The British Council is very pleased to announce that Maddalaine Ansell will take up the position of Director Education at the British Council on the 1st November 2018. She will head the Education Policy Unit and be a member of the Council’s Management Board. She will report into Jo Beall, the executive board member responsible for British Council’s work in Arts, Education and Society.
Maddalaine Ansell comes to us from University Alliance where she has been CEO. Prior to this she was at the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills where she worked closely with Lord David Willetts, then Minister for Science and Universities.
Her prior career has also set her up well for this role. She completed an undergraduate degree in Classics at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, trained and practiced as a lawyer in large international legal practices and after six years joined the civil service fast stream. She worked on the industrial strategy under Lord Mandelson and the Higher Education White Paper for Lord Willetts.
In the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills she had responsibility for further education and skills and set up the Newton Fund. As such Maddalaine Ansell has excellent experience and networks across UK government departments as well as deep knowledge and contacts in the tertiary education sector. We very much look forward to her joining the team.