Board of North America Foundation - Keele University
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Board of the North American Foundation for Keele University, Inc

President: Neil Smith (2001- )

nafku_neilsmith    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 colours in Rugby, Football and Cricket and ran the popular Five-a-Side leagues. Neil joined the graduate journalism programme 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 1990’s 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.

 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.

Treasurer and USA Representative: Brandi Spurgin (2001-2013)

Brandi Spurgin jan 08 mini2   Brandi Baker studied at Keele from 1995 to 1996 as a Study Abroad student from the University of North Texas. She has advanced rapdily to a senior position in the audit team of Bank of America. Brandi has been involved with the Foundation since its inception. She appreciates her time at Keele as an opportunity to experience another culture and a country she came to love. She is married to James, enjoys travelling and is very active in her local community. Brandi intends to step down as Treasurer in early 2013.






USA Representative: Mark Hill (2008- )

nafku_MarkHill     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 and 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 career as a grandfather.

An independent website with email contact specifically for the North American Foundation is hosted in the USA.