UCAS Media Limited

• Dr Ben Calvert (Chair)
• Chris Bernard CBE
• Kate Lander
• Paul Sweeney
• Richard Taylor
• Dr Jo Saxton CBE
• Kevin Allison
• David Penney

Dr Ben Calvert (Chair)

Vice-Chancellor
University of South Wales (USW)

Outline of Ben Calvert's career

Ben started his academic career as an undergraduate studying social sciences and later a PhD focusing on British tabloid press coverage of share ownership and privatisation during the 1980's. He started his career as a lecturer at the University of Central England, teaching media and cultural studies. Later, he was a Senior Lecturer at the University of St. Mark and St. John, Plymouth and in 2002 moved to the University of Gloucestershire where he would eventually become Dean of the Faculty of Media, Arts and Technology.

Ben published in the fields of pedagogy and the study of television and as a Head of Department and later Dean was involved in the bidding team that secured Skillset Media Academy status. He oversaw a significant development of the portfolio and growth of student numbers. He was also university lead on the successful development of a University Technical College at Berkeley Green, in partnership with South Gloucestershire and Stroud College. Ben also trained as a QAA reviewer for their Review of Educational Oversight method and was an external examiner in various institutions.

Ben joined the University of South Wales in 2015 as Pro Vice-Chancellor for Learning, Teaching and Student Experience implementing a new Student Experience Plan and overseeing significant improvement in student metrics across the University. Ben has played important external roles within Wales and the UK including as a member of the UK Teaching Excellence Awards Panel, of the Advance HE Steering Group on External Examining, HEFCW’s Student Opportunity and Achievement Committee and the UK Standing Committee for Quality Assessment.

He was Chair of Universities Wales Learning and Teaching Advisory Group for several years, helping to facilitate sector-wide work on learning and teaching, retention, and learner analytics and he acts as Chair of the Welsh Government COVID Guidance Group working with government, public health officials and other stakeholders in developing frameworks for the continuation of learning through the pandemic. He has been a member of the Board of Governors at Bridgend College, at his local primary school and in his role as Vice-Chancellor, on the Boards of Merthyr Tydfil College and the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. Ben is a Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. 

Committee membership: Nominations Committee

Chris Bernard CBE

Chris joined UCAS Media as a Non-Executive director in April 2025, and brings 30 years of experience specialising in technology, data, and transformation, serving in both consulting and industry roles.

Chris is currently SVP, Digital Business Solutions at Elsevier (part of the RELX Group) where he leads all core business and data systems capabilities for the company. 

Prior to Elsevier, he previously served as Global Chief Data Officer for Micro Focus (acquired by Opentext in 2023), where he was accountable for definition, ownership, and delivery of the company’s data strategy, and was instrumental to its transformation prior to its acquisition. 

Chris also has previous experience at IBM, KPMG, and Experian, as well as six years as the Operations Director for the data organisation at Sky UK, overseeing and developing its massive data assets.

Kate Lander

Kate Lander spent her extensive career spanning education and financial services, initially qualifying as an accountant, then as a Charter Financial Analyst. Her roles saw her teaching finance across the UK and globally, before running a fixed income desk for a global bank.

After leaving banking, Kate returned to education in a number of leadership roles at Fitch Learning, Learning Technologies Group, and as CEO of Ivy House. She also served for six years on the Board, and as Chair of the Risk and Audit Committee, for the Office for Students between 2017 and 2023.

She is currently a non-executive board member of the Scottish Funding Council, as well as working with a number of innovative businesses as an advisor.

Paul Sweeney  

Paul is currently Managing Director at Sky, leading the consumer financial services business, having previously run Sky Mobile and the NOW TV streaming service. He previously spent 18 years at Procter & Gamble in various marketing and commercial leadership positions across multiple sectors and regions. Paul has a Natural Sciences degree from Cambridge University. 

Richard Taylor

Richard previously worked at the University of Leicester as Director of Corporate Affairs and Planning before becoming the Deputy Registrar. Prior to this Richard held posts at Durham and Loughborough Universities.

He grew up in Barnsley, South Yorkshire and attended Barnsley College before studying at Durham University where he was Students’ Union President in 1994-95. Richard was one of the prime leaders behind the successful search for King Richard III’s remains in Leicester City in 2012.

Richard became the Chief Operating Officer at Loughborough University in September 2013.

Richard is responsible for the Strategic Leadership of the University’s non-academic operation and support services.

He is responsible for all the Professional Services teams including Finance, HR, Estates, and IT Services.

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2025 UCAS Media Board meetings

• Fri 28 February
• Thurs 29 May
• Wed 12 November