Institute of Welsh Affairs

The IWA's Board of Directors

Geraint Talfan Davies
Chairman

Chairman of Welsh National Opera and former Chairman of the Arts Council of Wales (2003-2006) and Controller of BBC Wales (1990-2000). He is also a board member of the Wales Millennium Centre, a non-executive director of Glas Cymru Cyf (Welsh Water), and a trustee of the Media Standards Trust.

Sir Donald Walters
Vice Chairman
Vice President, Cardiff University and former Chairman of the University Council. Formerly executive director of Chartered Trust plc and Deputy Chairman of the WDA.

Nonna Woodward
Chair, IWA North Wales Branch
Board Member, Prince's Trust Wales, vice chair of NWN Media Ltd, Bowen and Thoughtfield Therapist.

Peter Davies
Chair, IWA West Wales Branch
Peter Davies is Sustainable Development Commissioner for Wales and Chair of the Institute of Welsh Affairs West Wales branch. He was formerly Deputy Chief of Business in the Community UK. He returned to Wales in 2005 where he established the Project Development Partnership consultancy that provides project consultancy to business, government and the voluntary sector. Peter also coordinates the work of The Prince's Charities in Wales.

Professor John Tucker
Chair, IWA Swansea Bay Branch
John Tucker is Chair of the Swansea Bay Branch of the Institute of Welsh Affairs. He is Professor of Computer Science and Head of the School of Physical Sciences at Swansea University. Until recently he was also Head of the Department of Computer Science at Swansea University, a position he held 1994-2008. A Chartered Engineer and a Fellow of the British Computer Society, he is an authority on the theory of data, digital and analogue, a subject which has unlimited applications. He is particularly interested in the past, present and future of science and technology in Wales.

Chris O'Malley
Chair, IWA Gwent Branch
Chris O’Malley joined the University of Wales, Newport in 2007 as Pro Vice Chancellor (International & Regional Development). He is Chair of the Gwent branch of the IWA. In 1986-9 he was a Member of the European Parliament, representing Dublin. In 1990-4 he led the development of British Telecom’s first European market strategy. He spent the next 11 years as Director of Strategic Planning & Development at Dublin City University. He has acted as a consultant on strategy to a range of clients, especially higher education institutions and local authorities.

Dr Denis Balsom
Director, Francis Balsom Associates, Aberystwth. Editor of the Wales Yearbook. Former Warden of Gregynog, University of Wales.

Dr Gillian Bristow
Gillian is a Lecturer in Economic Geography and a member of the Urban and Regional Governance Research Group. She is also a member of the Local and Regional Government Research Unit. Her research interests include devolution finance; fiscal federalism and the territorial distribution of public expenditure; regional economic change and restructuring; and the evaluation and analysis of UK and EU public policy in relation to regional and rural development objectives.

Guy Clarke
Guy Clarke is a History Graduate from Sheffield University and has been a solicitor for about 25 years. His areas of practice are Commercial Property, particularly in the public sector, and Charities. He was for quite a time the Managing Partner at Morgan Bruce prior to the merger to become Morgan Cole. Outside practice and in addition to involvement with the Institute of Welsh Affairs he is the Chairman of Tenovus (the national cancer charity), the Vice Chairman of the Reserve Forces & Cadets Association for Wales (having served in the Territorial Army for over 30 years), the Chairman of the Finance & General Purposes Committee at Christ College Brecon and Vice President of Cardiff Law Society. He is also a Deputy Lieutenant for South Glamorgan.

Rhys David
Rhys David was formerly a journalist with the Financial Times, and has been with the IWA since 2002. He was co-author of recent IWA reports on the Valleys and on Industrial Clusters and has worked on a number of other research projects. He has also been responsible for developing the IWA's marketing and administrative systems. While at the FT he worked as a specialist correspondent covering a number of industrial sectors and as a regional correspondent. He also held the post of surveys editor, with responsibility for the paper's 200 annual country, financial, management, IT and regional reports. From 1988-1991 he held the position of publisher and managing director of Business Magazine, a joint venture between the FT and Conde Nast, the publishers of Vogue. From 1995-2001 he was a member of the editorial advisory board of New Welsh Review, the Welsh literary quarterly.

Sue Essex
Sue moved to south Wales in 1971 to work in local government. In 1991 she became a lecturer in planning at the University of Wales, Cardiff, having previously worked as a researcher for the Equal Opportunities Commission and as a planner for Mid Glamorgan County Council. Following her election to the National Assembly in 1999, she was appointed Chair of the Local Government and Environment Committee and was promoted to the Cabinet, as Minister for the Environment, in 2000. She was Minister for Finance, Local Government and Public Services from 2003 to 2007. Sue is a member of Charter 88, Amnesty International and Oxfam. Her interests include transport, planning, local government, the environment and developing democracy to promote greater participation.

