NUBS Alumni Hall of Fame
Our alumni community is truly amazing, boasting talented individuals from around the world and all walks of life who have accomplished incredible things in their professional and personal lives. We are proud of our alumni and keen to celebrate their achievements to help inspire future generations.
The 'NUBS Hall of Fame' features a permanent gallery of some of our most inspirational alumni whose portraits and stories are on display in prominent positions at the Jubilee Campus in Nottingham. These are a stirring reminder to current and future generations of students at the Business School.
The first twelve alumni were inducted into our hall of fame in 2019 and you can read more about them below.
Trishna Daswaney
Founder of Kohl Kreatives (BSc Management 2015)
Kohl Kreatives is dedicated to beauty empowerment. The company reinvests all profits into providing free make-up consultancy for cancer care patients and transitioning transgender people. Trishna's products and workshops are catered towards helping everyone improve their self-esteem and to reintegrate into society. Leading with innovation she created the first beauty tools to empower people with motor disabilities.
Further to spreading positivity and diminishing standard beauty ideals, Trishna also strongly believes in education equality and works with the Nottinghamshire council as an enterprise advisor integrating enterprise into curriculum at schools.
Kohl Kreatives has featured in the Guardian, the Evening Standard, Harpers Bazaar, Stylist and the Huffington Post. In 2017 Trishna won the Nottingham Post Women in Business Award for ‘Rising Star’.
Gianluca Fracasso
Content Strategist at Alibaba Group (MSc Tourism Marketing & Management 2011)
After graduating from Nottingham, Gianluca moved to Shanghai to start a career in advertising as a planner and copy writer for travel and FMCG clients.
He worked for several advertising and PR companies before including as Brand Strategist at Zheng Bang Brand Design & Consulting, China’s biggest branding and communication agency. In 2015, Gianluca joined global media agency Carat - part of the Dentsu Aegis Network which employs 40,000 people across five continents - where he started to explore digital marketing and Chinese e-commerce.
Gianluca has helped the development and localisation of some of the world’s best known international brands in China. He is now on a exciting journey to support the globalisation of Chinese tech players.
Andy Stride
Officer in the Royal Navy (BSc Management 2016 and MSc Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Management 2017)
Andy is an Officer in the Royal Navy. As a student at Nottingham, he was active in numerous entrepreneurial projects including as Director of U-Cycle (the University's bike rental scheme); social enterprises such as Aquor Water Technology which provided clean water to 40,000 people in Cameroon.
Andy was President of the student run Nottingham Enactus team that was crowned 2016 UK national champion and featured on the BBC. He has won several awards for entrepreneurship and business sustainability including UK Sustainability Champion, Green Gown Award - Enterprise & Employability, and G20 Global Business Challenge.
Kevin Ellis
UK Chairman and Senior Partner of PwC (Industrial Economics 1984)
Kevin started as a graduate trainee with PwC and over his career with the firm has worked in audit, insolvency, and business recovery; in the UK and overseas. He became a partner in 1996 and joined the UK firm's Executive Board in 2008 before being elected to his current position in 2016.
Kevin specialised in providing turnaround and crisis management to businesses in the public and private sectors for over 25 years. He has been instrumental in the significant growth of PwC’s UK business and its entry into new areas such as cyber security and data analytics.
Melike Belli
Market Development Manager at Cybertonica (MSc Banking and Finance 2014)
Melike is an expert on FinTech, Melike has authored numerous publications including the book ‘Banking and FinTech - Developing a FinTech Ecosystem in Istanbul’ and co-authoring ‘The InsurTech Book’ an insurance technology handbook for investors, entrepreneurs and FinTech visionaries. She has lectured on the online learning platform FINTECH Circle Institute and is Country Ambassador for the European Women Payments Network.
Melike is passionate about diversity and inclusion in financial services and was selected as the Standout 35 winner in the ‘2018 Innovate Finance Women in FinTech Powerlist’, included in ‘Innovate Finance Women in FinTech Powerlist’ in 2017 and 2016, DijiFi's ‘Top 10 Women leading the Turkish FinTech Industry’, Digital Age Magazine's ‘Inspiring 30’, and Code First: Girls ‘Ones to Watch’ 2017 list.
Melike is a member of the NUBS School Advisory Board.
Sebastian Kummle
Co-founder and Managing Director of Citylife UK (MSc Business and Management 2016)
Citylife UK is dedicated to enhancing the student experience of international students in the United Kingdom through the organisation and delivery of exciting events and activities.
