2016 Honorary Fellows
A Welsh rugby international referee, an award-winning Welsh novelist, a global banking expert and the British Army’s highest ranking transgender soldier are among those who were honoured at our degree ceremonies in 2016.
Honorary Fellows
Professor Simon J. Gibson, OBE, DSc
Professor Simon J. Gibson OBE DSc is Chairman of the Alacrity Graduate Entrepreneurship Foundation, Chief Executive of Wesley Clover Corporation and a Director of IQE plc, The Celtic Manor Resort and Innovation Point.
He is a Regent of Harris Manchester College at the University of Oxford and a Professor at the Swansea University School of Management.
Captain Hannah Winterbourne REME
Captain Hannah Winterbourne REME is the highest ranking transgender soldier within the British Army.
She became the Army’s Transgender Representative, advising Senior Army commanders on transgender policy, educating the wider Defence and mentoring the Army’s transgender soldiers.
She is Patron of the children’s transgender charity Mermaids and an Ambassador for LGBT Sport Cymru.
Stephen Bird
Stephen Bird (MBA 1995) is the Chief Executive Officer of the Global Consumer Bank at Citi, based in New York.
He is a passionate advocate of financial education and building diverse teams.
His career has spanned Engineering, Operations and Technology and Banking.
Professor the Lord Darzi of Denham OM KBE PC FRS FMedSci HonFREng
Professor the Lord Darzi of Denham OM KBE PC FRS FMedSci HonFREng holds the Paul Hamlyn Chair of Surgery at Imperial College London, the Royal Marsden Hospital and the Institute of Cancer Research.
He is Director of the Institute of Global Health Innovation at Imperial College London and an Honorary Consultant Surgeon at Imperial College Hospital NHS Trust.
Terry Smith MNZM
Terry Smith MNZM (BA 1974) is a former number-1 rated banks analyst and author of the bestseller Accounting for Growth.
He became CEO of investment banking business Collins Stewart in 2000 and in 2010 launched his fund management business, Fundsmith, which now has over £7 billion under management.
Dr Sarah Waters
Dr Sarah Waters’ first novel, Tipping the Velvet, was published in 1998, and won a Betty Trask Award.
Since then she has written five other award-winning novels which have been translated into twenty-four languages.
Several have been adapted for television and the stage.
Her immersive theatre piece co-written with Christopher Green, The Frozen Scream, premiered at the Wales Millennium Centre in 2014.
Professor Emerita Dame Teresa Rees FLSW FAcSS
Professor Emerita Dame Teresa Rees (PhD 1993) FLSW FAcSS served as Pro Vice-Chancellor at Cardiff from 2003-2010, with responsibility for staff, students and research.
Her research has influenced policy making in the European Union and its Member States, most recently on women in science and in assessing the quality of research.
She has also been involved in research influencing decision making in Wales, especially in higher education.
Nigel Owens MBE
Nigel Owens MBE is a Welsh international rugby union referee. He was the only Welsh referee at the 2007 Rugby World Cup in France and at the 2011 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand. He is the most capped referee in European competition. He was awarded an MBE for services to sport in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List in 2016.
Thomas Kielinger OBE
Thomas Kielinger OBE (Hon) is a long-time UK correspondent of the German newspaper Die Welt.
He has won critical acclaim for his books, amongst them a biography of the Queen and of Winston Churchill.
He is a frequent contributor to German and British radio and TV programmes.
Professor Julia Downing
Professor Julia Downing (BN 1991) is a palliative care nurse, educationalist and researcher.
She has worked within palliative care for 25 years, including in Uganda, Africa and Eastern Europe. She is an Honorary Professor at Makerere University, Kampala, and is a Visiting Professor at several universities including the University of Belgrade and Edge Hill.
D John Jeans CBE CEng BSc MIChemE
D John Jeans CBE CEng BSc MIChemE is Chairman of Imanova, UK Biocentre and EM Imaging, and a Director of Renishaw plc and ProMetic Ltd.
He was previously the Chair of Cardiff University’s Council and Deputy Chief Executive of the Medical Research Council.
John was appointed by the Prime Minister in 2014 as a Life Science Champion and chairs a Singapore Government advisory panel.