THE senior management team for Hereford’s ground-breaking university project, NMiTE, has welcomed a new Chief Operating Officer.

Helen Lloyd Wildman, a strategist with a “passion for driving performance in pursuit of outstanding student experience”, joined the team last week.

She has previously held senior leadership roles both within and outside the higher education sector and left her role as Deputy Vice Chancellor and Chief Operating Officer at the University of the West of England in 2016 to run her own business.

In this capacity she has recently been engaged in providing strategic advice to the Vice Chancellor of the Royal Agricultural University, Cirencester.

Her wealth of higher education experience also includes former roles as Pro Vice Chancellor of the University of Wolverhampton and Regional Director for the Open University in the East of England.

Prior to joining the higher education sector in August 2004, Helen was a Lieutenant Colonel in the Army having served 23 years, latterly in Afghanistan as Chief of the Media Operation and Spokesperson for the International Security and Assistance Force. As the first generation in her family to attend university, she is a champion of widening participation in higher education and, particularly, encouraging young women to achieve their goals.

Professor Janusz Kozinski, Founding President and Chief Executive of Hereford’s engineering university project, said: “I am excited to welcome Helen as a key member of the team that’s developing possibly the boldest, most radical start-up in higher education anywhere in the world.”

Helen added: “I am delighted to have been selected for this exciting new role and look forward to joining the team in developing what will be a truly innovative contribution to both the higher education landscape and to Hereford.”

NMiTE aims to open its doors in September 2020 to the first 300 students at a purpose-built city centre campus in Hereford.

It intends to be educating more than 5,000 students by 2032. Its new university concept was launched in 2015 with the support of engineers, leading universities, businesspeople and politicians