2023 Alumni Award winners

The Rt Hon. the Lord Boateng (LLB 1973, Hon LLD 2007) is a lawyer and British Labour party politician. Throughout his career, he has championed civil rights and social issues, and provided powerful representation for marginalised people across the UK. In 1997 he made history as the first Black UK minister and now sits in the House of Lords.

Matthew Warchus is a multi-award-winning theatre and film director and has been Artistic Director of the Old Vic since 2015. In 2010 he directed the Royal Shakespeare Company's production of Matilda The Musical to critical acclaim, which he then adapted for film in 2022. Other credits include Art (1994), Boeing Boeing (2007) and Pride (2014).

Hazel Findlay (BA 2011) is a world-leading climber who has achieved an array of remarkable firsts, such as becoming the first British woman to free-climb El Capitan in Yosemite. She is founder of Strong Mind coaching, which helps climbers overcome fear to improve performance.

Ben Emmerson CBE KC is a barrister specialising in international law and human rights. He was previously UN Special Rapporteur on Counter-Terrorism and Human Rights (2011-2017) and has worked on some of the world's most high-profile cases concerning armed conflict, national security, and international criminal law.

Izzy Obeng is Founder and CEO of Foundervine, an award-winning social enterprise that supports new and established founders to create successful entrepreneurial ventures through access to training, networks and capital. She is also a business adviser, public speaker and a Forbes 30 Under 30 recipient.

Nazir Razak is currently Chairman and Founding Partner of Ikhlas Capital, a private equity firm based in Malaysia. As Managing Director and Chief Executive of CIMB between 1999 and 2014, Nazir transformed a small national bank into a universal bank operating across South East Asia, with some 45,000 employees.

The Garfield Weston Foundation is one of the UK's leading philanthropic institutions and donates around £90 million each year to the arts, education, and health projects. A family-run organisation, the Garfield Weston Foundation donated a transformative gift in 2022 towards the development of the University's new digital innovation hub at the Temple Quarter Enterprise Campus. Kate Hobhouse is a Trustee and granddaughter of the founder.

Raeesa Rajmohamed graduated with a degree in Law and a master's in Health, Law and Society, before becoming a barrister in 2022. She has been involved in numerous projects since graduating, including lecturing at the University of The Gambia in West Africa and being a mentor for the Bristol Mentors programme.