all core business and data systems capabilities for the company.

Prior to Elsevier, he previously served as Global Chief Data Officer for Micro Focus (acquired by Opentext in 2023), where he was accountable for definition, ownership, and delivery of the company’s data strategy, and was instrumental to its transformation prior to its acquisition.

Chris also has previous experience at IBM, KPMG, and Experian, as well as six years as the Operations Director for the data organisation at Sky UK, overseeing and developing its massive data assets.

Professor Osama Khan

Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive
University of South Wales

Outline of Professor Osama Khan's career

Professor Osama Khan is Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive of the University of South Wales, where he is responsible for the overall leadership, strategic direction, academic mission, civic impact, financial sustainability and organisational performance of the University. Working with the Board of Governors, Executive Team, staff, students and partners, he leads the University’s work to deliver excellent education and student outcomes, strengthen research and innovation, grow partnerships with employers and communities, and serve Wales and the wider world.

With over 25 years in higher education, Professor Khan is renowned for transforming educational systems, embedding equity, and championing student success. Prior to joining USW, he served as Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) at Aston University, where he spearheaded academic transformation as the operational line manager of the Academic Colleges and all student-facing professional services aligned to its 2030 Strategy, delivering improved outcomes in student satisfaction, graduate employability, digital learning, inclusion, and research impact. These transformation and income diversification programmes also supported financial sustainability and helped maintain Aston’s financial wellbeing.

A former investment banker turned academic, Osama holds degrees from the University of Cambridge, Lancaster University, the University of Surrey, and Independent University, Bangladesh. He began his UK academic journey as an Associate Lecturer at the University of Cambridge in 2002 and has since held executive leadership positions at Solent University, the University of Surrey, Aston University and the University of South Wales. His teaching portfolio includes prestigious global institutions such as Surrey Business School, Cambridge Judge Business School, HEC Paris, University of Hong Kong, and Copenhagen Business School.

Osama is a pioneer in analytics-driven education reform, leading major institutional overhauls in student services, online education, curriculum design, and academic governance. At Aston, he created the Academic Registry, launched Aston Online and Aston Professional, and developed the omnichannel Aston 10 Plan to position the university in the UK’s top ten for education and graduate outcomes. Under his leadership, the University of Surrey achieved its best-ever NSS, and Aston University achieved strong graduate employability and social mobility outcomes, White Ribbon and Athena Swan Gold awards, significant improvement in research income, and a leap in QS rankings.

His career is defined by an unwavering commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion. As Chair of the Advance HE EDI Strategic Advisory Group and a key architect of the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF), he has influenced national policy on race equity, access, and student success. He is a sought-after keynote speaker, having delivered over 150 talks globally on digital transformation, inclusive education, learning analytics, and AI in education.

Beyond academia, Osama is the founding chair of the Aston University STEM Education Academy Trust, a trustee of Place2Be, a trustee of the Office of the Independent Adjudicator, and a community champion for inclusive faith engagement. He is also a stargazer, a culinary explorer, a community cohesion champion, and a devoted family person.

Kate Lander

Kate Lander spent her extensive career spanning education and financial services, initially qualifying as an accountant, then as a Charter Financial Analyst. Her roles saw her teaching finance across the UK and globally, before running a fixed income desk for a global bank.

After leaving banking, Kate returned to education in a number of leadership roles at Fitch Learning, Learning Technologies Group, and as CEO of Ivy House. She also served for six years on the Board, and as Chair of the Risk and Audit Committee, for the Office for Students between 2017 and 2023.

She is currently a non-executive board member of the Scottish Funding Council, as well as working with a number of innovative businesses as an advisor.

Paul Sweeney

Paul is currently Managing Director at Sky, leading the consumer financial services business, having previously run Sky Mobile and the NOW TV streaming service. He previously spent 18 years at Procter & Gamble in various marketing and commercial leadership positions across multiple sectors and regions. Paul has a Natural Sciences degree from Cambridge University.

Richard Taylor

Richard previously worked at the University of Leicester as Director of Corporate Affairs and Planning before becoming the Deputy Registrar. Prior to this Richard held posts at Durham and Loughborough Universities.

He grew up in Barnsley, South Yorkshire and attended Barnsley College before studying at Durham University where he was Students’ Union President in 1994-95. Richard was one of the prime leaders behind the successful search for King Richard III’s remains in Leicester City in 2012.

Richard became the Chief Operating Officer at Loughborough University in September 2013.

Richard is responsible for the Strategic Leadership of the University’s non-academic operation and support services.

He is responsible for all the Professional Services teams including Finance, HR, Estates, and IT Services.

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