John Makinson
Chair
John Makinson has spent his career in the creative industries in the UK and the US. He was the Chairman and CEO of Penguin, the global book publisher, between 2002 and 2012 and subsequently the Chairman of Penguin Random House between 2012 and 2015. John is currently the Chair of the Advisory Board of the Bodleian Libraries in Oxford, a board member of Harvard University Press, and a Director of Mercy Corps, an international humanitarian organization. John was the Chairman of the National Theatre, between 2010 and 2016 , and earlier in his career served as the Managing Director of the Financial Times and as the Finance Director of Pearson plc.
Syima Aslam
Founder, CEO and Artistic Director
CEO and Artistic Director, Syima Aslam is the founder and Director of the Bradford Literature Festival (BLF), which she established in 2014. A 10-day literary and cultural celebration, BLF welcomes more than 150,000 visitors to Bradford annually and is celebrated as the most socio-economically and ethnically diverse literary festival in the UK.
Dr Bill Lawrence
Executive Director
Bill set up Reel Solutions in 2006 and is a board member and Finance Director at Manchester Animation Festival. Formerly Creative Director at Showroom Cinema, and Head of Film at the National Museum of Photography, Film & Television, he was key to creating Bradford: City of Film, achieving the UNESCO designation in 2009. He has served on the boards of Creative England, Screen Yorkshire and the Media Centre, Huddersfield.
Ismail Amla
Non-Executive Director
Ismail Amla serves as Senior Vice President for Kyndryl Consult. Prior to this he served as Executive Vice President for Professional Services at NCR Corporation, CGO for Capita PIc, UK, Managing Partner for IBM & CEO for Capco, USA and a senior Partner for Accenture & member of the Accenture UK leadership team. Ismail is a non-executive board member for Network Rail and UK Sports and has co-authored a book, From Incremental to Exponential: How Large Companies Can See the Future and Rethink Innovation.
Dawn Austwick
Non-Executive Director
Dawn is a former CEO of the National Lottery Community Foundation and former Chief Executive at Esmee Fairburn Foundation. She has also worked as Deputy Director at the British Museum, Project Director at the Tate Modern, a Principal Consultant at KPMG and Theatre Manager at the Half Moon Theatre.
Professor Aaqil Ahmed
Non-Executive Director
Professor Aaqil Ahmed is the former Head of Religion and Ethics at both the BBC and Channel 4. He is currently a Media, communications and diversity consultant and a Professor in media. Aaqil is a Non Executive Director of a number of organisations including The Advertising Standards Authority, OFCOM and The Higher Education Funding Council for Wales.
Shahzad Saleem
Non-Executive Director
Shahzad Saleem is a Managing Director with Alvarez & Marsal Corporate Transformation Services. With more than 25 years of industry and consulting experience he specialises in corporate transformations and turnarounds. Previously he served as Managing Director of Transformation at BT leading one of the largest global cost outs saving ~£6bn. Most recently he served as Capita's Chief Procurement Officer. Shahzad Saleem earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematical sciences from Manchester University and an MBA from Alliance Manchester Business School, where he was awarded the Global Citizen Award. He is a qualified accountant and has held several DEI posts including on the Race for Opportunities board, Race Champion at BT, judge at the WeQual Awards.
Andy Haldane
Chief Executive, Royal Society of Arts
Andy Haldane was Chief Economist at the Bank of England and a member of the Bank's Monetary Policy Committee until June 2021. He became Chief Executive of the Royal Society of Arts (RSA) in September 2021 and is also head of the Government›s Levelling Up Taskforce. Among other positions, he is Honorary Professor at University of Nottingham. He has authored four books and is the founder and trustee of charity Pro Bono Economics and Vice Chair of National Numeracy.
Alexandra Pringle, Hon FRSL
Co-Founder of Silk Road Slippers
Previously Editor-in-Chief of Bloomsbury Publishing for 20 years, Alexandra's authors have included Susanna Clarke, Richard Ford, Elizabeth Gilbert, Abdulrazak Gurnah, Khaled Hosseini, Jhumpa Lahiri, Colum McCann, Madeline Miller, Ann Patchett, George Saunders, Kamila Shamsie, Ahdaf Souief and Patti Smith. She is a Patron of Index on Censorship, a Trustee of Reprieve and an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. She has been awarded Honorary Degrees of Doctor of Letters from Anglia Ruskin and Warwick Universities.
