External Member

Graham Atkins

Previously a governor of Exeter College before the Exeter and North Devon Colleges Group was formed.

Graham is KPMG’s Director of Workforce for Healthcare, working with public sector clients to design and deliver large-scale transformation programmes.  Previously, he served as Chief People Officer at an NHS Integrated Care Board with a workforce of 23,000, where he led the integration of three organisations to form a £6bn system focused on strategic commissioning.  Prior to joining the NHS, Graham spent over 20 years as a management consultant, including founding his own strategy consultancy, leading a scale-up talent consultancy, and serving as a Partner at global organisational consultancy Korn Ferry. At Korn Ferry, he led the firm’s work with HM Government, including responsibility for executive education for the Senior Civil Service and the delivery of major people and leadership transformation programmes.  Graham is particularly adept at bridging board-level ambition with the practical realities of transforming organisations operating within complex systems. He holds an MBA, a BEng (Hons), and is a Fellow of both the Royal Society of Arts and the CIPD.

A father of three children currently in education, Graham is a former Vice-Chair of Governors at a local school and a passionate advocate for the Devon and Exeter region. He lives in the city and can often be found walking his dog, Paddy, along the quayside.