The University of Huddersfield has created a Roll of Honour of notable alumni who have made an outstanding contribution to the fields of science and technology, learning, the arts, business and the professions, or in public life via community involvement, meritorious heroism or significant philanthropy.

 

2000 - Present Graduates

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Dr Tsitsi Chituku

PhD Pharmacy 2020

Dr Tsitsi Chituku is a researcher who has received the Inspirational Woman of the Year Award 2015 at the Zimbabwe International Women’s Awards for her ground-breaking research into cervical cancer.

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Daniel Kelly

BA (Hons) Graphic Design 2015

Daniel is founder of May-Contain (an allergy blog and podcast) and the first-ever Youth Ambassador for the Anaphylaxis Campaign Charity, he also launched a national campaign to help young people open up about life-threatening allergies.

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Sian Gabbidon

BA (Hons) Fashion Design with Marketing and Production 2014

Sian is founder of celebrity favourite swim and loungewear label sianmarie.com and partner to Lord Sugar after winning his £250,000 investment in 2018 following her success on BBC The Apprentice.

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Megan Ellaby

BA (Hons) Fashion Communication and Promotion 2014

Megan is an Instagram influencer and fashion blogger, she's won multiple awards including the Cosmopolitan Best Fashion Influencer. She has also launched her own clothing line 'Saturday By Megan Ellaby.'

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Paula Maguire

BSc (Hons) Midwifery Studies 2013

Paula won Pride of Britain ITV Fundraiser of the Year in 2015 as a result of helping to raise over £7million for the MND Association after starting The Ice Bucket Challenge in the UK that went viral in 2014. 

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Tracey Kim Haycox MBE

MA Leadership 2012

Tracey Kim Haycox MBE is Director of Children and Young People’s Services for children’s charity Safe@Last. In June 2013 she was made an MBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours.

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Rosie Jones

BA in English Language and Creative Writing 2011

Rosie has become one of the must-see acts on the UK comedy circuit in the decade since she graduated from the University of Huddersfield with a first-class honours BA in English Language and Creative Writing.

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Robbie Hunter Paul

Sports Marketing and Public Relations 2011

Robbie is a former New Zealand international rugby league player. He is currently the Managing Director at Xtra Mile Marketing, as well as a Sports Pundit for the BBC, radio presenter and motivational speaker.

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Natalie Gavin

BA (Hons) Drama 2011

Natalie is an actress who has starred in several television series including Prisoners’ Wives’, ‘The Syndicate’, as well as 'Shameless' and more recently 'Line of Duty'.

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Sofia Buncy MBE, DL

PGDip Youth and Community 2009

Sofia is one of the UK’s leading practitioners on the experiences of Muslim women in the Criminal Justice System, she was awarded an MBE in 2021 for her pioneering work with the Muslim Women in Prison Project.

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Allison Whitmarsh

BA (Hons) Hospitality Management 2008

Allison is the Founder of Propermaid who are passionate about baking "hand-made cakes with a twist". In 2012 she appeared on BBC’s Dragons Den and secured entrepreneur Deborah Meaden as a stakeholder.

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Dave O'Sullivan

BSc (Hons) Physiotherapy 2008

Dave O’Sullivan is a Sports Physiotherapist who worked two world cup finals with England Rugby League and England Rugby Union. He is also Director of Education at The ProSport Academy.

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Katie Mallinson

BA (Hons) Business Management 2008

Katie is an entrepreneur who founded Scriba PR in 2013. Katie was crowned Outstanding Young Communicator at the 2015 PRide Awards.

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Frank To

BA (Hons) Fine Art 2004

Frank is a contemporary fine artist whose work has been displayed alongside some of the art world’s most iconic artists. The University’s Emeritus Chancellor Sir Patrick Stewart is one of Frank’s most famous collectors.

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Captain Lisa Head

BSc Human Biology 2003

Captain Lisa Head was the first female bomb disposal officer to be killed on operations. She died on 19 April 2011 at the age of 29, having sustained serious injuries on active service in Afghanistan.

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Dr Fatmah Baothman

PhD Artifical Intelligence 2003

Dr Baothman was the first women in the Middle East with a PhD in AI, her impressive career includes being the founder and the Board President of the AI Society in Saudi Arabia and winning numerous international awards.

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Matthew Stiff

BMus (Hons) Music and MA in Musical Performance 2002

Matthew is an opera singer, best known as the former bass singer with classical boyband G4 who signed a £1.5 million record deal with Sony-BMG after placing second on The X-Factor.

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Matt Roberts

BA (Hons) Spanish & Communication Arts 2000

Matt is a television presenter, recognised as the face of motorcycling racing in Britain, best known for his work on BBC Sport's Moto GP coverage.

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Rob James-Collier

BA (Hons) Business Studies 2000

Rob is an actor and model. He is known for his roles as Thomas Barrow in ‘Downton Abbey’ and Liam Connor in ‘Coronation Street’.

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Kiran Bali MBE JP

Bsc (Hons) Computing 2000

Kiran Bali MBE JP is a decorated global organisational leader and inspirational spokesperson.

1990 - 1999 Graduates 

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Zandra Moore

BA (Hons) Business Studies 1999

Zandra is CEO of Panintelligence, as well as being awarded CEO of the year and the Company Leader Award, she also founded the Leeds LeanIn Ladies Circle and gives talks on gender diversity and women in technology. 

