Simon Gerry is CEO of Newcastle University Students' Union (NUSU). A former senior military officer with a 20-year career spanning finance, corporate governance, project management, and HR, he took part in UN, NATO, and OSCE peacekeeping operations, experiences that shaped his commitment to public service work.
When Gerry joined NUSU, the charity was in serious financial distress, with its bars, nightclub, and catering operations all underperforming. He carried out a difficult restructuring that included a 30 percent reduction in staff, rebuilt the organization's brand and commercial operations, and secured an £8 million grant for facility redevelopment that went on to win the 2011 Best Educational Development award at the LABC Awards.
Under his leadership, NUSU was named Best Students' Union of the Year at the Educate North Awards in four of five years, a level of recognition Gerry attributes to great people, great planning, and great teamwork, alongside careful attention to a clear set of key performance indicators. He is a strong believer that students, given training, opportunity, and modest seed funding, can generate genuinely creative and unlimited ideas.
