Professor Lisa Roberts is currently Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive at The University of Exeter and has held this post since September 2020. Professor Roberts joined Exeter from the University of Leeds where she held the position of Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Research and Innovation. At Leeds, Professor Roberts led a step change in the scale, quality, and impact of world-leading research, including the recruitment and development of world-leading academics. She was also a driver of regional partnerships for innovation and economic growth and led the development and launch of the Nexus innovation hub.

A virologist by training, Professor Roberts spent more than eighteen years at the University of Surrey, serving as Executive Dean of the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences in her final four years at the University. Under her leadership, the faculty established the United Kingdom’s eighth School of Veterinary Medicine. Professor Roberts has recently been awarded a ‘Degree of Doctor of the University’ from the University of Surrey for her leadership contributions. Prior to her career in academia, Lisa worked as a technical brand manager for Proctor and Gamble, in the UK and in Belgium.

Professor Roberts has a track record of building strong business and civic partnerships in a range of vital UK sectors, and she has put partnerships with businesses to collaborate on green solutions at the heart of Exeter’s 2030 Strategy.

Professor Roberts is also a Board Member of the Russell Group, Jisc and Universities UK. Regionally, she is an inaugural Commissioner for the South-West Social Mobility Commission, and Board Member of the Great South West Partnership and the Liveable Exeter Place Board.