Plus est en vous
Antonians make a difference in the world through a hugely diverse range of professional paths. Here is a round-up of recent alumni career updates.
1960s
Ahmed Al-Shahi (Social Anthropology, 1962) is Co-Founder (with Bona Malwal) and Chair of Trustees of The Sudanese Programme (a UK registered charity, no. 1177019) and with Dr Richard Barltop (Trustee of The Sudanese Programme) continues to organise conferences, workshops and other events in collaboration with the Middle East Centre at St Antony's.
1970s
Francis Ghiles (French Colonial Economics, Algeria, 1975) has moved back to Paris after 17 years in Barcelona where he remains Associate Senior Researcher at CIDOB. He is currently a Visiting Fellow at Kings College London and continues to write and broadcast on North African Affairs.
Allan Hughes (History, 1979) was a Barrister from 1983 to 1998 and a Judge from 1998 to 2010.
1980s
Michael Cullen (DPhil Agricultural Economics, 1984) is Board Member and Investor of Terra Global Capital, a firm that provides private sector finance to forestry conservation and land use projects around the world. They have a target of raising $300 Million for a fund that can generate over $1.2 Billion in carbon credits over the next 30 years for the benefit of local communities in developing countries to enhance biodiversity in their ecosystems.
Suranjan Das (DPhil Commonwealth History, 1984) has completed his term as Vice-Chancellor of Jadavpur University, Kolkata and President, Association of Indian Universities, New Delhi. He is currently Vice-Chancellor of Adamas University, Kolkata.
Juhi Hajela (MSt History, 1993) is currently Vice President - Global Marketing for BlueStacks & now.gg (a cloud gaming company).
Kisaburo Ishii (Economics, 1981) was appointed as President of the City Planning Association of Japan in 2023.
Toshiyuki Kosugi (SAM, 1984-1985) has been appointed as Executive Managing Director, CEO of JBIC IG Partners, a subsidiary of Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) and IGPI Group with functions of an advisor and operator of overseas venture funds.
Jeff VanDreal (MPhil International Relations, 1984) Jeff retired from the US Foreign Service in September 2022. He is now happily ensconced in Denver, pursuing his non-academic passions: mountain-hiking, beer-brewing, and baseball-watching.
Phillip Walker (MPhil International Relations, 1984) has recently started on a new project working with the government of Iraq to establish the "Iraq Fund for Development." This unique sovereign wealth fund with initial capitalisation of 3 trillion ID (roughly $2.2 billion USD) will focus on long-term domestic Iraqi investment in key sectors of the economy in cooperation with private sector investors. Phil will be shuttling back and forth between Baghdad and his home in New Hampshire, with frequent stops (he hopes) in London and Oxford.
Nira Wickramasinghe (DPhil Modern History, 1985) is a Member of the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton, School of Historical Studies in 2023.
1990s
Judith Clifton (Economics, 1993) has been appointed Non-Executive Director to OFCOM’s consumer panel.
Jörg Michael Dostal (DPhil Politics, 1999) was appointed as a Professor in the Graduate School of Public Administration at Seoul National University in September 2023.
Steven Everts (DPhil International Relations, 1994) has been appointed as the new Director of the EU Institute for Security Studies.
Sam Halabi (MPhil International Relations, 1999) has been appointed as Professor at the Georgetown University School of Health and Director of the Center for Transformational Health Law at the O'Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law, Georgetown University Law Center.
Chimene Keither (DPhil International Relations, 1996) has joined the University of California Davis School of Law as Martin Luther King Jr. Professor of Law.
Alison Stone Roofe (MPhil International Relations, 1993) was appointed as the Permanent Secretary at the Jamaican Ministry of National Security (after 34 years in the Jamaican Foreign Service).
2000s
Rowan Alcock (DPhil Politics, 2014) is ‘Shuimu' Postdoctoral Fellow at Tsinghua University in the Institute for Advanced Study in Humanities and Social Sciences.
Mariah Atiq (MSt Diplomatic Studies, 2019) is Second Secretary Political at the Embassy of Pakistan in Brussels and is the contact for EU institutions.
Ibone Ametzaga Arregi (Basque Visiting Fellow, 2001) has been appointed Full Professor at the University of the Basque Country/Euskal Herriko Univertsitatea.
William Attwell (MSc African Studies, 2008) has been appointed Director of Climate Risk and Sustainable Finance at Sustainable Fitch.
