The Alumni Advisory Board

The Alumni Advisory Board

What is the Alumni Advisory Board?

The Board represents the views of Cambridge alumni and advises the University's Alumni Engagement team on how to best engage with the global alumni network of Cambridge.

Established in 2009, the Alumni Advisory Board is chaired by Martin MacConnol.

Two working groups and a Steering Committee support the Advisory Board. The Communications Working Group specifically advises on alumni, supporter and donor communications. The Networks and Volunteers Working Group offers guidance on how the University supports Alumni Groups and volunteers.

Contact a member of the Board

To contact a member of the Alumni Advisory Board, please email aab@alumni.cam.ac.uk

Introducing the Alumni Advisory Board

Attachments

Alumni Advisory Board - Mission and Focus - (399.2 KB)
AAB Desirable criteria for recruitment - (115.63 KB)

Board members

Martin MacConnol

Martin MacConnol

Magdalene 1987, History

  • Chair, Alumni Advisory Board
     
  • CEO of content marketing agency Wardour, 1996 to present
  • Non-exec chair of the Association of Publishing Agencies, 2008–2010
  • Non-exec director of the Professional Publishers Association, 2008-2010
  • Financial Times journalist, 1994-1996
  • Daily Express journalist, 1993-1994
  • Fellow of the Royal Society for Arts
  • At Wardour, Martin oversees content marketing strategies and publications for organisations as diverse as the RSA, the British Heart Foundation, Ernst & Young and British Airways.
Catherine Arnold

Catherine Arnold OBE

Trinity, 1997, Theology and Religious Studies

  • Deputy Chair (Collegiate), Alumni Advisory Board
  • Chair, Nominations Committee
  • Master, St Edmund’s College
  • MA in Religious Conflict from the University of Nottingham
  • Attended the Higher Command & Staff Course at the UK Defence Academy
  • Distinguished international career in the diplomatic service
  • Ambassador to Mongolia until February 2018, where she championed stronger economic, political, cultural and educational links with the UK
Dr Victoria Kimonides

Dr Victoria Kimonides

Newnham 1993, PhD in Neuroscience

  • Deputy Chair, Alumni Advisory Board
  • Chair, Networks and Volunteers Working Group (NVWG)
  • Director, Sales and Marketing, Regulatory Genome Development Ltd, since 2021
  • Fellow, Cambridge Judge Business School since 2018
  • Rich alumni engagement leading for several years the Greek Group as well as being a Newnham College Roll committee member since 2018
  • Various leadership roles in Microsoft Central and Eastern Europe from 2008 to 2021
  • Advisor to the Board at Hellascom International, Member of OTE (Hellenic Telecoms Organisation, Deutsche Telekom Group) 2002 - 2007
  • Postdoctoral Fellow at Rockefeller University, New York, and affiliations as a Research Fellow with Universities in Greece before making a career shift to business
  • BSc in Biochemistry and Microbiology from King's College London and is an Associate of King's College London
Tony Banton

Tony Banton

Trinity 1975, Law

  • Chartered Accountant with KPMG from 1978 – 2017, in Paris from 1982
  • Partner in charge of KPMG International’s Quality and Compliance Program 2006 – 2010
  • President of France’s Cricket Association 2009 – 2013
  • Treasurer of the British Community Committee of France
  • Has held the positions of Treasurer, President and currently Hon. Secretary of the Cambridge Society of Paris
  • Also a founder member and Treasurer of the Oxford and Cambridge Society of the Netherlands 2006 – 2009
Margaret L Campbell

Margaret L Campbell

Newnham 1966, Modern and Medieval Languages

  • Former banker with JPMorgan in London and New York
  • Associate, Newnham College
  • Chair-US Committee for Newnham Alumnae
  • Formerly, banker with JP Morgan in London and New York (1971-2013) responsible for business with corporate clients, financial institutions and, latterly, central banks, sovereign wealth funds and multilateral institutions
  • MBA-Manchester Business School, 1971
  • Fluent in French, German and Spanish
  • Living in New York. Married with 2 children
Yuh Yng Chook

