Mr Neil Mendoza

An alumnus of Oriel College (Geography, 1978), Neil took up his post as Provost in 2018 after a career building businesses in the creative and finance sectors.

In 2020 he was appointed by the government as Commissioner for Cultural Recovery and Renewal, in response to the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic on the cultural sector.

Neil is focused on successfully preserving, protecting and enhancing college life for 550 students and 250 academic and support staff as Oriel approaches its 700th anniversary in 2026.

At the University, Neil is Chair of the Electors for the Slade Professor of Fine Art, on the Board of the Ashmolean museum, on the Vice-Chancellor’s Cultural Advisory Council and a member of the Innovation Working Group.

Prior to joining Oriel, Neil led the year-long Mendoza Review of Museums in England on behalf of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (2016-17) and a review for the Cabinet Office on the national museums.

Neil is Chair of The Landmark Trust, The Illuminated River Foundation and is a Non Executive Director at the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. He joined the Board of Meira GTx, a US-based gene therapy company, in 2015 and continues to act as a consultant for Bookmark Content, the company he founded as Forward Publishing in the 1980s.

Neil is an advocate of supporting talent, creativity and enterprise through high quality educational, cultural and heritage engagement. In previous roles as a Commissioner of Historic England, Chair of Children and the Arts, and Vice Chair of Soho Theatre, he oversaw significant transformation during a period of change for these organisations. Neil is also a mentor to young professionals across a range of sectors.