With a mission to making thousands of international students’ time in the UK ‘unforgettable’, Citylife plans and organises free activities such as language exchanges, dancing events or other social meetings. The company runs trips to interesting cities and places in the UK, Europe and Africa. Additional services include helping international students to find suitable accommodation and discounts in the city.
Citylife now operates in Nottingham, Leeds, Sheffield, Loughborough, Manchester and Edinburgh and serves over 10,000 international students every year.
Molly Fong
Chief Executive Officer of The Body Shop Malaysia (MBA 2011)
Molly is responsible for the overall strategic direction and management of The Body Shop operations in Malaysia and Vietnam. Molly joined the company in 1995 as Communications Officer after a short stint in the advertising industry, and was appointed General Manager in 2003. She played a key leadership role in building the growth of the business in Malaysia, and later in 2009, she led to team to establish the business in Vietnam.
Molly’s passion for The Body Shop brand values and her belief in ‘profits with principles’ remain steadfast. She continues to ensure that social and environmental change remains high on the agenda of the Group.
In 2013 Molly was named ‘Alumnus of the Year’ at the Malaysia Campus.
Adam Brooks
Consultant General Surgeon at Queen's Medical Centre Nottingham (Executive MBA Healthcare 2014)
Adam trained in general surgery, hepatobiliary surgery, emergency surgery, trauma and critical care in the UK, USA, Australia and South Africa.
Adam is Director of the East Midlands Major Trauma Centre and Clinical Lead for Emergency Surgery. He is responsible for the regionalisation of Major Trauma Services across the East Midlands and the development of QMC into the East Midlands regional Major Trauma Centre.
Adam has held several senior leadership roles including Chair of NHS England’s Major Trauma Clinical Reference Group, and Director of Surgery at Nottingham University Hospitals. He has served in the UK reserve forces since 1998 and deployed as a consultant trauma surgeon with the UK Military in active combat zones.
Adrian Hayes
Record-breaking polar explorer, adventurer, and business coach (MBA 1994)
Adrian's adventure achievements include conquering Everest, K2, the North and South Poles, the length of Greenland and the Arabian Desert, setting two Guinness World Records, writing two books and featuring in three documentaries to date.
Formerly a British Army Gurkha Officer, he developed a successful senior corporate career with Airbus before becoming an internationally acclaimed keynote speaker, leadership coach and consultant and a current advisor to the European Mars One project.
In his campaign work, Adrian is an ambassador on economic, social & environmental sustainability and a patron of the Population Matters and CHASE Africa charities. He is also involved in a project to provide medical treatment and health & hygiene education in the remote Himalayas.
In 2014 Adrian received the University's 'Alumni Laureate Special Excellence Award'.
Raghbir S. Pattar
British Airways' Director of Airports (Executive MBA 2015)
Raghbir started his career with international shipping company BAX Global, before moving to British Airways where he has developed a career working across almost all areas of the business including Finance, Cargo, Passenger and Catering Operations and Procurement.
In 2011, Raghbir joined International Airlines Group (IAG) - the parent company of Aer Lingus, British Airways, Iberia, LEVEL and Vueling - as Head of Business Services. He then served as Group Chief Procurement Officer and became Chief Operating Officer of IAG’s Global Business Services before moving to his present role at British Airways.
Olivia Kaluna
Graduate on Dunelm's Fast Track Technology Leadership Programme (BSc Management 2017)
As a student at Nottingham, Libby took on many roles including Course Representative, School Education Representative, Senior Mentor, and Leader of the Graduation Ball Committee. She was recipient of the Elizabeth and JD Marsden Prize, Gold Student Leader Award, and winner of the 'Go the Extra Mile' volunteering award.
Libby is actively involved in a number of charities including as President of Free Cakes For Kids UK and as a fundraiser for various children's charities. At the 2015 national 'Inspiration Awards for Women' Libby won the ‘Inspirational Student’ and ‘Next Generation’ awards for her tireless charity fundraising activity.
Tony Scholes
Chief Executive of Stoke City Football Club (Industrial Economics 1987)
Beginning his career with professional services firm KPMG, passionate sports fan Tony jumped at the opportunity to join Preston North End as Chief Executive in 1996.
After the appointment of David Moyes as manager the club progressed through the Football League, winning the Division Two title and reaching the play-offs for promotion to the Premier League.
At the same time Tony was a Director of the Football League and a member of both the Football Association and Rugby Football League Councils.
Tony successfully set up a sports lottery business prior to joining Stoke City in 2004. Under his leadership, Stoke regained promotion to the Premier League after 23 years outside the top-flight, were FA Cup Runners-up in 2011 and qualified for the knockout stages of 2011-12 Europa League.