Professor Petra Wend, CBE, PhD, FRSA, FRSE, is immediate past Principal and Vice-Chancellor at Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh. Before that she has held a number of academic and leadership roles in English universities. She originally read Italian and French Language and Literature, and Education at the University of Münster (Germany) and gained a PhD (Italian Language and Literature) at Leeds University. She is a linguist by background but has also researched and published on institutional strategies, leadership and management. Petra is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh and a Chair or Member of a number of national and international boards. She speaks frequently on higher education topics at British and international events and audits and evaluates universities in a number of countries.