CIO Briefing 2025

Deborah joined UCISA as CEO in May of 2019, bringing with her a wealth of marketing and Higher Education experience, most recently as Director of Student Recruitment at the University of Hull following five years as Chief Executive of Marketing Leeds and 5 years at Leeds Beckett University, where she was a member of the Executive Board. She is no stranger to leading member organisations, having led the Law Society’s regional team earlier in her career, supporting 14,500 solicitors in Yorkshire and the North East and introducing a wealth of new initiatives and services, resulting in her receiving the Yorkshire Enterprise Award and being recognised as Yorkshire Lawyer of the year in 2007 for her services to the profession.

Rachel has worked in the Higher Education sector for over 8 years and prior to Queen Mary was IT Director and Deputy CIO at the University of Bristol. Previously, Rachel worked in Systems Engineering and IT at Airbus. Rachel has a Postgraduate Diploma in Management from Lancaster University and a PhD in Physics from the University of London/CERN.