UKAIS Presidents

UKAIS President

Dr. Oliver Kayas

UKAIS Past Presidents

Years	Name	Affiliation
1995/96	John Ward	Cranfield
1997/98	David Avison	University of Southampton
1999/00	Frank Stowell	De Montfort
2001/02	John Ward	Cranfield
2003/04	Philip Powell	Birkbeck
2005/06	Steve Smithson	LSE
2007/08	Laurence Brooks	Brunel University London
2009/10	David Wainwright	Northumbria University
2011/12	Guy Fitzgerald*	Brunel University London
2012/13	Ray Paul	Brunel University London
2014/15	Dave Wastell	Nottingham University
2016/17	Rachel McLean	Liverpool John Moores University
2018/19	Marie Griffiths	Salford University
2020/22	Savvas Papagiannidis	Newcastle University
2023/24	Niki Panteli	Lancaster University

Prof John Ward

John’s main areas of interest are the strategic uses of IS/IT, the integration of IS/IT strategies with business strategies, the development of organisational IS capabilities and the management of IS/IT investments. He has published many papers in leading academic and business journals, including California Management Review and is co-author of the books, Strategic Planning for Information Systems and Benefits Management: Delivering Value from IS & IT Investments. He was Director of the IS Research Centre from 1993-2004. Prior to joining Cranfield in 1984, John worked in industry for 15 years, the last three as Systems Development Manager at Kodak Limited. He acts as a consultant to a range of major international corporations and public sector organisations. He has a degree in Natural Sciences from Cambridge, is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants and is a past-President of the UK Academy for Information Systems. [profile]

Prof David Avison

David Avison is Distinguished Emeritus Professor of Information Systems at ESSEC Business School, near Paris, France. He joined ESSEC in 2000 after being Professor at the School of Management at Southampton University for nine years. He has also held posts at Brunel and Aston Universities in England, and the University of Technology Sydney and University of New South Wales in Australia, and elsewhere. He was President of the Association of Information Systems (AIS) for 2008-9. He was founding editor of Information Systems Journal, rated as a ‘core’ international research journal in information systems. So far, twenty-five books are to his credit including the fourth edition of the well-used text Information Systems Development: Methodologies, Techniques and Tools (authored with Guy Fitzgerald) and most reently Information Systems Project Management (with Reza Torkzedah). He has published a large number of research papers in learned journals, edited texts and conference papers. He was Chair of the International Federation of Information Processing (IFIP) 8.2 group on the impact of IS/IT on organisations and society. He was past President of the UK Academy for Information Systems and also chair of the UK Heads and Professors of IS and is presently member of the IS Senior Scholars Forum. He was joint programme chair of the International Conference in Information Systems (ICIS) in Las Vegas, joint programme chair of IFIP TC8 conference at Santiago Chile and again in Milan, Italy, programme chair of the IFIPWG8.2 conference in Amsterdam, panels chair for the European Conference in Information Systems at Copenhagen and publicity chair for the entity-relationship conference in Paris and chair of several other UK and European conferences. He also acts as consultant, most recently with a leading manufacturer developing their IT/IS strategy. He researches in the area of information systems development and more generally on information systems in their natural organizational setting, in particular using action research, though he has also used a number of other qualitative research approaches. David received the LEO Award for lifetime exceptional achievement in San Francisco December 2018 having preciously been awarded IFIP Silver Core and Fellowship of the AIS. [profile]

Prof Frank Stowell

I am Emeritus Professor of Systems and Information Systems at the School of Computing. Before rejoining the University of Portsmouth in 2004, I was Campus Director of De Montfort University, Milton Keynes Campus and prior to that Professor of Systems and Information Systems at University of the West of Scotland. I have a PhD in Organisational Change and continue my involvement in research. I am past President of the UK Academy for Information Systems and the UK Systems Society and presently chair the Council of Information Systems Professors. I was recently invited to join the Board of the World Organisation of Systems and Cybernetics. I am the Editor in Chief of the International Journal of Systems and Society and previously Editor in Chief of the International Journal of Information Technologies and the Systems Approach. I have served as an external examiner for undergraduate and postgraduate IS/IT programmes at more than a dozen UK universities. I have also served as a specialist subject reviewer for the Quality Assurance Agency and am an Academic Associate of the Higher Education Academy (HEA). [profile]

