Johnian magazine issue 54, autumn 2025
Glen Whitehead: Introduction to the new Development Director at St John’s
Glen joined St John’s as Development Director last month. He comes to us from Durham University, where he led Development and Alumni Relations. He spent nine years in Development at the University of Cambridge as part of the £2 billion fundraising Campaign. He has also held fundraising roles at Shelter and the National Foundation for Youth Music. Glen has an MSc in Voluntary Sector Management from Bayes Business School, and a degree in Linguistics and French from the University of Surrey, including a period at The Sorbonne University, Paris.
Why did you choose to come to St John’s?
“I’m delighted to become a part of the St John’s family. The College is a highly prestigious institution renowned for its excellence, its impact and its aspirations – and for being a nurturing and supportive community. It also has a deep and impressive history of achievement. Consider the students who pass through its doors and all they go on to do, the Fellowship and the excellence of research activities and the teaching environment, and of course the sheer unadulterated beauty of the College. It’s perhaps more a question of, how could I not want to work here?
What are you looking forward to doing in your first year?
I’m looking forward to getting to know our alumni, the Fellowship, the student community and, not least, my team.
In these early days, my first task will be to really understand in depth what St John’s means to its alumni, the nature of their relationship with the College, and what alumni would wish for it. There are always opportunities to deepen alumni engagement and for the supporter community to be shown clearly the strength of their impact. I’m interested in multi-faceted engagement, including across entrepreneurship, facilitating internships, volunteering and philanthropy.
I will also be spending much time looking closely at the College’s goals and priorities, working closely with the Master, leadership colleagues and the Development Board.
What alumni events would you like to see?
The College already has an array of events planned for the coming months. More generally, I’d say that the student voice is very important in connecting alumni to the modern College, and I’m interested in strengthening this presence within events where possible. I am keen to explore how the College can engage even further with its international alumni community.
What inspires you at work and in your personal life?
In broad terms, the values which I would say characterise St John’s: a commitment to excellence and the fullest realisation of ambition, done with genuine respect and care for one another.
On a personal front, music is a fairly big part of my life. I play classical guitar, and my family are all quite musical, too. I’m on the Friends’ Committee of our local music centre and get a lot of satisfaction seeing those very first musical steps being taken by young children. Music is of course an enormous part of College life, so I’m looking forward to experiencing all that St John’s offers.
On the sports front, swimming is my main interest, along with badminton. With home just at the northern tip of The Chilterns, walking through the hills is a family activity – although my two girls express some clear views on this between the months of October and April.
What kind of music do you like?
I played quite a few instruments when I was younger, but the classical guitar has stayed with me for the duration. The term ‘classical’ here is – as it is elsewhere – a bit of a misnomer, covering a huge variety of styles. In terms of what I listen to, it could be absolutely anything. My girls and I were ‘entertaining’ our neighbours with some karaoke last night, drawing on the current favourites of a 10- and 13-year-old. Similarly, over the weekend, my eldest was playing cello in a quartet at Hatfield House. And the youngest one is now beginning to explore elements of jazz in her piano playing. Variety simply helps me appreciate any one specific genre more.
Tell us about your career journey
After an initial period in private banking in Zürich, I had the privilege of putting the skill set to work in Development at the charities Shelter and the National Foundation for Youth Music. These experiences emphasised the importance of connecting supporters closely to impact. It is vital to constantly ask yourself the question, how can we best demonstrate the positive results of an alumnus’ engagement? I then became a part of the University of Cambridge’s most recent fundraising campaign, working over nine years with alumni and supporters across a great range of priorities and opportunities. This was an immensely fulfilling experience and of course gave me deep insight into the central position of Colleges in alumni relationships with Cambridge as a whole. Most recently I have led the Development and Alumni Relations office at Durham University, another prestigious collegiate institution. It has been an exciting time for Durham over the past few years, and my role was to guide the Development Office to take advantage of opportunities and substantially grow the alumni engagement and development programme.
How do you feel about returning to Cambridge?
It is of course in some respects a return to familiar territory. On the other hand, Cambridge doesn’t stand still, and there have been really interesting developments, both at St John’s and in the wider University, over the past few years. I’m excited to learn about those and to understand in greater depth plans and priorities. I’m interested in the relationship between St John’s and the wider community, including with respect to research and entrepreneurship. I think there are significant opportunities for St John’s and for Cambridge more widely, as we think about the institution’s broader impact.
Cambridge is also just a beautiful city, and I look forward to being back in that particular environment. It will be lovely to be able to see a great many friends a little bit more frequently, and to make many new ones.
