Alumni Visits to Northumbria University

We have recently welcomed some of our alumni back to campus so they can see what has changed since they graduated. Our alumni give back their time to share their experiences and help our students think about their future career journey.

So far in 2024 we have had a number of visits from graduates, including:

 

Ian Buckle, Vice-President (Head of Brand and Design) at Nilfisk (MA Design, 1995)

With 30 years’ experience, Ian has held multiple creative leadership roles, including Senior Product Designer at Phillip Design and Former Creative Director at LEGO, where his team developed multi-award winning, Lego Boost, combining coding, engineering, and robotics. For over 7 years he worked for Nokia Design in both London and Helsinki as Design Director; Design Specialist for the Multimedia Design Team and was Creative Lead for Nokia’s luxury phone brand Vertu.

In November, Ian visited campus to share his wealth of experience and career advice with our students, and credits Northumbria for providing the foundations to build his remarkable career. He met with MA Design students, colleagues from the Responsible Design Hub  with a tour of School of Design, with a later discussion with a Student Inclusion Consultant 

Nicola Elliott, Founder of NEOM Organics London (BA History of Modern Art, Design and Film, 1999)

After graduating from Northumbria with a degree in History of Modern Art, Design and Film, Nicola started her career in journalism. She spent 12 years editing magazines including Glamour, InStyle and Marie Claire, before retraining as an aromatherapist and nutritionist, and launching NEOM in 2005.

In February, Nicola visited campus for the first time since graduating in 1999. As part of her visit, she undertook a tour of campus, met with graduate entrepreneurs at the University's Incubator Hub and led a session with BA (Hons) Business & Entrepreneurship degree course students. Discussing her own experience of running a successful organisation, Nicola shared her top tips and suggestions when launching a business. Nicola’s wealth of industry experience was appreciated by Northumbria’s entrepreneurial students and was particularly sought after by those hoping to enter the wellness sector.

Nicola commented that it was lovely to give back to her old university and see the amazing facilities. Read more about Nicola's visit in the Northumbria news article here. 

Darren Davidson, Vice President at Siemens Energy UK&I and Siemens Gamesa UK (BEng Mechanical Engineering, 1997)

Darren started his career at Siemens (originally Parsons Power) in Walker as an apprentice at the age of 16, and has worked at various locations since. While at Parsons he studied part time at Northumbria University and graduated in 1997 with a BEng in Mechanical Engineering.

Darren has been involved in the delivery of new power plants built in the UK and Bahrain, running service operations across wind, power generation and oil and gas in Canada, before returning to the UK as Siemens Energy Head of Gas Services. He was appointed Vice President of Siemens Energy UK&I & Siemens Gamesa UK in January 2024 and now leads a team of over 6,000 people playing a critical role in the UK’s journey to net zero.

On his visit to campus in March, Darren met with various Northumbria academics and executive members to discuss current University projects and opportunities for collaboration with Siemens. He also gave a talk to current engineering students about his career journey since graduating from the University, offering insightful advice, guidance and tips on entering his industry, and answering a range of questions. After his talk, Darren said:

"Looking around the room I felt inspired to see the next generation of engineers, who I know will have a big part to play in the energy transition".

Lady Edwina Grosvenor, Criminologist and Prison Philanthropist (BA Criminology and Sociology, 2004)

Edwina is committed to influencing prison reform through systemic change in the Justice System. Her work has taken her around the globe to study the best and worst prison practices, from children residing in Nepalese prisons to death row residents in high security institutions. This has informed her thinking and mission to make a difference by becoming a proactive catalyst for change.    

Edwina is the Founder and Chair of the charity One Small Thing, whose ambition is to redesign the Justice System for women and their children. It seeks to educate criminal justice staff on the impact of trauma and the need for a more compassionate system-wide approach. She has been involved with The No Way Trust for over 16 years and is a founding investor and Ambassador of The Clink; a British charity that trains prisoners in the catering industry. In 2022, Edwina became a founding member of Global Philanthropic Advisory Board and was appointed Chair in February 2024. She is also Patron of Paladin, the country’s only national stalking advocacy service.