Gerald Holtham
Managing Partner Cadwyn Capital LLP and formerly Chief Investment Officer, Morley Fund Management. Currrently a member of the Assembly Government’s Economic Research Advisory Panel. Former Director, Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR).

Rob Humphreys
Rob Humphreys is Director of the Open University in Wales. He was previously Director for Wales of the National Institute of Adult Continuing Education (NIACE). Prior to that, he was a lecturer in adult education at the University of Wales for 12 years. Rob was President of the Welsh Liberal Democrats from 2001-2007, having prevously served as Deputy President from 1999-2001. For five out of the last six years he also chaired the National Executive Committee of the Party, and played a key role in negotiating the coalition government with the Welsh Labour Party in 2000. As well as his professional interests in higher education and lifelong learning, he has interests in culture and the arts, citizenship governance and national identity, rural affairs, and poverty and social justice.

Chris Jones
Finance Director, Welsh Water Ltd (Dwr Cymru Cyf). Formerly a Research Analyst with National Economic Research Associates, London, and a civil servant in the Treasury.

Ruth Marks
Director, Royal National Institute of Blind People, formerly Chief Executive of Chwarae Teg and Deputy Director of Business in the Community Wales. Trustee/Board Member of Cardiff Institute of the Blind and Trustee/Board Member of Wales Council for Voluntary Action.

Professor Teresa Rees CBE
Pro Vice Chancellor and Professor in the School of Social Sciences, Cardiff University. Former Equal Opportunities Commissioner for Wales and consultant to the European Commission.

Wendy Sadler
Wendy is Director of Science Made Simple Ltd. She graduated from Cardiff University in 1994 with a BSc in Physics and Music and intentions of becoming a sound engineer. Instead, she began working for Techniquest science centre and caught the science communication bug whilst presenting in the Science Theatre. After a short stint as a presenter in Australia she became Education Manager at Techniquest and appeared as a regular presenter on three series of the ITV Wales programme What on Earth? In 2002 she was appointed as the first woman - and youngest person ever - to deliver the Institute of Physics National Schools Lecture tour. Wendy established Science Made Simple in 2002 to help translate the complexities of science to engage a wider public. In 2004 she was voted 'Welsh Woman of the Year' and given the Women into Science, Engineering and Construction (WISE) excellence award for helping to promote science to girls. In 2005 the Institute of Physics named her 'Young Professional Physicist of the Year' and in 2007 she was named as a Laureate in the EU Descartes Prize for Science Communication.

Sir Adrian Webb
Sir Adrian Chaired the Independent Review of the Mission and Purpose of Further Education in Wales, also known as the “Webb review”, published by the Welsh Assembly Government as Promise & Performance in December 2007. He was also a member of the “Beecham” review of the machinery of government in Wales, published as Beyond Boundaries by the Welsh Assembly Government in November 2006. He was 1st Vice-Chancellor, University of Glamorgan from 1992 to 2005 and previous to that was Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Director of the Centre for Research in Social Policy, Loughborough University. He began his academic career as a lecturer at London School of Economics. In addition to running large universities, in both Loughborough and Glamorgan, he was responsible for wholly owned companies involved in spin-out, knowledge transfer and training activities. His academic career resulted in many research projects, publications and consultancies. He has also undertaken many public service roles in Wales and in Whitehall and Westminster. He is Chair of the Wales Employment and Skills Board and the UK Commissioner for Wales on the UK Commission for Employment and Skills.

Dr Ruth Williams
Wales External Affairs Manager for the National Trust. Assembly appointee to Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority, Lead Member for Sustainability & Climate Change. Founding Board member of Sustain Wales / Cynnal Cymru. Welsh Development Agency - was an appointed Board Member for 7.5 years. Former appointee - Welsh Assembly Government's Social Enterprise panel. Former Company Director of the Wales European Centre. Ruth was educated at Howell's School Llandaff, studied marine biology to PhD level at Swansea University, and gained a Diploma in Business Administration from Cardiff University (Distinction). She is a Royal Society Scholar and a Common Purpose graduate. She is a qualified Offshore Yachtmaster and her interests include sailing and walking around south and west Wales. She is a volunteer with the Guillain Barre Syndrome Support Group helping victims of this acute paralysing illness.