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Dapinder Singh QC

Law LLB (Hons) 1998

Dapinder became a barrister whose reputation for the mastery of complex briefs has meant he is much in demand for cases of fraud and serious crime. He took silk in 2017, meaning that he is now offered cases of greater complexity.

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John Warhurst

BMus (Hons) Music 1996, MA Music 1998

John is one of the film industry's most accomplished sound editors working on blockbuster film soundtracks such as Bohemian Rhapsody, of which he won a BAFTA and an Oscar for in 2019.

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Fatou Lamin Faye

PgDip Education 1998

Minister for Basic and Secondary Education, under her leadership, education in The Gambia has been transformed; resulting in significant improvements in children’s learning achievements.

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Jackie Hole

BA (Hons) Interactive Media 1998

Jackie is an International SEM Consultant who has been voted one of the Top 50 Women in Search in the Google & The Drum Top 50 Awards in 2015, she is consistently viewed as a leader in her field by colleagues and competitors alike.

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Adil Ray OBE

BA (Hons) Marketing 1997

Adil is an actor, comedian and radio and television presenter. Adil was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2016 for services to broadcasting.

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John Bernard

BA (Hons) Marketing 1995

John is now the EMEA Marketing Director for Dexcom, the medical devices manufacturer, winning 'Marketer of the Year' in 2013 and 'Inspirational Leader of the Year' 2019.

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Kate Halfpenny

BA (Hons) Fashion Design with Manufacturing Marketing and Promotion 1995

Kate is a celebrity stylist, an esteemed fashion designer and founder of British luxury bridalwear brand, Halfpenny London with 3 bridal boutiques in London. 

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David Richards

BSc (Hons) Computing 1994

David is a Silicon Valley entrepreneur and technology executive, he co-founded WANdisco in 2005 and led it to a highly successful IPO on the London Stock Exchange on June 1st 2012. 

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Gavin Sutherland

MA Performance 1994

Gavin is a conductor, composer/arranger and pianist. He is currently Music Director for English National Ballet.

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Sally Nugent

BA (Hons) Communications Art with French 1992

Sally is a journalist and newsreader for BBC News. In 2020 she fronted a series of high profile interviews, which won her Scoop of the Year award at the 2021 Royal Television Society Journalism Awards.

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Susan Williams Baroness Williams of Trafford

BSc (Hons) in Applied Nutrition 1991

Susan is a junior minister in the British Conservative government and a life peer. In 2015, David Cameron appointed Susan to his second government as a Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State.

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Kavita Oberoi OBE

Applied Chemistry 1991

Founder of Oberoi Consulting, Kavita is one of the most successful entrepreneurs in the country, with a multi-million pound business portfolio. She was made an OBE in 2014 for services to entrepreneurship and start-up businesses.

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Brian Anderson

Diploma in Social Work 1990

A former boxer who was British middleweight champion. After retiring from boxing, Brian trained as a probation officer and is now Director of Rainsbrook Secure Training Centre.

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Professor Paul Needham

PhD in Aerospace Design for Manufacture

Professor Paul Needham is Head of Engineering for Air and Space Products at BAE Systems in Lancashire. 

Pre-1990 Graduates

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Richard Ayres

Composition, Electronic Music and Trombone 1989

 After briefly studying theatre, Richard studied composition at what was then the Huddersfield Polytechnic. 

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Professor Guy Lloyd Jones

Applied Chemistry and Chemical Technology 1989

Professor Guy Lloyd Jones distinguished academic research career led to his election as a Fellow of the Royal Society, one of the highest honours in the scientific world. 

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Professor Bob Cryan CBE

BEng Engineering 1986

Bob is the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Huddersfield, he is the recipient of the inaugural Guardian Inspiring University Leader Award 2013 and in 2014 he was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE).

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Paul Grimwood CBE

BA (Hons) Business Studies 1985 

Paul is Non-Executive Chairman of Nestlé USA and former Chairman and CEO of Nestlé. Paul was appointed a CBE in 2018 for services to the food and drinks industry in the UK and overseas.

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Nicholas Fluck

BA (Hons) in Humanities 1979

Nicholas is former President and current Council Member of the Law Society of England and Wales and a partner and co-owner of Stapleton and Son Solicitors in Stamford.

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James Berresford

BA (Hons) Performing Arts 1978

As CEO of VisitEngland James was at the forefront of English tourism policy during two of the nation’s most important events: the 2012 Olympics and the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.

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Sir George Buckley

BSc (Hons) Electrical and Electronic Engineering 1972

Sir George Buckley is one of the world’s leading businessmen. He became Chairman of the Brunswick Corporation in 1997 and in 2005 was appointed Chairman, President and CEO of 3M.

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Lord David Blunkett

Teaching 1972

Lord Blunkett is best known as a British politician, having represented the Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough constituency for 28 years through to 7 May 2015, he was Britain's first blind cabinet minister.

 

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Dr Rob Perks MBE

Humanities (History with English) 1979

Dr Rob Perks MBE is the former Lead Curator of Oral History at the British Library. In 2022 he was awarded an MBE for services to Libraries, National Archives and to Oral History, particularly during Covid-19.