On her visit in March 2024, Edwina delivered a lecture outlining how One Small Thing has inspired Hope Street, a pioneering trauma informed residential environment, allowing women and children to access specialist help and support. This was her fourth lecture to Northumbria University students. Edwina is a supporter to the University's Higher Education Without Barrier Fund and during her visit she met with students who have benefitted from the Lady Edwina Grosvenor Social Sciences Scholarships. 

 

Michelle Poole, Former President, Crocs (BA Fashion Design and Marketing, 1992)

Michelle has been at the forefront of leading global fashion and lifestyle brands for over three decades. Her career began at Pepe Jeans UK before moving on to Converse where she progressed to Marketing Director for the brand’s European, Middle Eastern and African region. She then took up global leadership roles in several high-profile brands including Kangol, Timberland and Sperry Top-Sider, all based in the US. Michelle joined Crocs in 2014 and was the first woman ever to join the Crocs leadership team and 10 years later, through Michelle’s leadership and commitment to enabling women in the industry to mentor and support each other, two-thirds of the executive team, and over 57% of the global workforce are women.  

Michelle has maintained strong links with the University, establishing a scholarship to support Northumbria students from underrepresented backgrounds and she has shared her industry knowledge and expertise by mentoring students. She visited campus in December to deliver a career masterclass to students from our fashion programmes, including from MA Design

 

Gillian Ridley Whittle, Founder of Peachaus (BA Fashion Design and Marketing, 1990)

Gillian has over three decades of experience working in senior roles at Marks & Spencer, Myer and Target Australia, and more recently as Fashion Director at Topshop. She is committed to making a positive impact in the fashion world and is an advocate for a fairer industry where we make, shop and live more consciously.

In March 2022, Gillian founded Peachaus, a sustainable and ethical lifestyle brand with a vision to design clothing that was kind to the planet and people, supporting women to feel comfortable in their own skin. In partnership with Cedric Wilmotte, Chief Executive Officer of Michael Kors, the first Peachaus shop opened in March 2024 in Covent Garden, London.

During her visit, Gillian met with student and graduate entrepreneurs at the University's Incubator Hub and shared with fashion students the challenges she has faced during her fashion career, her journey to becoming a fashion entrepreneur and the importance of creating a brand with purpose. Student feedback included:

"I appreciated your honesty and how you shared personally your feelings, how your jobs had affected your life and wellbeing and I can learn significantly from the ways you have handled these challenges. You have provided healthy advice that I will always keep in mind"

 

Jim Rowan, President and CEO, Volvo Cars (MSc Supply Chain Management)

In December, we welcomed Jim to campus to deliver a Q&A session to students from our mechanical and electrical engineering programmes.

Jim has built his career from the production floor, serving as an engineering apprentice while attending college and university. He was the Chief Executive Officer of Dyson and oversaw the launch of an unparalleled suite of new Dyson innovations that allowed the company to successfully enter new industries.  Before joining Dyson, Jim was the Chief Operating Officer for BlackBerry and held senior positions in contract manufacturing as Global Executive Vice President of Operations for Celestica and European Vice President of Operations for Flextronics.

 

Paul Winsper, Chief Science and Performance Officer at Alter (BSc Sport and Exercise Science, 1996)

Paul is a leader in athletic development and human performance. He started his career as Fitness Coach with Durham County Cricket Club before joining Newcastle United as their first Strength and Conditioning Coach. He is the former Vice-President of Athletic Performance for Under Armour, leading the Under Armour Performance Academy and research into the importance of mental strength, recovery and sleep for elite athletes to maintain peak performance. Paul is also the former Strength and Conditioning Coach for Toronto FC and Team China, and Former Sports Performance Director at Nike.

In May 2024, Paul delivered a lecture with Q&A to students from Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation where he outlined his career journey and his current projects and plans for a world leading fitness system powered by biometrics. During his time, he visited Sport Central, including the research laboratories and performance facilities to discuss: the Women’s High-Performance Centre; Sport volunteering, research and participation; and student health and wellbeing programmes.