Dame Kate Barker is one of the UK's most respected economists, with a career spanning economics, public policy and governance. She served for nine years on the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee and led two landmark reviews for government: the Barker Review of Housing Supply and the Barker Review of Land-Use Planning.
She is currently Chair of the Trustee Board of the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) and was recently Deputy Chair of the Government's New Towns Taskforce.
Kate has extensive experience of university governance. She was Chair of the Board of Governors at Anglia Ruskin University and a member of Council at the University of Oxford, where she chaired the Audit and Scrutiny Committee.
She was made a CBE in 2005 for services to social housing and a Dame in 2014 for services to the economy.
Kate grew up in Stoke-on-Trent and joined the University's Board of Governors as Chair-Elect on 1 October 2026, and she will take over as Chair from 1 December 2026.