Peter Lauener appointed Chair of the Student Loans Company

The Department for Education has today confirmed that Peter Lauener has been appointed as Chair of the Student Loans Company (SLC), taking over the role from Professor Andrew Wathey, who has held the position on an interim basis since 1 February 2020. Professor Wathey replaced Christian Brodie, who served as Chair for six years from January 2014.

Peter is currently Chair of the Construction Industry Training Board, Chair of Newcastle Colleague Group (NCG) and a Non-executive director at Sheffield Children’s NHS Foundation Trust. He has previously held the roles of Chief Executive Officer, Education and Skills Funding Agency (EFSA) and Chief Executive Officer, Institute for Apprenticeships (IFA). He was previously interim Chief Executive of the Student Loans Company between November 2017 and September 2018.

Universities Minister Michelle Donelan said: “I am pleased to welcome Peter as the new Chair of the Student Loans Company. His knowledge and experience of the sector means he is well placed to lead the organisation as it continues to provide its important services for students and graduates.”

Peter Lauener said: “I am delighted to once again support the Student Loans Company, this time as Chair of the organisation. SLC plays a vital role in enabling almost 2 million students each year to invest in their futures through higher and further education by providing trusted, transparent, and accessible student finance services.

“I am particularly looking forward to reacquainting myself with colleagues from across the organisation, whose dedication to their roles enables SLC to deliver finance services for students, graduates and higher and further education institutions.

Paula Sussex, SLC Chief Executive said: “I am thrilled to be welcoming Peter back to the organisation as we work to fulfil our vision to be widely recognised as enabling student opportunity and delivering an outstanding service to our customers”.