The University of Bath is delighted to announce the appointment of three new lay members of Council, the governing body of the University.

David Hardy

David Hardy was appointed to Council in August 2020 and is also a member of the Audit and Risk Committee.

David is a non-executive Board Member, Chair of the Finance and Treasury Committee and member of the Audit and Risk Committee at Peabody Trust, a housing Association responsible for 66,000 homes and 133,000 residents in London and the South East.

He qualified as a chartered accountant with KPMG and is a Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales. He has over 40 years’ business experience in corporate finance, M&A, private equity, fund raising and fund management, the last 15 years at John Laing focussing on social and economic infrastructure, PFI/PPP and renewable energy projects.

Until leaving John Laing Group in October 2019, David was Managing Director of John Laing Capital Management Limited, the Fund management subsidiary of John Laing Group plc. David joined John Laing in 2005, leading the equity investment of numerous UK PFI/PPP projects across various sectors. From 2011 he was responsible for raising co‑investment funds from institutional investors on large infrastructure projects and leading the divestment of mature projects for the Group.

Prior to joining John Laing Group, David was a Corporate Finance partner at KPMG for 13 years, leading the strategic, financial and transaction advice to public and private sector clients across a wide range of infrastructure projects.

Don McLaverty

Don McLaverty was appointed to Council in August 2020 and is a member of the Finance Committee.

Don has been an advisor to a portfolio of clients since 2016. These clients include high-growth SMEs and scale-up firms, which often have technology as a differentiator, and also scientific research institutions such as the Science and Technology Facilities Council and the UKAEA.

Previously, Don was Managing Director of Oxford Innovation Services where he was the Regional Director of GrowthAccelerator, a UK Government business advisory programme supporting growth businesses across the South of England. He was also responsible for the regional delivery of Enterprise Europe Network and was the Managing Director of Oxford Innovation’s three Business Angel Networks. Prior to this, his career included senior management positions in corporates, early stage and start-ups businesses.

Don is a Mathematics graduate and he has an MBA from London Business School. He was elected to the Fellowship Council of the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce in 2018.

Sujata McNab

Sujata McNab will begin her term on Council in October 2020, when she will also become a member of the Finance Committee.

Sujata is a committed and experienced charity and public sector executive. She has held finance director and other senior roles in a variety of organisations, most recently as Executive Director of Finance, Governance and Resources with the UK walking and cycling charity, Sustrans. She has also worked in both acute services and commissioning in the NHS, as well as in the education sector, where she had an instrumental role in establishing and growing one of the country's first multi-academy trusts. Sujata is a trustee and Chair of the Audit Committee at We The Curious, the science centre in Bristol.

Sujata qualified as an accountant with PricewaterhouseCoopers and is a member of the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy. She is a graduate of Cambridge University, where she studied Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic.

Sujata lives in the east of Bath, with her partner and their two young daughters.

An asset to the University

All three appointments were made following a rigorous and open appointment process, and are subject to a three-year, renewable term, until 2023.

The Chair of Council, Pamela Chesters, said:

I am delighted to welcome Sujata, David and Don as our new members of Council. They bring a wealth of experience and demonstrated a real commitment to the values and benefits of Higher Education. Their diverse backgrounds and skills will undoubtedly be an asset to the University in addressing the challenging times ahead.

Professor Ian White, Vice-Chancellor of the University, said:

I congratulate David Hardy, Don McLaverty and Sujata McNab on their appointment to be members of Council and wish them every success as the University seeks to address these challenging times and move forward.