Sir David Bell was appointed as Pro Chancellor in 2010. David also served as Chair of the University Council between 2008 and 2020.
Sir David has an extensive history of senior executive and non-executive positions within the private, public and third sectors. He retired as a director of Pearson plc, and Chairman of the Financial Times at the end of 2009 after 13 years on the Board.
David was appointed Chief Executive of the Financial Times in 1993 and became Chairman in 1996. In July 1998 he was also appointed Pearson's Director for People, with responsibility for the recruitment, motivation, development and reward of employees across the Pearson Group and in June 2003 he became Chairman of Pearson Inc in New York. David has also acted as a non-executive director for the Economist.
In addition to this he is President of Coram, Co-Chair of the Foundation for Future London, Chair of the Cambridge University Press, and Chair of the Institute of War & Peace Reporting.
David was also Chairman of the Millennium Bridge Trust (1995-2002), which was responsible for conceiving the first new bridge across the Thames in the centre of London for 100 years.
David was born in Henfield, Sussex, and educated at Cambridge University and the University of Pennsylvania. He is married with three children and lives in Islington.
David received his knighthood for services to industry, the arts and charity. He was appointed as an assessor for the Leveson Inquiry into the culture, practices and ethics of the press in July 2011.