Prof Philip Powell

Philip Powell is Executive Dean, School of Business, Economics and Informatics Birkbeck, University of London’s and is also Pro Vice-Master for Enterprise and Innovation. Currently professor of Management and before that holding chairs in information systems and information management at Bath and at Goldsmiths, his research has resulted in over 340 published outputs in the fields of information systems, management, operations, and higher education management. He has won 32 grants and successfully graduated 22 PhDs. Philip recently stepped down as Editor-in-Chief of the Information Systems Journal. He has held an honorary chair in Groningen, Netherlands since 2006. Before becoming dean at Birkbeck in 2009, Philip was deputy dean of the School of Management at Bath having worked at Warwick, Adelaide, Southampton and Lisboa. He is a Fellow of the British Computer Society, of the Academy of Social Sciences, of the Centre for Distance Education, of the HEA and is a Senior Scholar of the Association of Information Systems. He was president of the UK Academy for Information Systems. Prior to becoming an academic, Philip worked in insurance, accounting and systems analysis. Among a number of external appointments, he is a member of the Institute for Apprentices, Route Panel for Business and Administration. [profile]

Dr Steve Smithson

Dr Steve Smithson is a Senior Teaching Fellow in the Department of Management at the London School of Economics.

Prof Laurence Brooks

Laurence Brooks is Professor of Technology and Social Responsibility in the Centre for Computing and Social Responsibility at De Montfort University, Leicester, UK. His research interests are around the area of ICT and people, whether at the individual, group or societal level. I have engaged with this in a number of areas, including social media, eGovernment, ICT4D and health, and mostly using a range of social theory (ie. sociomateriality, Structuration Theory, Actor Network Theory), as well as developing an interest into the ethics of emerging technologies. [profile]

Prof David Wainwright

David Wainwright is an experienced sociotechnical systems design consultant with over 35 years experience in both industry and academia. Initially working as a Geologist and Engineer in the Oil Industry, he then moved into academia at the forefront of the business information systems, micro-computing, e-business and digital systems revolution. David, a former President of the UK Association of Information Systems (UKAIS), has held high profile positions, researching, consulting and lecturing at Newcastle Business School, Northumbria University and also at Durham University Business School. Professor Wainwright left academia in 2018 to develop a new start-up consultancy business, Sociotechnical Design Ltd, to focus on research impact, translating research thinking into practice, engaging in fast track consultancy projects. The business focus to date has been on trouble-shooting and modelling of academic postgraduate support and digital systems and the application of modelling and problem structuring methods within the health and care sectors – especially tele-healthcare.

Prof Guy Fitzgerald

Guy Fitzgerald was previously at Brunel University and prior to that at Aston, Warwick, London and Oxford. He has also worked in the computing industry as a programmer, analyst and consultant. He is the author (with David Avison) of an influential text book on systems development and is the founding editor of the Information Systems Journal (ISJ). Guy’s research interests are mainly related to the successful development of information systems and the approaches and methods involved, including agile. He has also published in the areas of executive information systems, strategic planning, outsourcing, and eParticipation. [profile]

Ray Paul

Ray J. Paul’s was as Dean of the Faculty of Technology and Information Systems at Brunel University (UK). He has been honored with the title, Professor Emeritus by Brunel. He began his current professorship at Brunel in 1992 and was promoted to Professor, and appointed Head of Department. He started his academic career at The London School of Economics and Political Science as a Lecturer, then Senior Lecturer, prior to moving to Brunel in 1992. Ray Paul’s honors within the field include receiving the rank of 21st in the world amongst experts in simulation systems according to the eH-index (2009); being awarded the title of Companion in Operational Research by The Operational Research Society (2009); and winning the ACM SIGSIM Distinguished Contributions Award (2008). His contributions to the field include more than 350 refereed journal and condensed articles. He was a moving force in the founding of the Journal of Simulation, and served as Editor of the European Journal of Information Systems for 12 years. Noting the remarkable legacy of 55 students having received the Ph.D. under his supervision, Ray Paul’s influence on simulation and information systems shall extend well into the future.

