Sir Francis Richards School of Management Advisory Board Chair
Former Director GCHQ
Role
Discussing his role as Chair of the Advisory Board, Sir Francis said: "I feel privileged and delighted to be involved with the School as it takes its already outstanding credentials to a new level. I find its practical focus, its insights and its enterprise inspiring, and its ambitions for the immediate future - reflected in the landmark building - exciting."
Career
After serving in the army, he has had a varying career which has included:
- serving in the Foreign Service
- Minister in the British Embassy in Russia
- Britain’s first High Commissioner on independence in Namibia
- Deputy Under Secretary of State for defence and intelligence in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office
- Director, GCHQ
- Governor and Commander in Chief of Gibraltar
- Head of the University of Birmingham’s Centre for Studies in Security and Diplomacy
- Chairman of the Trustees of Bletchley Park
- Chairman of the Trustees of the Imperial War Museum
Additional posts
Sir Francis is also:
- Former Honorary Senior Fellow, University of Birmingham’s Centre for Studies in Security and Diplomacy
- Deputy Lieutenant for Gloucestershire
- a Commander of the Victorian Order