Turnaround Board
Get ready to experience a dynamic shift in the way your student organisation operates, as we proudly announce the formation of a brand new Turnaround Board. This board is made up of a diverse and experienced team of professionals, whose sole mission is to transform your union into a dynamic, innovative, and student-driven entity. With fresh ideas and a passion for change, the Turnaround Board promises to bring a new level of excitement and energy to the table, as they work tirelessly to identify new opportunities for all students, creating significant change to create better foundations and achieve long-term improvements. So buckle up and get ready for an exhilarating ride, as we embark on this exciting new chapter together!
Chair of the turnaround board, louise ward
About Louise:
Louise has worked in Higher Education for 18 years, managing Learning and Teaching department operations. She is passionate about supporting young adults in reaching their potential and developing their learning styles. Louise has an Associate Fellowship HEA accreditation, a Level 4 Diploma in Business Management with The Institute of Leadership and Management, and an Accredited Diploma with the International Coaching Federation. She is passionate about social justice matters and is proactive in supporting groups and committees which work with individuals impacted by these issues.
Louise is excited to join the Turnaround Board to share, learn and support the growth of UoSSU.
Students' unionS turnaround board member, bill yuksel
About bill:
Bill is incredibly passionate about the student movement and his experience includes leading major transformation projects at Abertay SA as a Sabbatical Officer, and at Wolves SU as a Lay Trustee. He's secured better financial positions at both charities, led governance reform and recruited new CEOs and Trustees.
He is currently a Managing Consultant at Peridot Partners, where he delivers equitable leadership recruitment campaigns. Bill has delivered 100’s of senior leadership, CEO and board appointments in the Students’ Union, youth, education and wider not-for-profit sectors. He is exceptionally proud of his track record of recruiting people from underrepresented communities into positions of leadership, through delivering inclusive, empowering and robust recruitments.
Bill's first interaction with the UOSSU was when he supported the SU's recent CEO recruitment campaign. He loved working with the SU and was inspired by the journey that the SU has been on, as well as the one the SU is embarking on. Bill is humbled that the SU has asked him to support the journey, and is committed to helping however he can.
financial management & governance turnaround board member, craig osben
About craig:
Craig is a qualified accountant, who currently works as an audit assistant manager at a regional firm. Outside the world of finance, Craig is an avid runner, taking part in races across the country. His most notable achievement is getting the opportunity to run The London Marathon in 2021.
HUMAN RESOURCES turnaround board member, ROB DRURY
About ROB:
Rob Drury (he/him) is a consultant with a background working across People & Culture and Equality, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI). His experience is focused largely across the higher education sector, having worked with both students’ unions and universities, as well as within the third sector.
A Northerner originally, Rob moved to Norwich to study to postgraduate level at the University of East Anglia. He put himself forward to join the Turnaround Board at the University of Suffolk Students' Union given his passion and excitement for SUs and the Eastern region. He will be bringing his specialism in HR and People & Culture to the Turnaround Board, always seen through an EDI lens with a strong understanding of the UK HE sector.
STUDENTS' UNIONS turnaround board member, SAM HARRIS
About SAM:
Sam is the Deputy Director of NUS Charity and brings knowledge from across the Students’ Union sector in governance, talent and union development.
Sam is incredibly excited to join Suffolk SU’s Turnaround Board to bring her experience of change management to a students’ union willing to transform from the ground up.
ChaRITY GOVERNANCE turnaround board member, NICK SMITH
About NICK:
Nick has worked in and with Students’ Unions over the past 20 years as an officer, staff member at NUS and as a consultant. For many years he also worked in a university, seeing the partnership from their perspective.
Nick's specialism is charity governance. In the students’ union context this means giving choices to the right people while also thinking about legal obligations. For example, a society committee should be able to run events but any issues and risks are dealt with properly.
Nick particularly wants to be part of Suffolk SU to extend some of the work he's been doing with smaller SUs across the UK on behalf of GuildHE and NUS but also because he remembers its birth as a university. Its journey of growth has taken place alongside my career and he wants to see it thrive for its students.
Aside from work he's a big fan of board games, theatre and cooking.
For UoSSU, this turnaround period has been established to allow the organisation to develop foundations built on five key pillars. These five pillars have been summarised and identified as:
Human Resources
Financial Compliance and Management
Charitable Governance
Student Voice
Student Engagement
The Turnaround Board will be responsible for developing the five pillars identified above and will be expected to have significant input in key decision-making. Our board members have knowledge or significant experience in one of the pillars identified above and will be supporting the decision-making of the Turnaround Board by bringing their expertise to the meetings across the next 12 months.