Advance HE has over 470 members – in the UK and internationally. We work with people, education providers and systems around the world, to understand challenges in higher education, and to deliver solutions.
From 2022 to 2025, he was a Pro Vice-Chancellor at the University of London. As a member of the senior executive team his responsibilities included communications, fundraising, marketing, legal, governance support, student recruitment, diversity and inclusion, regulatory compliance, academic quality assurance, partnerships and building relationships internationally.
He was CEO of Universities UK from 2017 to 2022. Leading the representative body for the UK’s 140 universities - a registered charity and six subsidiary entities - his role included influencing policy, strategy and member engagement. Before this, he was Deputy CEO and Director of External Relations since 2013.
Previously, he was a Director at the University of Birmingham and has held external engagement roles for national organisations.
Alistair received a CBE in 2022 for services to Higher Education and supporting the universities during the covid-19 crisis.
He is a member of the Board of Trustees of UCAS, the UK’s shared admissions service. He is Chair of the Board of UCAS Media, a wholly owned trading subsidiary of UCAS.
Alistair was educated at the Universities of Kent, Leicester and the Institute of Education, UCL.