Gülnur Aybet (International relations, 2006) was appointed as Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the Republic of Türkiye to UNESCO in Paris in 2021. Before this, she was Senior Advisor in Foreign and Security Policy to the President of Türkiye, working with President Erdoğan for five years.
William Attwell (MSc African Studies, 2008) was recently appointed Director of Climate Research at the Fitch Group.
Rene Balletta (Hudson Fellow, 2020) has been appointed as the First Sea Lord’s Visiting Fellow to the Royal United Services Institute.
Jessie Barton Hronesova (DPhil Politics, 2013) was appointed Lecturer in Political Sociology at the School of Slavonic and East European Studies, University College London
Leong Cheung (Academic Visitor, 2022) joined the Hong Kong Monetary Authority in July 2023 as the Chief Strategy Officer of the Exchange Fund. With his colleagues he manages hkd 4 trillion of reserve to defend the currency and add value to the capital. Specifically, he will initially focus on business
Noe Cornago (Basque Senior Visiting Fellow, 2011-12) is CPD Research Fellow 2023-25 at the Center for Public Diplomacy, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, USA.
Mario Carvajal Cabal (MSc Latin American Studies, 2021) was recently appointed Public Affairs Leader at IDDEA Comunicaciones a strategic communications firm in Bogotá D.C., Colombia.
Marina Costa Lobo (DPhil Politics, 2001) has been elected Director of the Institute of Social Sciences at the University of Lisbon.
Gonzalo Croci (MSc in Latin American Studies, 2017) was invited to become an expert member of the Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime.
Abdinor Dahir (African Studies, 2020) returned to Somalia, his country of origin, following his Oxford graduation in October 2021. After working with the Somali Government for 1.5 years as an advisor, he founded Taloford Consulting Group, which shares knowledge with public, private and social sector leaders to drive change and make direct impact on society. The Group also establish strong bridges with the academia to help clients understand the issues and key factors at the heart of the country’s political and socio-economic changes.
Bihi Egeh (MSt Diplomatic Studies, 2018) was appointed as the Finance Minister of the Federal Government of Somalia in July 2023. He was previously the Minister of Labour and Social Affairs.
Alejandro Espinosa (MSc Latin American Studies, 2012) was appointed Assistant Professor of Politics at IPADE Business School.
Sandhya Fuchs (MPhil Social Anthropology, 2015) completed a Leverhulme Early Career Fellowship for her project "Hate Speech in India: Judicial Politics of History and Memory" at the School of Social and Political Science at the University of Edinburgh. She will be taking up a position as Assistant Professor in Social and Cultural Anthropology at the Free University of Amsterdam in January 2024.
Jonathan Fulwell (MPhil Modern Chinese Studies, 2010) has been appointed First Secretary, Political at the British Embassy in Tokyo to start in October 2023.
Noorain Fatima Khan (Migration Studies, 2006) has been appointed President of Girl Scouts of the USA. As National Board President, Khan will lead a 30-member National Board of Directors.
Takamitsu Kurita (MPhil and DPhil in Economics, 2001) has moved from Fukuoka University to Kyoto Sangyo University
Isaac Kardon (MPhil Modern Chinese Studies, 2007) started a new position in 2023 as Senior Fellow for China Studies at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, in Washington DC. Co-winner of Perry World House Affairs Prize.
Vivek Krishnamurthy (MPhil International Relations, 2002) was appointed Associate Professor of Law and the Director of the Samuelson-Glushko Technology Law & Policy Clinic (TLPC) at the University of Colorado—Boulder.
Makoto Kosaka (SAM 2003) is President of the University of Hyogo, Kobe Japan, and Vice-Chancellor, Hyogo Public University Corporation.
Damon Loveless (US Navy Hudson Fellow, 2021) recently began duties as Executive Officer of USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72), one of 11 US Navy aircraft carriers, homeported in San Diego, California.
Samuele Mazzolini (MPhil Latin American Studies, 2010) was awarded a post-doctoral position at the Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, which he will hold until January 2025, when he will start a three-year Marie Skłodowska-Curie Global Fellowship, with the project "Populism and institutions in Latin America. A comparative assessment between Ecuador and Argentina". He will be based at FLACSO Ecuador in the first two years and at the Ca' Foscari University of Venice in his final year.
