Chris has spent his working life in education. He was a secondary school teacher in urban comprehensive schools before moving into higher education, where he has been a teacher educator, research leader and head of institution. He was Director of the Institute of Education (2011-2016) and led the merger with UCL in 2014, and then Vice Chancellor of Sheffield Hallam University from 2016 to 2023. He has served on a number of education boards including: Training and Development Agency for Schools, Edexcel, AQA, Universities UK, Sheffield College. In 2017, he became Chair of the UK Higher Education Statistics Agency, and Chair of the Doncaster Opportunity Area Board. He led the Teaching Excellence Framework for the UK government, and has worked in consultancy and advice in education policy across world. He is now a Director of Higher Futures.