Yuh Yng Chook

Trinity Hall, 1993, Electrical and Information Sciences

  • Currently the Chief Growth Officer – Careers & Connect Platform of SEEK Asia . SEEK Asia is an extension of SEEK Ltd, and combines the two giants in job portal brands, jobsDB and JobStreet, under one roof.
  • In her new Chief Growth Officer role, Yuh Yng is broadening the scope of SEEK Asia to build a new Careers and Connect Platform that will grow digital communities at scale
  • Previously, Yuh Yng was the Country Manager for JobStreet Malaysia and Singapore. She grew the P & L by more than 3x during her tenure.
  • Past President of The Oxford and Cambridge Society of Malaysia from 2016 – 2019. She still sits on the Exco and is passionate about contributing back to the Alumni and the Malaysia society at large
  • Yuh Yng lives in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and has 2 daughters aged 7 and 10
Michelle Cooper

Michelle Cooper

Darwin 2015, MPhil Conservation Leadership

  • Manager Engagement, Wildlife Welfare, Regulatory Strategy and Design, Department of Environment, Land, Water & Planning. Chair and co-founding member of the University of Cambridge Conservation Leadership Alumni Network (UCCLAN) Council
  • Secretary, Cambridge Society Australia (Victoria) based in Melbourne
  • Graduated from the University of Melbourne with a BSc in Animal Biology and recently completed Seth Godin’s altMBA
  • Former General Manager Threatened Species at Zoos Victoria – a world-leading zoo-based conservation organisation fighting extinction through wildlife and community-based conservation initiatives
  • While at Cambridge, Michelle was elected class and Department of Geography Graduate Committee Representative and completed her thesis with BirdLife International on globally threatened birds, cultural values and campaigning for iconic species
Sally Dore

Sally Dore

Queens’ 1982, Economics

  • Member of the Cambridge University Libraries Advisory Board
  • Committee Member of the Friends of Cambridge University Library, focusing on developing volunteering
  • Member of the Advisory Board of the Friends of the British Museum
  • Formerly member of the South-West Advisory Board of the National Trust. Volunteer at the National Trust’s property Dyrham Park for over 20 years, with a particular focus on developing public engagement
  • MA in International Relations from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies at its European campus, the Bologna Center; now a trustee of the UK Charitable Trust for the SAIS Bologna Center
  • Experienced governor at both maintained and independent schools (currently one of each); commissioned by the local authority to write a handbook for Chairs of Governing Bodies
  • Co-founder (2008) and organiser of a biennial conference on the 20th Century history of children’s literature
  • Occasional writer on social history, particularly the history of girls’ education
  • Holds workshops for local sixth forms on Shakespeare, the early printing history of his plays and how we know what he actually wrote
Katerina Gould

Katerina Gould

St Catharine’s 1983, Law

  • Founding Director of two start-up businesses, Thinking Potential, an executive coaching practice focused on boards and executive teams and those aspiring to lead and Women Returners, a consulting, coaching and networking organisation, enabling hundreds of professional women to return to their careers after an extended break
  • Prior international career with Lloyds Merchant Bank, Baxter Healthcare and Reuters, specialising in marketing and strategy
  • MBA – Harvard Business School (1990)
  • Chair of Nominations, safeguarding lead and trustee of World Jewish Relief, the British Jewish Community’s humanitarian agency
  • Former trustee and treasurer of Re-Vision, a counselling and psychotherapy training organisation
  • Shortlisted for Working Mums Champion award, 2015, for extensive advocacy and practical support provided to working mothers
  • Contributor to CWN40, the year of celebration of 40 years of women at St. Catharine’s
  • Mentor for Women on Boards
Philip Hanson

Philip Hanson

Pembroke 1976, Modern and Medieval Languages

    • Non-Executive Director of data at Jaywing, a data science and marketing agency
    • Non-Executive Director at the Bettys & Taylors Group
    • Non-Executive Director at Goelet Wine Estates in France and Australia
    • Volunteer Enterprise Mentor with the charity Centrepoint
    • Former Marketing and e-commerce Director at Travelex (2010-2015), and at HBOS (2005-2009)
    • Previously held international roles in marketing with Rowntree, United Distillers and PepsiCo, and in strategy consulting with The Boston Consulting Group
    David Hughes