Keya Madhvani Singh (MSc Global Governance and Diplomacy, 2009). After more than seven years in senior roles at Twitter in India, Keya has moved into a new role at the India Climate Collaborative, focussing on mobilising philanthropy to climate change in India.
Jamie Masraff (MPhil Development Studies, 2005) is now the CEO of OnSide, a charity which develops and supports a network of state-of-the-art youth centres across the most disadvantaged parts of the UK.
Isabel Moctezuma-Barbará (MPhil Development Studies, 2007) has been appointed Regional Manager for Latin America of the “Stevens Initiative” at the Aspen Institute which promotes virtual exchange among youth from different countries and cultures.
Hashi Mohamed (Msc African Studies 2008) has joined new barristers' chambers - Landmark Chambers.
Marcelo de Almeida Medeiros (International Relations, 2015) was on sabbatical, conducting research at Sciences Po Grenoble and the Centre de Recherche et Documentation sur les Amériques - CREDA/CNRS (Paris). As a Kosaka Visiting Professor, he was focusing on Regional (Dis)Integration and Nationalist Logics from a Comparative Perspective. In 2022, he was appointed as a member of the Superior Council of the Foundation for the Support of Science and Technology of the State of Pernambuco (Recife/Brazil) in the Area of Human and Social Sciences.
Aaron Maniam (DPhil Public Policy, 2013) has been appointed Fellow of Practice and Director of Digital Transformation Education at the Blavatnik School of Government, Oxford.
Hossameldeen Mohammed (Senior Member, 2017-18) was appointed as Assistant Professor at Karabuk University, College of Theology, Turkey.
Matt Offord (Hudson Fellow, 2016) was promoted to Senior Lecturer in Leadership and Management Education at Glasgow University's Adam Smith Business School.
Olanrewaju Olaniyan (SAM, 2007) has been appointed as the Pioneer Vice Chancellor at Emmanuel Alayande University of Education in Oyo, Nigeria.
Ryan Powell (MPhil Development Studies, 2015) was appointed Head of Innovation and Media Business at the International Press Institute, building a new global project funding, training, and coaching independent media on their growth.
Patel Priyesh (DPhil Sociology, 2020) recently began the role of Parliamentary Caseworker for a UK Member of Parliament.
Patrick Quinton-Brown (DPhil International Relations, 2014) is Assistant Professor of International Relations at Singapore Management University.
Pablo Quiñonez (MSc Comparative Social Policy, 2019) was elected Councillor of Loja, Ecuador. He currently chairs the Production, Commercialisation and Entrepreneurship Commission of the municipal council.
Clemens Rawert (MSc Economic & Social History, 2019). His AI start-up raised USD 4m in seed funding and took part in the prestigious YCombinator accelerator.
Matt Stone (MSc Global Governance & Diplomacy, 2008) was recently appointed Executive Vice President - United Kingdom of Power2X, a green hydrogen and green fuels project developer, after an 11-year career, including the last four as a Partner, at McKinsey & Company.
Anda Totoreanu (MSc Russian and East European Studies, 2016) graduated from Law School and started a new career as a Business Immigration Attorney.
Saad Toor (MSc Modern South Asian Studies, 2017) is President of Somerset County Young Democrats, Somerset County, NJ, USA. He is also Adjunct Professor of Government and Politics at Sacred Heart University, Fairfield, CT, USA, and Form Dean, Upper School History Teacher, Middle School Athletics Coach, and Advisor at the Pingry School in Basking Ridge, NJ, USA.
Daniel Villar-Onrubia (DPhil in Information, Communication and the Social Sciences, 2009) has recently left the UK and relocated to Spain to join the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission as a researcher (Scientific Officer) in the field of Digital Education and Skills.
Roxanne Varzi (Senior Member, 2004-5) was made Professor at the University of California Irvine in 2019.
Thom Woodroofe (MSc Global Governance & Diplomacy, 2014) has commenced a new role in Washington D.C. with the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade as Principal Adviser to the Ambassador to the United States (and former Prime Minister), Kevin Rudd. Thom had served for over three years as Kevin Rudd’s Chief of Staff at the Asia Society where he established a new China Climate Hub providing intelligence and rapid response analysis on the state of China’s climate action.
Pēteris Zilgalvis (Visiting Fellow, 2013-2014), Judge at the General Court of the European Union, was named as a member of the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Management Board of the Court of Justice of the European Union.