Lancaster University Notable Alumni

James May is an English journalist and television presenter. May is known for co-presenting the popular factual television show Top Gear alongside Richard Hammond and Jeremy Clarkson. James May is credited with co-founding the independent TV production company W. Chump and Sons.

British journalist Robert Fisk, who specialized in Middle-Eastern politics, has worked for renowned publications such as The Times and The Independent. In the 1990s, he became one of the few Western journalists to interview Osama bin Laden. He is also a bestselling author of books such as The Point of No Return.

Physician and surgeon William James Mayo is best-known as a principal co-founder of the non-profit American academic medical center Mayo Clinic. Son of British-American medical-doctor and chemist William Worrall Mayo, William James and his brother, Charles Horace Mayo, joined the sole-proprietorship medical practice of their father, which developed under them and other doctors intothe Mayo Clinic.

British author Sarah Waters soared to fame with her debut novel, Tipping the Velvet, and is known to include lesbian protagonists in her writings. Three of her books have been shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize. Initially an academic, she also has a PhD in LGBT fiction. She is herself openly lesbian.

Ahdaf Soueif is an Egyptian cultural and political commentator and novelist. She is best known for her second novel The Map of Love, which has been translated into over 20 languages. The book was also nominated for the prestigious Man Booker Prize. Ahdaf Soueif is also the recipient of the Cavafy Award and Mahmoud Darwish Award.

Welsh management consultant Dave Snowden is known for his research on knowledge management and for inventing the decision-making framework known as the Cynefin framework. He has also established the Singapore-based management consulting firm Cognitive Edge and is a pioneering figure in complexity science and sensemaking.

The writer and co-producer of the Emmy-nominated series Ring of Fire, Lawrence Blair is an English anthropologist who has lived in Bali for over three decades now. Born in England, he later moved to Mexico. He has been a diver, a fisherman, an actor, a model, and a photographer.

British accountant Robert Holden CBE is best-known for overseeing construction of High Speed 1 (the 67-mile high-speed railway that links London with the Channel Tunnel), as chief executive of the London and Continental Railways (LCR). He served as finance director of LCR and then as chief executive and chairman of LCR and Eurostar. He later served as chief executive of Crossrail.

Robin Birrell is a German social media personality, YouTuber, and bodybuilder. He is best known for posting his body transformation videos on his self-titled YouTube channel, which has more than two million subscribers. Robin Birrell started his YouTube career by posting prank videos and is currently focused on posting his transformation videos.