Adam Tickell
Biography
Professor Tickell was appointed as a non-executive director at the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology in November 2024.
Adam is Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the University of Birmingham and before this he served as Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Research and Knowledge Transfer), and then Provost at the University of Birmingham. He was Vice-Chancellor at the University of Sussex for 5 years and has also worked in leadership roles at the University of Bristol and Royal Holloway, University of London.
Adam trained as an economic geographer at the University of Manchester, and, amongst other things, his research explored the political economy and regulation of finance, English regionalism, and the economic ‘common sense’.
Adam recently led a review, on behalf of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), that sought to reduce research bureaucracy in government and the wider sector.
He is on the board of Universities UK and the Universities Superannuation Scheme Limited and has served on a wide range of public bodies and charity boards.
Non-executive board member
The main responsibilities of non-executive board members are to:
- attend meetings of the departmental board, chaired by the Secretary of State
- provide over-arching strategic guidance and insight to the department