Alumni Advisory Council

Your alumni representatives

Established in October 2004, the Alumni Advisory Council (AAC) provides an important link between Imperial Business School and its alumni community.

The Council’s key objectives are to:

  • communicate the interests and concerns of alumni to the School
  • provide relevant expertise and input on alumni engagement and School strategy and initiatives
  • advise and support the School in creating and enhancing alumni benefits, services, and opportunities (professional, intellectual, or social)
  • foster an active relationship between the School and its alumni, help build a vibrant and connected alumni network and contribute to student engagement
  • champion the School and communicate its vision and achievements, while supporting increased awareness and development of the School’s global reputation
  • support the university’s bold and ambitious strategy, Science for Humanity, and the subsequent comprehensive fundraising and alumni engagement campaign

Alumni Advisory Council membership

The Alumni Advisory Council is made up of 15-20 alumni members, alongside the Dean of the Business School and Head of Alumni Engagement. As representatives of our global community of over 30,000 alumni, council members are some of the Business School’s strongest advocates and play a crucial role in supporting initiatives. Meetings are held up to three times a year, in a hybrid format, giving council members the opportunity to provide feedback and strategic input. Members also provide additional support on a range of activities throughout the year.

The council strives to be representative of our diverse alumni body and we encourage people from any graduation year, industry, programme of study, or geographical location to apply. If you are eager to make a difference to your fellow alumni, the Business School, and the next generation of students, then we would love to hear from you.

You can find out more information about the Alumni Advisory Council by reading the Council Terms of Reference and the Nominations Guidance. These documents detail the governance of the Council, the roles and responsibilities of Members.

Applications to join the Alumni Advisory Council are currently closed.

A reflection of the Queen's Tower at Imperial London South Kensington campus

Joanne Linder, Chair of the Council - Full-Time MBA 1996

Joanne started her career at BAE Systems and had a largely blue-chip career until her MBA. She set up her first business when she graduated and was a pioneer in personalised web content during the dot-com boom. Joanne now advises and invests in early stage businesses across the globe.

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A reflection of the Queen's Tower at Imperial London South Kensington campus

Elynor Chiu - Full-Time MBA 2011

Elynor is currently Senior Product Manager and Business Analyst for Qatari Computer Research Institute, with over 18 years of experience in business strategy and operations. She specialises in managing digital transformation initiatives in fast growing tech companies in the biometric and FinTech spaces in California and Europe.

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Salwa Darraj

Salwa Darraj - MSc Economics & Strategy for Business 2014

Salwa is a Strategy Consultant and Senior Engagement Manager at EY-Parthenon. As well as serving on the Alumni Advisory Council, she is a mentor for students and start-ups at Imperial. Previous roles include serving on the Board of Trustees for the American University of Beirut (AUB) and the Innovators Under 35 Panel of MIT.

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Andrew Fernando

Andrew Fernando - MSc Finance 2007

Andrew is management consultant, with extensive experience advising top-tier investment banks on strategic initiatives. He was a former trader at a US Investment bank focussing on delta-one structured products. As an Alumni Advisory Board member, he supports initiatives that enhance student engagement and professional development.

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Yann Helle

Yann Helle - Weekend Executive MBA 2010

Yann is the group managing director of 2H Offshore, an engineering consultancy specialised in offshore oil and gas, energy transition and renewable energy. He has a diverse background in engineering and a successful track record leading high-value projects in the subsea sector and offshore wind market.

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A reflection of the Queen's Tower at Imperial London South Kensington campus

Adrian Matze - MSc Risk Management & Financial Engineering 2014

Adrian is Commercial Advisor for Shell, having worked at the organisation for over ten years. In addition to his role on the Council, Adrian is the main lead of the alumni network in the Netherlands, playing an important role in bringing together Imperial alumni in the region and championing a lifelong relationship with the university.

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Roya Rahnejat

Roya Rahnejat - MSc Risk Management 2007

Roya is a seasoned professional with over 16 years of experience in the financial sector, specialising in business and technology projects for banks, insurers, and fintechs. Currently, she focuses on driving growth and international expansion for the Global Cyber team at Howden Insurance. 

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Mel York

Melanie York - Full-Time MBA 1993

Melanie is a marketing, communications and business development professional, with experience in the professional services, science, health care and non-profit sectors. She is currently the PR Content Director for marketing consultancy, Gravity Global, the world's most awarded brand to demand agency specialising in complex markets. 

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