Lady Lynne Morrison LLB
Lynne Morrison is a Leeds University Law Graduate and formerly a Commercial Property Partner at legal firm Gordons in Bradford. Originally from a farming background in Cumbria, Lynne now helps run her family farm near York. She is Chairman of the Governors at Bradford Grammar School.
Tim Duffy
Former Chairman, M&C Saatchi UK Group
In 1995, Tim became one of the founders of M&C Saatchi and helped build it into an integrated agency. He was appointed Chief Executive in 2004 and Chairman of the UK Group in 2009. He is Chair of the General Media Panel which advises the ASA, and chairs the Board of Free Word, an international cultural organisation promoting literature, literacy and freedom of expression.
Jared Shurin
Head of Marketing and Strategic Communications, Greater London Authority
Jared has spent over twenty years developing communciations strategies for governments, global businesses and the third sector. His dedication to literature also includes founding a small press, serving as the director of a literary award, and editing the occasional anthology.
Lorraine O’Donnell
Chief Executive, Bradford Council
Lorraine is Chief Executive of Bradford Council. An experienced leader with an impressive track record of delivering improvements, Lorraine has ambitions to drive the district forwards. Lorraine also has a doctorate in Theoretical Physics from Oxford University.
Professor Shirley Congdon
Vice-Chancellor, University of Bradford
Having lived and worked in the Bradford City Region for ten years she is committed to positioning the University at the centre of the region's social and economic regeneration by harnessing the University's strengths in research, innovation, teaching and partnerships and creating a values-led culture that is inclusive and effective in enriching lives and benefitting society.
Muddassar Ahmed
Managing Partner, Unitas Communications Ltd
Muddassar is Managing Partner at Unitas Communications, and President of the Concordia Forum and the John Adams Society. He is a visiting fellow with GMF’s Transatlantic Leadership Initiatives with a focus on advancing inclusive leadership. He is a Director of the European Network of (US State Dept.) American Alumni, The IDEAS fund & Faith Forum for London, and is on advisory boards at IAYP, the U.S. Atlantic Council and Global Ties U.S.
Costas Kalisperas
Founder & CEO, In Tune Executive Coaching Limited
Costas is a Londoner of Greek Cypriot heritage who has experience as a barrister, solicitor, investment banker, private equity executive, angel investor and board director over a professional services career spanning over 30 years. Now an executive coach, his focus is on helping leaders to build trust by leveraging transparency, collaboration, diversity and inclusion in order to achieve the best results. Costas has lived and worked in the U.K., U.S. and the Middle East. He holds an LL.B (Hons) from Nottingham University and an M.B.A (Beta Gamma Sigma) from Columbia Business School.
Stuart Sinclair
Chair, International Personal Finance Plc & Willis Ltd
Stuart has extensive experience in retail banking, insurance, consumer finance and asset finance. He has an MA in Economics from the University of Aberdeen and an MBA from the University of California. Stuart was previously Chairman of Provident Financial pc, a Non-Executive Director of TSB Banking Group and TSB Bank, former Senior Independent Director at Swinton Group and most recently Non Executive Director and Chair of the Remuneration Committee for Lloyds Banking Group.
Nick Boakes
Non-Executive Chair, MRM Group
Nick Boakes is one of the most experienced and respected corporate communicators operating in the UK today, helping found and grow some of the UK’s leading communications consultancies. As a member of the executive committees of two FTSE 100 companies, Friends Provident and Provident Financial Group, he has been directly responsible for both advising on and managing acutely sensitive political and financial issues.
Wendy Holden
Author
Wendy Holden’s career began in the magazine business, working for The Diplomat monthly as an editor, from there moving on to work for the Sunday Times as a ghost-writer on behalf of Tara Palmer-Tomkinson, an experience that influenced her first novel Simply Divine. Wendy Holden is now a number one bestselling historic novelist and author of ten Sunday Times top ten bestsellers; selling over three million copies round the world.
Simon Stell
Managing Partner, LCF Law
Simon is Managing Partner of LCF Law and is responsible for leading the firm’s development, managing day-to-day operations and implementing the firm’s strategy. Simon is also responsible for operating and managing the firm’s online legal resource and the firm’s residential conveyancing law firm. He received the award of Yorkshire Lawyer of the Year at the Yorkshire Legal Awards 2016.

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