Dave Wastell

David Wastell began his academic career as a cognitive neuroscientist at Durham University, studying the relationships between brain activity and psychological processes. Following his PhD, he moved to the MRC Applied Psychology Unit in Cambridge in 1978, where he undertook research on stress and technological innovation in collaboration with British Telecom. His interests in technology and work developed during an extended period at Manchester University before being appointed Professor of the Information Society at Salford University in 2000. Subsequently he moved to UMIST, before transferring to Nottingham in 2005. [profile]

Prof Rachel McLean

Professor Rachel McLean is Director of Liverpool Screen School at Liverpool John Moores University, which offers undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in an eclectic range of creative disciplines including Media Production, Film Studies, Journalism, Drama and Creative Writing. Rachel’s own career path reflects this diversity. After graduating with a first degree in English Literature, she worked as a curator in the British Library’s Western Manuscripts department, and in HE Libraries before obtaining a PhD in electronic commerce. Lecturing posts in Business and Creative Technology at various universities brought Rachel to her current role, in which she draws on creativity to drive forward initiatives and to inform strategic planning. Rachel’s extensive and varied research portfolio includes international publications on science fiction and creative prototyping, social media and the twenty-first century music industry, and she is currently overseeing a funded research project looking at the use of social media by the emergency services. Rachel was successfully nominated as a REF 2021 panel member for UoA 34 Communication, Cultural and Media Studies, Library and Information Management. In 2016 Rachel was elected as President of the UK Academy for Information Systems (UKAIS), becoming the first woman to hold this post since the Academy was founded 25 years ago. She is also a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (HEA). [profile]

Dr Marie Griffiths

Marie’s main teaching focus is upon the role of digital technologies in the business setting specialises in the convergence of the ‘real’ and digital worlds and the social influences of technology. Teaching commitments lie within this area teaching Emerging Technologies, Information Security, Enterprise 2.0 and Information Systems. She has been awarded along with my colleague Dr Kutar a Vice Chancellor’s Distinguished Teaching award for our innovative teaching approach using Inquiry Based Learning. [profile]

Prof Savvas Papagiannidis

Prof Papagiannidis is the David Goldman Professor of Innovation and Enterprise at Newcastle University Business School. His research interests revolve around electronic business and its various sub-domains and how digital technologies can transform organisations and societies alike. More specifically, his research aims to inform our understanding of how e-business technologies affect the social and business environment, organisational strategies and business models, and how these are implemented in terms of functional innovations (especially in emarketing and ecommerce). His work puts strong emphasis on innovation, new value creation and exploitation of entrepreneurial opportunities, within the context of different industries. Apart from the impact that the Internet and related technologies can have on businesses, he is also very much interested in the impact such technologies can have on individual users. [profile]

Prof Niki Panteli

Niki Panteli is a Professor of Digital Business at Lancaster University. She has a PhD in Industrial and Business Studies from Warwick Business School and held academic positions at Glasgow University, Aberdeen University and the University of Bath in the UK. She has also held visiting positions at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, IMT Business School, Paris and the University of Nicosia, Cyprus.

Her main research interests lie in the area of digital transformation, virtual teams, online collaborations and digital health. She is also doing research on gender and IT and more recently on cybersecurity within the Covid-19 Work From Home context.

She led and participated in several research projects funded by the EU, UK research councils, charities and corporates. Her research has appeared in numerous top-ranked academic journals including the Journal of the Association of Information Systems, Work, Employment & Society, Information Systems Journal, European Journal of Information Systems, Human Relations, Information Technology and People, Decision Support Systems, Communications of the ACM and New Technology, Work and Employment among others.

She served as the Chair of the IFIP – International Federation of Information Processing- W.G. 9.5 on Virtuality & Society (2006-09). She has been the Subject Group Lead for the Technology and Information Management group at the School of Management of Royal Holloway (2016-19) and is on the editorial board of several journals including the Journal of the Association of Information Systems, New Technology, Work and Employment and the International Journal of Information Management. She is also an Associate Editor for Information Systems Journal and a Senior Editor for Information Technology and People.