Board of Keele in the USA (North American Foundation for Keele University, Inc)

President: Neil Smith (2001- )

Neil Smith Neil Smith graduated from Keele University in physics and economics in 1980. Neil was president of the Students' Union in 1979, president of the Athletic Union in 1978 and speaker of the Union in 1980. He won full colors in rugby, football and cricket and ran the popular five-a-side leagues. Neil joined the graduate journalism program of Thomson Regional Newspapers and went on to write for the Sunday Times. In 1982 he won a Knox Scholarship to take an MBA at the Harvard Business School, from where he graduated with honors in 1984. After Harvard, Neil joined McKinsey and Company in New York, where he met his wife, Gina. After working in the UK in the early 1990s, Neil returned to New York in 1997 to form a specialist consulting company, Promontory Growth and Innovation, which helps the chief executives of Fortune 500 companies to dramatically improve their earnings. Neil sits on the International Advisory Board of British American Business, Inc. (the British American Chamber of Commerce) and is a member of the Harvard Business School Alumni Board.

Treasurer: Mark Hill (2008- )

Mark Hill Mark moved to the United States in 1980 and after a brief career as an antique dealer and an aborted attempt as a DJ and rock band manager, he began his career in the financial services industry in 1982 with a major Wall Street firm. In 1998, Mark co-founded Pacific Wealth Management, an investment management consulting firm.  A graduate of the College for Financial Planning in Denver, he has been an active member of the investment community for many years, serving as a board member of the San Diego Financial Planning Association, treasurer of the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals and president of the Collaborative Family Law Group of San Diego. Mark is a nationally-recognized speaker on the financial aspects of divorce and a regional director of the Institute of Divorce Financial Analysts, as well as a member of the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals. His hobbies include skiing, both listening to and playing music, running and following the NFL (go Chargers!) and the EPL (play up Pompey!). Mark is married with a son and stepdaughter and in 2008 began a new careeras a grandfather.

 Secretary: John McCarthy (2012- )

John McCarthy John McCarthy John has been involved in Higher Education marketing for 15 years and his career spreads across four different Universities. He began as a lecturer in Information Systems at Liverpool John Moores University, he quickly moved to the Business School and was responsible for the Business Information Systems course. He went on to hold a range of academic management positions across the LJMU and concluded his career as Head of Student Recruitment from 1997 to 2002. He moved to the University of Central Lancashire as Deputy Director of Advancement with responsibility for the full range of Marketing and Communications functions. He joined Liverpool Hope University in 2005 as their first Director of Marketing, Recruitment and External Relations and led the rebranding of Hope as it moved from University College to full University status. He grew the Marketing function to include all aspects of recruitment and admissions for both home and overseas students and set up a successful Study Abroad programme in North America. John joined Keele University in April 2011 and has been responsible for a major rebranding exercise aimed at positioning Keele as a premium choice university . His responsibilities cover all aspects of International Development and Recruitment, Outreach, Widening Participation & Recruitment, Marketing & Communications and the Development Office (which includes the Corporate Events Team and the Arts, Music & Cultural programmes. He is delighted to be involved with Keele alumni through the North American Foundation since January 2012.

William  Bangert (2013- )

William Bangert William Bangert went to Keele for the Foundation Year. Having done science A-levels at school, he was attracted by the breadth of the curriculum and the eclectic opportunities it could lead to; he graduated in international relations in 1984. During his period at Keele, he played for the 1st and 2nd XV rugby teams, and was an active in the International Forum (which he chaired 1982–83), and the Keele Dining Society. After a period in which he considered several options, including a career in the army, he joined Unilever’s company management development scheme in 1985, where he qualified as a Chartered Management Accountant. After a brief move to Courtaulds, he decided that business was definitely "his thing," but not the finance side. So in 1988 he joined General Electric as a sales consultant with their information services business. From there he quickly progressed to a start-up, Equant (now Orange Business Services), who sent him to Atlanta, from where he built out the U.S., Canadian and Latin American sales footprint, and along the way acquired the network and operations of Sabre travel services from American Airlines. That deal caught the attention of a competitor, AT&T, who recruited him to their enterprise outsourcing services arm in New Jersey, where he rose to be head of global sales. He then joined Gartner to lead their sourcing advisory practice. Two years later, as senior vice president for business development and marketing, he went to Bell Canada’s Enterprise Business Division in Toronto. He returned to the States with his family in the midst of the great recession, and since the beginning of 2011 has been with Computer Science Corporation where he is the general manager of their business with a major global client.

Adam Konowe (2013- )

Adam Konowe Adam Konowe is vice president of client strategy at TMP Government, where he specializes in business-to-business and business-to-government communications, primarily for aerospace and defense companies. Since 1999, he has represented some of the industry's most recognizable brands while working for two firms, TMP and Sullivan Higdon & Sink. Earlier, he spent more than six years in broadcasting with C-SPAN, BizNet and PBS The Business Channel. Adam earned a BA from the University of Rochester, double majoring in history and political science, and spent his junior year abroad at Keele University. He also holds an MA in communication from American University, where he served as a graduate fellow and currently teaches PR as an adjunct professor. His professional affiliations include the Aero Club of Washington, National Press Club, Royal Aeronautical Society and the Wings Club of New York.

Mark Harding (2013- )

Mark Harding Upon graduating from Keele in economics and geography in 1981, Mark moved to Hong Kong to become an inspector in the Royal Hong Kong Police Force, where he spent seven and a half years in a variety of posts, eventually specializing in the investigation of commercial crime. In 1990, he took up an offer to work for Diageo, the world's largest premium drinks company, owner of brands such as Johnnie Walker, Guinness and Smirnoff. In the Far East, he ultimately became corporate affairs director for the Asia-Pacific region and in this period lived in Hong Kong, then Taiwan and had the opportunity to work in almost every country in Asia. Needing some Western Hemisphere experience in 2001, he moved to Toronto to establish the corporate affairs function for Diageo Canada. In 2005, he transferred south to Connecticut to the North American headquarters, where he undertook global roles as vice president of global government and then vice president for brand assurance. Mark retired from Diageo after 21 years, traveled across the USA and now lives in Bellingham, Washington, where he is a keen trail runner, regularly competing in anything with hills. He also likes to sail, is a member of the local yacht club and has sailed on both coasts of the States, the Caribbean and Mediterranean.