Current Students and Staff

Students, staff and distinguished alumni from the School of Business and Economics have been recognised for their achievements at the Dean’s annual Awards Dinner.

The event, held in the Sir Denis Rooke building, was attended by more than 120 people. The evening was hosted by Professor Jim Saker and included keynote speaker Robin Feith, Chief Executive of the Building Societies Association. 

Award recipients are as follows:

Distinguished Alumni awards

• Tony Denunzio - Non-Executive Chairman of Pets At Home Plc, who graduated in 1982 with a degree in Business Administration and Languages. Tony has also held high-profile positions at many other large companies including Alliance Boots and Maxeda.
• Ian Shepherdson - Chief Economist of Pantheon Macroeconomics, an independent research firm founded in 2012 providing subscription-based research to global financial institutions from its offices in Newcastle, New York and London. Ian gained his BSc and PhD from the School in 1988 and 1993 respectively.
• Sarah Branquinho - Corporate Communications and External Affairs Director at World Duty Free, who graduated in 1978 with a degree in French, German and Economics. Sarah has 30 years’ experience in the duty free industry.

Staff awards

• Professor Mark Freeman – Researcher of the Year
• Dr Chris Wilson – Teacher of the year
• Dr Dan Sage – Early Career Research of the year
• Dr Luke Garrod – Early Career Teacher of the Year
• Dr Belinda Dewsnap – Outstanding Contribution (Academic)
• Malika Lawrance – Outstanding Contribution (Non-Academic) (1)
• Jo Higham – Outstanding Contribution (Non-Academic) (2)
• Professor L. Alberto Franco – Impact on Practice (1)
• Professor Gilberto Montibeller – Impact on Practice (2)

Student awards

• Jennifer Mathieson – Deans Award for Student Excellence (1)
• Alexander Brown – Deans Award for Student Excellence (2)
• Sahil Jhamb – Deans Award for Student Enterprise
• Ella Vega – Deans Award for Student Employability
• Naomi Kelly – Doctoral Student of the year (1)
• Josh Morton – Doctoral Student of the year (2)
• Michael Vaughan – Deans Award for MBA Student of the year