Mike Potts joined UCL at the start of September 2024 as Head of IT for our Faculty, following the retirement of Andy Heap.
What does the Head of Faculty IT do?
The Head of Faculty IT acts as the Chief Information Officer for the Faculty-aligned IT teams, responsible for ensuring the IT needs of the Faculty are met and that services are provided through the most efficient and effective channels. My role also acts as a strategic bridge between the faculty and the wider IT function i.e. I am the voice of the Faculty within ISD.
What was your previous role?
My background is as a Business Partner, starting out at Hays plc, a recruitment firm, then nine years at Magic Circle law firm Linklaters. I'm a qualified lawyer and am currently studying for a Level 3 certificate in Counselling.
What working achievement or initiative are you most proud of?
At Linklaters I led adoption of the videoconferencing system, travelling to every office worldwide in 2019 to ensure everyone was happy with it. I met quite a lot of resistance, but I was proud to say it was well liked when we needed to start working from home overnight in 2020.
What is your favourite album, film and novel?
My favourite album is Supernatural by Santana - memories of a great summer holiday in 1999. My favourite film changes regularly, but I took my two little girls to see Despicable Me 4 recently and was surprised at how funny it was. Choosing a novel was hard as I read a lot of non-fiction, however I remember The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky really moving me.
You can get in touch with Mike at m.potts@ucl.ac.uk.