Cranfield University alumni have been recognised for their significant achievements in the 2023 New Years Honours list. The New Year Honours mark the achievements and service of extraordinary people across the United Kingdom.
Cranfield alumni receiving honours include:
- Dawn Childs, Chief Executive Officer of Pure Data Centre Group (Operations) Ltd, awarded Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire for her services to engineering. Dawn has an MBA from Cranfield University. Her career has spanned several engineering sectors and industries including working for the RAF, Gatwick Airport, Merlin Entertainments plc and National Grid.
- Libby Jackson, Head of Space Exploration at the UK Space Agency, has been awarded an OBE for her services to the space sector, and for working with young women to encourage studying and working in STEM.Libby is one of Britain’s leading experts in human spaceflight and previously managed the educational programme for Tim Peake’s mission to the International Space Station. Libby graduated from Cranfield with a masters’ degree in Astronautics and Space Engineering.
- Fergus Drake, CEO of Crown Agents, has been awarded an OBE for his services to UK- Ukraine relations in the health sector. Fergus has over two decades of experience delivering humanitarian and development programmes around the world, and he holds an MBA from Cranfield.
- Mark Smith, Director of Ridgmont Holdings, has been awarded a British Empire Medal for services to the community in Hereford during Covid-19. Mark graduated from Cranfield with a BSc Information Systems Management in 1996 and with a MSc in Design of Information Systems in 2004.
Chief Executive and Vice-Chancellor Professor Karen Holford CBE FREng said: “We are immensely proud of our Cranfield alumni and friends. Our congratulations go to all of those who have been recognised for their contribution and achievements. It is a fantastic honour, and they thoroughly deserve this recognition.”
