Simon Gerry is CEO of Newcastle University Students' Union (NUSU), an award-winning educational charity. He joined after a 20-year military career that included senior officer roles and peacekeeping deployments with the UN, NATO, and OSCE, bringing that operational discipline to bear on an organization that was in financial difficulty when he arrived.
Gerry stabilized NUSU through restructuring and rebranding, and secured an £8 million grant that funded a major redevelopment of the union's facilities, completed in 2011. Since then, NUSU has won 'Best Students' Union of the Year' at the Educate North Awards four times in five years under his leadership.
Gerry credits the union's success to a simple philosophy of great people, great planning, and great teamwork. He has also expanded NUSU's reach internationally, making it the first UK students' union to operate overseas campuses, while building out support for student wellbeing and representation across dozens of societies and volunteering programs.
