OUR
GOVERNance
Members of the Board of Governors
Risk & Finance Committee
MA, AFHEA, FPC
About our Board of Governors
We are thrilled to announce that Dr. Mohan Chana has been appointed as the Chair of the Board of Governors at Applied Business Academy, marking a significant milestone in the institution's commitment to excellence and leadership in education.
Dr. Mohan brings a wealth of experience and expertise to this role, with a distinguished career in both Further Education & Higher Education. His proven track record at several GFE Colleges and the ESFA aligns seamlessly with the vision and values of Applied Business Academy. As Chair of Governors, Dr. Mohan will play a pivotal role in guiding the strategic direction of the institution and ensuring its continued growth and success.
His passion for meeting the skills gaps with the right course for the students and dedication to fostering a dynamic learning environment makes him an ideal leader for Applied Business Academy. Dr. Mohan's visionary approach, coupled with his ability to collaborate with diverse stakeholders, will undoubtedly contribute to the institution's mission of providing a high standard education experience. We are confident that under Dr. Mohan's leadership, Applied Business Academy will reach new heights and continue to be a beacon of excellence in education. Join us in welcoming Dr. Mohan to this crucial role, as we look forward to an exciting chapter of growth and achievement for Applied Business Academy.
Midge has worked in the recruitment sector for over 30 years, building and leading successful recruitment companies. His main experience lies in fast growth companies, developing effective sales and marketing strategies. He has also served on the board of the REC (Recruitment and Employment Confederation), the governing body for the industry.Over the last 7 years Midge has been a business advisor to fast growing SMEs.
Fozia has 10 years’ experience of working in the Higher Education Sector dealing with governance, compliance, legal and partnerships. 15 years’ experience of establishing strategic and sustainable relationships with public and private HE/ FE institutions, corporate partners and individuals and translating them into long-term mutually beneficial and innovative partnerships.
Currently working with a private higher education provider to establish an effective corporate governance structure. Conducting audits and a gap analysis to review existing policies, processes and procedures. Setting up and supporting corporate management committees and forums for efficiencies across the organisation to ensure compliance and data assurance for regulatory and statutory bodies. Risk management including setting up a corporate risk register and business continuity planning.
Co-ordinating with internal and external auditors to establish and agree workflow, monitor targets and manage the audit process as part of the compliance and assurance framework and effective governance. Liaison with external advisors and experts to implement, safeguard and protect the company and shareholders interests, including the review of articles of association, shareholder agreement, employment advice and GDPR.
Responsibility for developing and managing the commercial relationships in the UK and Overseas with 31 Partners for the University of Bolton. Involvement in the life cycle of the partnership from initial discovery phase, conducting due diligence e.g., checking resource, capability, governance, processes, legal compliance, risk management and sustainability of partnership, negotiating contracts e.g., conditions and fees, financial planning (including budgeting and debt management), annual reviews of performance and compliance. I have also successfully taken the University through overseas licensing and approvals processes.
Steve’s academic background in business, marketing and entrepreneurship provide him with a sound foundation for the position. Also, he has been actively engaged with international students through recruitment and external examining for the last thirty years.
MA, AFHEA, FPC
Stephen is the Founder & CEO of Illuminare Education, Illuminare Medical Education, and Co-Founder & CommercialDirector of Illuminare Executive Education.
He is an accomplished business leader and entrepreneur with a passion for executive education and organisational development. With a track record of success in both corporate and academic settings, Stephen has dedicated his career to empowering leaders and driving organisational excellence.
In a career that has spanned 38 years in Corporate Finance, PropertyDevelopment, Hospitality and Education, Stephen is passionate about the value of executive education, experiencing first-hand the value of both formal and informal education and commercial development during that time. The value of learning within an organisation, with a focus on the organisation is the way that people and businesses grow.
John F Kennedy said that ‘Leadership and Learning are indispensable to each other’. Throughout his career Stephen has seen the value of learning and the benefit ‘educated’ leadership has on the growth and success of an organisation. Stephen champions everyone’s right to have high quality accessible education. He believes that a sustainable way to achieve this is through quality led university partnerships, that enable students to access higher education where impact and positive outcomes are the highest priority.
He also understands that the bedrock for a successful partnership is formed from an underpin of quality and compliance. To achieve this, he leads a team focussed on quality, compliance, and academic outcomes, who support clients in attaining OfS approval and the right HEI partnership and embedding management processes and continuous audit to ensure sustained success.
Nicola is a highly experienced manager with a broad range of educational and commercial experience with over 25 years' experience in the post 16 education sector including time with independent training providers and the Awarding Organisation, NCFE.
Prior to her retirement, Nicola was employed by Learning Curve Group as a Regional Account Director working with clients onLearning Solutions to support their delivery of 16 - 19 study programmes,Traineeships, Apprenticeships and Adult Skills programmes. During this time she also spent over 2 years as a Non Executive Director with Devon and CornwallTraining Provider Network and has previously been on the board of Governors of a Further Education College.
Nicola's specialisms are Business Development, Service Excellence,Account Management and Quality Improvement.