Andrea Bolshaw
Associate Consultant
a.bolshaw@reading.ac.uk
Andrea brings her experience and credibility as a Higher Education leader to SUMS members and clients. She has a well-known reputation across the sector, having worked in it for her entire 27-year career, spanning 5 diverse universities (Russell Group; Post-92s and smaller/specialist institutions). In her most recent role, she was part of the University Executive as Secretary & Registrar and Clerk to the Governing Body. Prior to this, she was an Academic Registrar and also worked at progressive levels of responsibility across a range of university business areas (medical schools, quality assurance (including collaborative provision in the UK and overseas), planning, student services, faculties and registry).
She has a significant depth and breadth of expertise and a proven track record of providing strategic and operational leadership across a diverse portfolio. Andrea has worked successfully at an executive level for 7 years. In her last university role, Andrea led the entire organisation through the pandemic; orchestrating and steering, at pace, the cessation and pivot of operational activities and then the transition back to campus, post and prior to the national lockdowns. Andrea has benefitted from the opportunity to work with a diverse range of multi-disciplinary teams and stakeholders with various approaches and personal styles. She builds positive working relations with the appropriate influence in order to achieve operational and strategic objectives. The recommendations on her LinkedIn profile evidence the extent of the impact she has made at each stage in her career.
Andrea has been a Chartered Manager for 13 years. She has an MBA with distinction and completed the Sector’s flagship leadership programme ‘Top Management Programme’ in 2022 with AdvanceHE. She has led conference sessions, workshops and blogs for the Association of University Administrators (AUA) and sat on a number of panels at national HE sector events. She has served as a NED outside of HE, and currently sits on a number of boards and has held additional roles during her career advising the Office of the Independent and mentoring and then examining on AUA’s PG Certificate in Professional Practice (HE Admin and Management).
She is currently involved in a reciprocal mentoring scheme with the Association of Heads of University Administration (AHUA) with the aim of better understanding the barriers faced by aspiring leaders.
Andrea is a working parent, looking after her two young children and is a keen runner.