Mike (Economics, Bowland, 1972) is a former worldwide chairman of Medical Devices and Diagnostics at Johnson & Johnson. Mike also served as President and Chief Operating Officer of DePuy International, Ltd. Through a combination of clear strategic vision and inspirational team-oriented leadership, Mike has delivered sales growth and sector changing innovation to the companies he has worked for; he has also made a significant contribution to shaping the health care environment in general.  Since his retirement from Johnson & Johnson, Mike has been appointed as non-executive Chairman to a number of medical device companies and currently serves as start-up Chairman and CEO of Neoss, Ltd.

Jane (Advertising and Marketing, Pendle, 1998) joined the BBC in 2008 and is currently Director of BBC Brand, a role she was promoted to in 2014. Her early career was spent in various advertising roles in London. The brands Jane manages currently are of national and international significance and are familiar to many. During her career Jane has won a number of awards, including Account Planning Group Gold Winner and Grand Prix Winner for her creative strategy work on London Underground. She is a leading light in brand architecture excellence and regularly speaks at industry and charity conferences and to marketing classes at Lancaster University.

Other Lancaster alumni to receive awards were Sam Hodges (English Language, Pendle, 1999), the Head of Comms for Twitter (UK); Victoria Peterkin (English Literature, Pendle, 2006), the founder and Managing Director of Daisy Nursery Ltd; and David Shackleton (History and Politics, Fylde, 1988), better known in the music industry as Dave Shack, the managing director of Phantom Music, Iron Maiden’s Management Company.