    David Hughes

    St Catharine’s 1978, Natural Sciences

      • Range of non-executive chair and director roles in private equity-backed international businesses
      • Formerly President Foseco International, a global materials technology business (2011 – 14)
      • International career in senior executive roles having lived in the USA, S E Asia (10 years), India (7) and China (8)
      • Committee member of Cambridge Society of London and St. Catharine’s College Society
      • Prince’s Trust Business Mentor supporting young people to develop their careers
      Samuel Mosonyi

      Samuel Mosonyi

      Darwin 2014, MPhil in Criminology

      • Commercial and civil litigator; Associate at Robins Appleby LLP.
      • Formerly Judicial Law Clerk at the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, where he assisted judges with legal research, writing, and editing of judgments.
      • Graduated from the University of Toronto's Faculty of Law, and prior to this completed the MPhil in Criminology at Cambridge as a Gates Scholar.
      • Regional Coordinator - Canada for the Gates Cambridge Alumni Association, and is on the executive committee of the Oxford and Cambridge Society of Toronto.
      • While at Cambridge, Samuel was the graduate representative on the Council of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences and played on Darwin College's badminton team.
      Janet Myers

      Janet Myers

      Gonville and Caius, 1989, Modern and Medieval Languages

      • Consultant Trainer, National Governance Association, an independent charity that aims to improve the educational standards and well-being of children and young people through supporting and promoting outstanding governance in all state-funded schools, including academies and free schools.
      • Chair, Cheshire West Governance Association, a voluntary, independent organisation established to support the work of school governors and trustees in Cheshire West and Chester.
      • Chair, Cheshire Academies Trust, a Multi-Academy Trust in the North West of England.
      • Secretary, Cambridge Society of West Cheshire and North Wales.
      • Former First Vice President, MBNA Europe, with managerial and leadership experience in customer service, marketing, project management, training and change management.
      Ian Roberts

      Ian Roberts

      St John's 1975, Natural Sciences

      • Independent IT consultant with experience of process control software before switching to financial software
      • Has lived and worked in Edinburgh for 20 years
      • Member of the Cambridge Society of Edinburgh, and responsible for organising their Freshers' Events
      • Represents Scotland in International Masters hockey tournaments
      • Member of Scottish charities Lord's Taverners and Changing the Chemistry
      Yoshi Shiba

      Dr Yoshiro Shiba

      Darwin 2008, PhD in Behavioural Neuroscience

      • Global Innovation Assistant, the Global Innovation Office, SHIONOGI Ltd., a research-driven international pharmaceutical company with roots in Japan. He leads and supports various Open Innovation projects, developing alliances and collaborations with external partners including academics, biotech firms and pharmaceutical companies. Productive inter-sector partnerships accelerate science and technology innovations
      • Former Postdoctoral Research Associate, Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience, University of Cambridge. He led research projects investigating neural mechanisms underlying the regulation of negative emotions such as fear and anxiety
      • Former Business Development Director, Innovation Forum, a global grassroots organisation that seeks to build bridges between industry, academia and government, with an aim of accelerating the speed of technology adoption for commercial application
      • Former Chair of the Organising Committee, Postdoc Masterclass, University of Cambridge. A series of lecture/discussion forums where researchers from different scientific disciplines exchange ideas and form collaborative projects. During his chairmanship, the forum developed from a departmental event to a university-wide enterprise involving multiple departments and institutions
      Karena Vleck

      Karena Vleck

      St John’s 1986, Law

      • Consultant for a variety of different clients
      • Director British Rowing
      • Johnian Society Committee Member
      • Director, Varsity Match Company Limited. A joint venture between the Oxford and Cambridge Rugby Clubs charged with revitalising the varsity match.
      • Trustee, the Middlesex Sports Foundation
      • Interim Head of Legal at the Lawn Tennis Association (2018-2019)
      • Legal and Governance Director at the Rugby Football Union (2005-2016).
      • Partner and Head of the Sports Group at the London Solicitors, Farrer and Co (1990 – 2004).
      • Helped establish women’s rugby at Cambridge and played in the first and second rugby varsity matches in 1988 and 1989.