Ben joined LSE in February 2018. Ben serves as one of nine members of the university’s leadership team, is Chair of LSE’s International Strategy Board and has strategic oversight for philanthropy, alumni engagement, corporate engagement, international strategy, and global academic partnerships, and leads on the most significant philanthropic and partnership opportunities for LSE, travelling extensively overseas. Since joining LSE, Ben has created and overseen the launch and development of LSE’s Shaping the World philanthropic and volunteering Campaign, with a goal to raise £750m, with over £420m and over 130,000 volunteering hours raised to date. 

Outside of LSE, Ben is former Chair and now Vice-Chair of the Ross Group, Chair of the Ross EDIB Sub-Group, which he formed during the pandemic, is a former member of CASE Europe’s Council, formerly served as a member of the CASE Global Advancement Leaders’ Summit Planning Committee, was Chair of the Pitt Rivers Museum Advisory Board in Oxford and has been a trustee of nursery and out of school care provision. Prior to LSE, Ben worked at Oxford University for eight years, overseeing the University’s fundraising teams, where the Oxford Thinking Campaign grew from £800m to £2.7bn. Prior to Oxford, Ben spent 10 years at Warwick University, initially in international marketing and recruitment, then overseeing philanthropy, alumni and corporate engagement at Warwick Business School and serving the wider University, leading on international alumni engagement and philanthropy in East Asia.

Having secured a music scholarship to attend a private secondary school, and having received funding for undergraduate and graduate study, Ben is a passionate advocate of social mobility, of inclusion and belonging and the role of education for the betterment of society.

Dan joined the University of Sheffield as the Director of Student Recruitment and Admissions in January 2020 and is Chair of the Volunteer Executive Committee for the CASE Universities Marketing Forum.

He has 20 years' experience working in student recruitment within the higher education sector. Most recently, he was Head of Global Student Recruitment at Lancaster University and has held a number of roles at institutions around the UK, including Reading, Essex and Cumbria.

His current team delivers services to a range of prospective students and applicants from a wide variety of backgrounds to support their enrolment at the University. The department also works closely with faculties and other professional services to ensure that prospective students have a successful journey to the University.

Outside of the University, Dan enjoys walking and is a member of the board of trustees for an LGBT+ charity that supports its members in accessing and participating in outdoor pursuits. In addition, Dan participated in LGBT Charity Stonewall’s Leadership Programme in 2015. Dan has a BA in English Literature from Lancaster University and a Postgraduate Diploma in Marketing from the University of Durham.

As Director of Development and Alumni Relations, Dom’s role is to lead the team that develops Manchester Metropolitan University’s relationship with its alumni and philanthropic supporters. One of the most socially diverse universities in UK, hundreds of Manchester Met students receive donor-funded scholarships each year and thousands benefit from alumni-to-student mentoring and careers guidance.

Dom has over 25 years’ experience in higher education fundraising and has held leadership roles the universities of Manchester, Essex and York.

Melchior Bussink is Head of Alumni Relations and Director of the Amsterdam University Fund at the University of Amsterdam (UvA). He has a background in philanthropy, building partnerships and communities and creating cultural and societal impact on a (inter)national level. He worked at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, campaigning and non-profit offices and most recently at the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam. 

At the UvA, Melchior is responsible for renewing the strategies on alum engagement and philanthropy. A new approach is needed with a growing number of young and international alums and the changing landscape of fundraising. The UvA is committed to building an inclusive and broad community to increase opportunities for students, staff and alumni.

Bukky is the Director of Talent Management and Human Resources at the University of Cambridge Development and Alumni Relations office. At Cambridge, she is responsible for delivering strategic human resources and talent management programmes tailored to meet the organisation's current and long-term business needs. Bukky also plays a key role in the ROSS Equality Diversity and Inclusion working group (a sub-group of the senior leaders of the top 25 fundraising universities in the UK and Ireland). Before working in development, she worked mainly in the public sector in the UK, leading innovative HR practices to recruit and retain hard-to-recruit roles, researching equality and diversity initiatives to support black and ethnic minority staff and leading significant change programmes.

Bukky is a barrister and solicitor, holds a master's degree in International Business and is a chartered member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. She has a coaching qualification from the Cambridge University Institute of Continuing Education. She recently commenced a master's degree in Industrial/Organisational Psychology at Harvard University. Bukky's passion lies in talent management and coaching. She is also a strong advocate of equality, diversity, social mobility and inclusion.

Sara Kalim read Classics at Somerville from 1990-94. She then spent 14 years in the media, working as Head of Development for two major television production companies. Her work included developing access and ideas, and fundraising for documentaries and current affairs programming. Sara has most recently worked for the University of Oxford for three years at the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, Department of Politics and International Relations, where she held responsibility for financial and strategic planning, and played an instrumental role in securing journalism scholarships from a variety of funding sources.

As Director of Development, Sara oversees Somerville’s fundraising strategy and development, is responsible for fundraising campaigns (including for the Margaret Thatcher Scholarship Trust and the Oxford India Centre), and heads up the Development Team. She is also a member of the College’s Management Team.

Sara has a long-standing family connection to India, with family coming from Patna, Bihar. She also studied at Somerville making her the perfect advocate to drive the further development of the Centre. Sara’s focus is on fundraising and profile-raising working with philanthropists and corporate partners.

Celine was born and raised in Antwerp: the diamond, fashion, and beer capital of the world. She started her career in higher education in 2019, armed with master’s degrees in both strategic communication and journalism. 

Besides being responsible for managing the faculty's international recruitment strategy, digital campaigns, content creation and social media, she is also committed to building its alumni community. Since 2022, she is part of the EMFD Marcom, Alumni and External Relations steering committee. 

Having travelled 33 countries and speaking 5 (and a half) languages, her nickname at work has become Celinternational.

As Director of Development at Birmingham City University (BCU), Robin is responsible for all aspects of fundraising with the principal aim of improving social mobility, widening access and enhancing the overall student experience. He also manages the University’s endowment portfolio which has grown from £6 million to £13 million under his stewardship.

With 20 years’ experience in higher education fundraising, Robin specialises in low-cost, high-ROI fundraising operations, and has a strong track record in managing small teams tasked with successfully delivering ambitious, often complex, large-scale capital appeals for buildings, scholarships and endowments.

He has previously held senior fundraising positions at the University of Warwick and, more recently, the University of Oxford, where he worked on the £3 billion Oxford Thinking Campaign – the biggest fundraising campaign in Higher Education in Europe at the time.

In January 2023, Robin completed a £10 million appeal for Royal Birmingham Conservatoire (an associate faculty of BCU) for scholarships and bursaries, outreach activities with children and young people, and new instruments and facilities, with a total return on investment of 1,150%. 

Robin is a proud alumnus of BCU and is a trained opera singer, having graduated with a BMus(Hons) in Vocal and Operatic studies from Royal Birmingham Conservatoire before going on to complete a Masters degree in Text and Performance at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and King’s College London.

Paul Tyack leads the advancement team at Newcastle University. Working with more than 250,000 graduates and supporters, the team is the driving force behind fundraising, philanthropy management, and graduate and supporter engagement for the university. 

Building on 20 years of leadership experience in the not-for-profit and higher education sectors, Tyack specialises in working with major donors, including individuals, families, grant-making foundations and companies in the UK and internationally. He is also a trustee for the National Centre for Early Music in York.