A short introduction to LIBF
For more than 140 years, we’ve been providing outstanding education and thinking, tailored to the needs of individuals, businesses and society. Our goal is to make industries more accessible, inclusive and sustainable, by delivering career-focused education to ambitious students all around the world.
Designed with the modern world in mind, our courses and programmes are led by individuals who've not only mastered their field in theory but have also lived it.
Executive team
Steve Hill
Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive Officer
Steve joined LIBF as our Vice-Chancellor and CEO on 22 July 2024, bringing with him a passion for leveraging technology and digitalisation in education.
Beginning his career in the international banking and finance industry, Steve later transitioned to executive leadership roles in higher education, serving as CEO of Open University Worldwide and Chair of FutureLearn. Beyond these roles, Steve has also founded several edtech organisations, partnering with universities to expand digital education access. His ethos of making education universally accessible aligns seamlessly with LIBF's commitment to making learning available to all.
Professor Aulay Mackenzie
Provost
As Provost, Aulay oversees all academic matters, including governance, development, and scholarship.
He has held executive roles in public and private higher education, including Deputy Vice Chancellor and Pro-Vice Chancellor at Wrexham University, Pro-Vice Chancellor at Teesside University, and Dean of Academic Partnerships at the University of Essex.
Professor Mackenzie brings extensive expertise in higher education innovation, including technology-enhanced learning, online and blended delivery, and innovative partner models. His experience spans home and international recruitment, academic administration, governance, partnerships, enterprise initiatives (like degree apprenticeships), entrepreneurship, and mergers and acquisitions in both private and public sectors. He is also highly experienced in UK and international quality assurance, including work with the Quality Assurance Agency as an assessor and review manager.
Karen Pichlmann
Registrar
Karen leads the Quality, Policy, and Regulation team. In her role as Registrar at LIBF, she develops and sustains frameworks that ensure regulatory compliance and drive the quality and enhancement of educational and apprenticeship programmes. She works closely with the Chief Executive and regulatory bodies to align LIBF’s standards with those of regulators, including the Office for Students, ESFA, Ofsted, Ofqual, Qualifications Wales, and CCEA. Karen is also accountable for risk management, corporate compliance, cyber security, and data protection, ensuring robust governance across all areas.
When joining LIBF in January 2024, Karen brought extensive experience from the UK and Australian higher education sectors, with expertise in recruitment, admissions, academic and student administration, and governance. She is a member of the Association of Higher Education Professionals and the Academic Registrar's Council, contributing actively to sector-wide discussions on quality and compliance.
Chris Ray
Managing Director – Professional Education
As Managing Director, Chris is the executive lead for the professional education side of LIBF. This covers training, qualifications and professional development in all aspects of banking and financial services. It also includes responsibility for supporting LIBF’s members, Chartered professionals and Fellows.
Chris has been with LIBF for over 10 years, having initially started at the institution as Director of Professional Services, before senior roles in transformation and strategy. Prior to joining LIBF, he held senior marketing positions at ifs University College and the British Bankers’ Association, in addition to roles in conference and events management.
Chris has significant experience of delivering and managing organisational development and strategy in both private and not-for-profit organisations. He also holds a Level 5 Award in Coaching from the Institute of Leadership and Management.
Rosie Reed
HR Director
As HR Director of LIBF, Rosie is responsible for creating and delivering the organisation’s people strategy, ensuring that we have engaged and motivated team members who can deliver our ambitious goals.
Rosie joined LIBF in September 2024, coming from Navitas, a global provider of pathway programmes into Higher Education. Rosie has a broad generalist HR background, bringing with her a depth of experience from working globally across different industries, including Health, EdTech and Higher Education. Rosie is passionate about creating high-performing teams within an organisation with a happy and inclusive culture. She’s also focused on building an environment where people can succeed, aligning their own personal development with the achievement of organisational objectives.
Get to know our faculty and professional academic community: academics and industry professionals who develop and deliver impactful thought leadership, innovative education.
Meet our FacultyDo you have any open questions?
Any questions about our online degrees or our professional qualifications? We are here to help: Monday to Friday from 8.00am to 5.30pm UK time (excluding UK public holidays).
