Ghazwa Alwani-Starr

Dr Ghazwa Alwani-Starr joined Queen Mary as Chief Operations Officer in December 2021.

Ghaz is a chartered civil and structural engineer with 31 years’ experience in the private, public and not-for-profit sectors. She has held project directorship roles at BAA, the Prince’s Foundation and the NHS and has been a board level director for the last 18 years. Ghaz entered the higher education sector as Director of Estates and Campus Services at the University of Roehampton where she implemented the University’s extensive capital investment programme.

Before joining Queen Mary, Ghaz was Pro Vice Chancellor Strategy Planning and Partnerships and Director of Property and Facilities Management at the University of London. In this role, Ghaz was responsible for strategy development, the planning office, risk management, strategic communications and marketing, the development and alumni office as well as governance and legal services. Ghaz was also responsible for the University of London’s portfolio of property assets in Bloomsbury.

Ghaz’s expertise in higher education saw her act as a member of the Oversight Panel for UUK’s Diamond II review of efficiency and effectiveness in HE. She was also the lead for the work stream focused on space efficiency in higher education in the UK.

She chaired the London Region of AUDE (Association of University Directors of Estates) for 4 years and is the current Chair of the Higher Education Design Quality Forum - an independent organisation which promotes high quality design in university campuses, buildings and facilities.