Owen Woodley

Owen Woodley joined the Council in March 2026.

Owen became a professional artist in 2024 after having spent nearly four decades in the finance and retail sectors. He started work at Barclays where he spent 20 years, both in the UK and also extensively across sub-Saharan Africa. Following the financial crisis, he raised funding to establish a new bank in the UK, Shawbrook, where he was the first CEO.

In 2012, Owen went to Lloyds to run the retail bank and he finished his career at the Post Office group, primarily running the subsidiary commercial businesses. As part of that role, he chaired the board of First Rate Exchange Services, the largest consumer currency business in the UK, and also the board of the payments company, Payzone.

His passion for higher education was cemented during his 9 years on the board of Nottingham Trent University from 2014 to 2023. There he was a sub-committee chair and also a Trustee of the John van Geest Cancer Research Centre.

Owen now splits his time between his art projects and a small portfolio of non-executive and advisory roles.