The British Council is pleased to announce that Sarah Sands has been appointed new Deputy Chair of the British Council, with effect from 19 September, and that Professor Wendy Alexander has been appointed to the Board, with effect from 1 October. Sarah replaces Rachel Lomax, who stepped down as Deputy Chair in December 2021.
Sarah Sands has edited two newspapers, The Sunday Telegraph and The Evening Standard and is a former editor of BBC Radio 4's Today programme. She is an honorary fellow of Goldsmiths College, University of London and of Lucy Cavendish College Cambridge. She has been a trustee of Index on Censorship. She is currently a board member of the Berkeley Group, a board member of Channel 4, and a trustee of the Science Museum Group. She chaired last year's G7 gender equality advisory council and sits on the council again this year.
Professor Wendy Alexander is the Scottish Government’s Trade & Investment Envoy for Higher Education and Vice-Principal, International at the University of Dundee. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, a Patron of Social Investment Scotland and serves on the Department for Education’s Education Sector Advisory Group. Professor Alexander also Chairs the Global Advisory Board for Times Higher Education Student and is a past Co-Chair of UUK Pro-Vice Chancellor’s International network.
Commenting on the appointments, Stevie Spring, Chairman of the British Council, said:
“I’m delighted to welcome Sarah and Wendy to our Board. Sarah’s keen sense for what matters most to people and passion for the cultural sector mean that she is ideally positioned to help guide the British Council forward as Deputy Chair. Wendy’s extraordinary service to the public sector and expertise in education and internationalism make her a valued new member of the Board.
“I would also like to thank Rachel Lomax for her invaluable contribution as Deputy Chair from 2018 to 2021, during which time she helped to steer the organisation through the unique challenges of the global pandemic on our operations around the world.”