We are pleased to announce our SUMS Annual Conference 2026 speakers for our first panel
The art of the possible - bold ideas from beyond HE
Book your SUMS Annual Conference 2026 ticket to see our speakers in action!
Pat Carvalho
Pat Carvalho is Principal and CEO of Birmingham Metropolitan College and current President of the Association of Colleges. With over 15 years’ senior leadership experience in further education, Pat has led major transformations across London and Birmingham colleges, including the successful merger between Harrow and Uxbridge Colleges and securing Institute of Technology status through the employer-led West London IoT.
A former NHS medical secretary who progressed through FE as a mature student, Pat brings first-hand understanding of education’s transformative power. She’s driven estate modernisation, curriculum redesign aligned to employer needs, and strategic partnerships spanning national and regional employers and HEIs. Pat’s approach centres on close dialogue between education and business, delivering practical solutions that help institutions and learners thrive even in challenging circumstances – experience directly relevant to HE’s current challenges.
Professor Mike Thomas
Professor Mike Thomas took up the role of Chair of the Trust Board at Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in January, 2025. He also continues to serve as the Chair of the Lancashire and South Cumbria Provider Collaborative Board.
Mike has worked in academia and the health sector for nearly 40-years in a variety of senior academic roles, including Vice-Chancellor, also holding various professional chairs across four universities. Prior to entering academia, he served in the Royal Navy, working for five years in HM Submarines before employment in the engineering sector and then qualifying as a mental health nurse and later a psychological therapist. He remains research active and a practising clinical psychotherapist. For many years he carried out clinical research to enhance mental health support for individuals who experience severe and enduring eating disorders whilst, simultaneously, over the last fifteen years he has been working with research colleagues across the UK investigating issues that impact on compassionate leadership in both the public and private sectors. He has written three books and numerous articles and chapters on these two subjects and has further work in the pipeline.
Mike is committed to the voluntary, charity and public sector and has been continuously involved in charitable work for his whole working life. He is currently serving as Chair of Making Space, a national mental health charity. He also co-founded the College for Military Veterans and the Emergency Services. More recently, Mike has been providing an advisory service to public and commercial sector organisations supporting staff engagement projects, cultural change programmes and strategies for enhancing good governance.
