Dr Jo Saxton CBE
Chief Executive
Dr Jo Saxton CBE became the Chief Executive of UCAS on 15 January 2024, and was previously Chief Regulator of Ofqual from September 2021 until 2024. Jo brings a decade of experience in school leadership to the role. She has been an education advisor to government and was formerly an academic. Jo was awarded a CBE for services to education in 2024.
Jo served as a Trustee of The Brilliant Club, the New Schools Network, and was an Ofqual Board Member from 2018 to 2020.
Jo began her career in academia, and holds qualifications from universities in England and the USA.
Kevin Allison
Chief Financial Officer
Kevin joined UCAS in October 2017, and is currently Chief Financial Officer, responsible for Finance, Legal and Governance, and Commercial and Estates.
Kevin previously worked at Oxford University Press, in a number of different roles. In the education division, he helped develop and establish the commercial finance function. He then joined the academic division, which includes the Oxford Dictionary and higher education publishing, going on to become Chief Financial Officer for the global academic publishing division.
As Chief Financial Officer at Oxford University Press, Kevin held responsibility for leading finance, ethics and compliance, procurement, and stock planning. He was located in New York for two and a half years.
Kevin is a member of the Chartered Institute of Management of Accountants.
Elaine Chandler
Chief People Officer
Elaine joined UCAS as Head of HR in July 2017. Her experience within human resources and organisational development spans over 20 years, and Elaine has worked across both private and public sectors.
Elaine started her career in TSB Bank as a cashier, but within two years moved into organisation development. She worked for a number of large financial institutions, establishing a strong track record in cultural change, leadership, and organisational development.
For the last ten years, Elaine has worked in the public sector in a variety of leadership roles, utilising and consolidating her expertise in people development, organisation design, strategy and effectiveness, wellbeing, and HR.
Elaine is a Chartered Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development.
Fiona Johnston
Chief Customer Officer
Fiona worked in the higher education sector for ten years as an international specialist, before joining UCAS as the Head of International Strategy in October 2013. Following this, Fiona headed up UCAS’ national partnerships and analytical data products and services before progressing to the Executive team as Interim Director of Analysis and Insights.
Passionate about customer delivery, she was subsequently appointed as the Director of Operations, looking after core operations and customer experience before taking on leadership for the UCAS Digital Transformation and wider UCAS change programme in 2020, including taking the lead on the admissions reform agenda. As Chief Product Officer she now leads the Customer Insight and Product business unit to ensure that UCAS continues to deliver customer value at pace.
Fiona has a degree in law and business from the University of Birmingham.
Sander Kristel
Chief Digital and Data Officer
Sander Kristel joined UCAS in February 2018 as the Executive Director of UCAS Media, one of the commercial subsidiaries of UCAS. He was appointed as the Chief Operating Officer in May 2020 and is responsible for the successful delivery of the admissions cycle to over 700,000 applicants, customer contact, as well as the development and delivery of a wide range of products.
Sander has a diverse background in banking, the hospitality industry, and in one of the largest education providers in his native Netherlands. In the UK, he has previously worked for the internet provider Freeserve, before moving into the public sector where he delivered large scale services and major technology and transformation programmes including substantial insourcing and outsourcing projects. Sander’s previous roles have included digital, technology, transformation, and commercial.
David Penney
Chief Communications and Marketing Officer
David Penney is Chief Communications and Marketing Officer at UCAS, where he has worked since 2019. He leads on all engagement with teachers and advisers, students and universities, including the UCAS Hub and UCAS events. His first role in higher education was in 2006 at Oxford Brookes University and he has also led communications and marketing teams at Nottingham Trent University, University of Sussex, and the University of Gloucestershire.