Governing Body

Chief Executive Officer & Principal: Professor Christina Cunliffe

BSc (Hons) DC PhD CBiol FRCC FRSB FMCA

Professor Christina Cunliffe is a highly respected academic and researcher with a strong background in business development.  She was the founding Dean of the School of Health within BPP University, and was previously a member of the BPP University Board.  She has been the Principal of McTimoney College of Chiropractic since 1998.  A Chartered Biologist, she is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology and a Fellow of the Royal College of Chiropractors. Until recently she served for many years on the regulatory body for chiropractic, the General Chiropractic Council, and was a member of its Education Committee. She obtained her PhD from the University of Manchester in 1978 and was awarded her personal chair in chiropractic from the University of Wales in 2010.

Chief Operating Officer: Matt Green

BSc (Hons) MPhil

Prior to joining the College of Health Matt started and exited a number of successful education businesses including a medical education business which BPP acquired the publishing part of in 2011. Upon joining BPP in 2011 Matt was responsible for the initial launch and ongoing expansion of the medical publishing programme which included partnering with the British Medical Journal to generate profitable revenue streams and further establish the School’s brand within healthcare. He then joined the Senior Management Team responsible for the initial start-up and ongoing expansion of BPP University’s School of Health over a period of five years. During this time, he oversaw the financial, operational and marketing functions of BPP University’s School Health which saw revenue and student numbers grow from £1.6m and ~180 students to £6.0m and over 500 students.

Chairman of the Board: Dr David Holmes

MA (Oxon) Hon DCL (Oxon) HonLLD 

Dr David Holmes spent his 36-year full-time career in university management and administration.  He was Registrar and Chief Operating Officer of the University of Oxford and a Professorial Fellow of St John’s College, Oxford, 1998-2006 and Registrar and Secretary of the University of Birmingham 1988-98.  Prior to that, he served as Deputy Registrar and Academic Secretary at the University of Liverpool 1982-88, and was a Senior Assistant Registrar at the University of Warwick, where he worked 1970-82, spending a brief period of secondment at the University of Sheffield. Following his retirement from Oxford in 2006, David acted as a consultant to the University of Oxford, Saxton Bampfylde (executive search firm), KPMG and HEFCE.  He served as a lay member of the Council of the University of Warwick 2006-09 and chaired its Audit Committee.  He served as an independent member of the Academic Council of BPP University Ltd 2007-18, chairing the Council 2013-18, and as a member of the Board of BPP University Ltd 2017-19, chairing the Board 2018-19.  He was chair of the Governing Body of the Independent Schools of King Edward VI in Birmingham 2008-14 and, as an Honorary Fellow of Merton College, Oxford, he currently chairs the College’s Remuneration Committee.

Director of Academic Affairs: Julian Martin

BSc (Hons) Ed (combined) PGCHE FHEA

Julian has spent the last 25 years working in the areas of academic quality, enhancing the student experience and ensuring that policies and processes meet the needs of all concerned, centred around supporting learners to achieve their potential. Previously Head of Quality Assurance and Enhancement at the University of Worcester he was responsible for developing and integrating new policies and processes for course approval, partner and course review and improving external examining. He has a wealth of educational experience, having also previously worked for Bath Spa University and the Higher Education Funding Council for England. Most recently as Learning and Teaching Outcomes Manager, his focus on improving the student experience particularly with regard to learning, teaching and assessment and including the development and implementation of the Access and Participation Plan reflects his detailed understanding of higher education sector principles and academic regulations.

Non Executive Director: Alison Wells

LLB (Hons) MBA

Alison Wells is a Solicitor by trade and has worked in higher education for the past 23 years in a number of senior roles including: Director of Legal Practice Course (LPC) Programmes; Director of Group Services; Director of Legal, HR and Compliance and most recently Alison was the Deputy Vice Chancellor (DVC) for BPP University.

During this time Alison achieved an MBA with Warwick University Business School. She also has a diploma in management with the Chartered Management Institute. Her DVC role included overseeing the UKVI regulated international compliance team along with the Academic Quality team whose main focus was the interaction and compliance with OfS regulation and guidance. Alison is now in a senior director role at BPP Education Group, focussing on business and brand development