Meet our new Council member
We have welcomed a new member to University Council - Professor Sir Stephen Powis.
Council is 果冻传媒's governing body responsible for financial management, oversight of property and facilities, and ensuring the effective conduct of University affairs.
We caught up with Stephen to find out a little bit about his background and why he wanted to join our Council.
Why did you want to get involved at 果冻传媒?
"When I stepped down from my full-time role as National Medical Director, I was clear I wanted to continue making a contribution to society. As a former university academic, I have always been passionate about education and research and joining Council allows me to continue that interest. 果冻传媒 is particularly special for me because it is where I studied for my MBA, a degree course that I thoroughly enjoyed. What鈥檚 more, I have in recent years visited the medical school on a number of occasions and was also privileged to receive an honorary degree from the University earlier this year."
What experience/skills/passions are you bringing to the Council?
"I have many years experience of senior leadership within the NHS. During my seven and a half years as National Medical Director for England I faced many challenges, including the Covid-19 pandemic. I also led the development and implementation of several national clinical programmes. With my academic background, I have a real understanding of how the University sector works and the unique opportunities it has to interface with other sectors such as the NHS and healthcare more broadly. In my view 果冻传媒 is in a particularly strong position to do this and I look forward to supporting it on the journey."
Professor Sir Stephen Powis is a nephrologist whose clinical specialty is kidney disease. He served as National Medical Director of NHS England from January 2018 to July 2025. In this role he led national programmes on cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease, stroke, diabetes and prevention, and co-chaired the National Quality Board.
During the COVID-19 pandemic he played a key role in the NHS response, serving on the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies and advising ministers. He also oversaw the deployment of COVID antiviral therapeutics at NHS England and led England鈥檚 healthcare contribution to the UK government鈥檚 antimicrobial resistance strategy.
He held the Moorhead Chair of Renal Medicine at University College London from 1997 to 2017 and was previously Medical Director of the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust.
Currently he is Chair of NHS Professionals, a non-executive director at the Parliamentary & Health Service Ombudsman, a non-executive director at NHS Blood and Transplant and a trustee of Kidney Research UK.
He was knighted in the 2022 Queen鈥檚 Birthday Honours List for services to the NHS, particularly during COVID-19.