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The Oriel Alumni Advisory Committee

Membership of the Committe

The membership of the Oriel Alumni Advisory Committee (OAAC) includes representatives from a range of different generations of Orielenses. Open invitations for new members to join the committee will be sent out when spaces become available, with Orielenses encouraged to apply. Having a wide representation of alumni is important to the success of OAAC’s work and, by extension, the College’s programme of engaging with our community. Committee members meet twice a year, in September on the Saturday of Alumni Weekend, and on a Saturday in February. These meetings are both held in College with the option to join virtually.

Current Committee Members

Chair: Mr Geoffrey Austin (1983)

Geoffrey is Chair of the Oriel Alumni Advisory Committee. He was previously President of the Oriel Society and, from 2006 until 2011, when it combined with Oriel College, Chairman of the Oriel College Development Trust. He is also a Trustee of the Eden Trust, which is responsible for the Eden Project at Bodelva, Cornwall, and a Member of the Childline Board of the NSPCC.

Geoffrey is a Managing Director at Moelis & Company where he specialises in advising clients in the media and communications sector. He has over 25 years of corporate finance experience and was previously Managing Director and Global Co-Head of Media and Communications at Deutsche Bank and, prior to that, at Hambros Bank. He studied Chemistry at Oriel and was Captain of Boats in 1987.

Secretary: Mr Hugh Bryant (1969)

Hugh read Literae Humaniores (Classics) at Oriel, and is a retired City marine underwriter and maritime lawyer. After he retired Hugh helped to start Cobham Area Foodbank, and was for seven years its general manager. He retired from the Foodbank in July 2020. Hugh is very fond of music, especially opera, and is a member at Glyndebourne and a Friend at ENO and the Wigmore Hall. He is also a lay reader at his local church and a self-confessed petrol head. Hugh is a socialist and keen pro-European.

Treasurer: Viscount Clive Mackintosh (1977)
Mr John Cook (1965)

John is a retired Stockbroker. John captained the college rugby team . He also sat on the committee of the university Conservative Association. For 37 years he was secretary of a community rugby club . He was also a trustee of Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing. He has been Chair of the college Investment Advisory Committee and is Adam de Brome Fellow.

Mr Vincent Warner (1984)
Ms Laura Hawksworth (1986)

Laura graduated in 1990 with a degree in Classics. Laura’s career began in strategy consultancy (for McKinsey), followed by studying for an MBA from INSEAD. She then had senior management roles in national public sector agencies, focusing on improving services for vulnerable people.

More recently Laura has been a director of a social innovation think tank, advised companies on their social responsibility and right now in an interim role with the Careers and Enterprise Company, which aims to inspire and prepare young people for the world of work.

Miss Claire Toogood (1991)

Claire read Jurisprudence and is now a barrister and part-time judge. She was the first woman to cox the men’s first boat and is now a member of the Tortoise Committee and the Campaign Board, as well as the Alumni Committee.

Mrs Sarah Kiefer (2003)

Sarah is CMO at Pitch, a presentation software company enabling every team’s best thinking. Before joining Pitch she spent 5 years at Spotify, most recently as Director of Enterprise Marketing, responsible for promoting Spotify’s advertising business globally. Prior to Spotify she worked in Marketing and Sales Development at Ooyala, a Silicon Valley-based online video technology start-up, and in the television business at Discovery and Viacom. Sarah has an MBA from Stanford University, and a BA in Modern Languages from the University of Oxford. She lives in Hanover, Germany with her husband and two young sons.

Mr Markian Mysko von Schultze (2012)

Markian is Head of Marketing and International Expansion at Bridebook, one of Europe’s leading tech startups. Prior to this he was a management consultant at McKinsey & Co. Markian read Classics at Oriel, graduating in 2016. During his time at Oriel he was President of the Commemoration Ball, President of the Oriel Lions, and captain of the cricket club.

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