Ian Mathews

Vice President of Corporate Services

Ian Mathews is a committed professional with more than 27 years in senior management positions. He has many achievements within an ever changing higher education environment. He is known as an effective cross functional team player and a responsive leader with a proven ability to influence change.

Before joining MBZUAI, Mathews held the position of Vice Chancellor for Administrative and Financial Affairs at Abu Dhabi University (ADU) for two years until February 2021. In this role, he was a key member of the Chancellor’s leadership team, providing strategic leadership to ADU’s administrative and financial affairs functions to support the delivery of quality programs, research and other ancillary activities in-line with its vision, mission and values.

Previous to joining ADU, he served as Chief Financial Officer at The University of Dublin, Trinity College (TCD), Ireland’s premier university, for 25 years. As a statutory officer of the university and key member of the leadership team, he was accountable to the board and provost for the overall management and stewardship of the university’s financial affairs.

Mathews is a chartered accountant, having trained and qualified with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) in Dublin. He holds both a commerce degree and a Diploma in Professional Accounting from University College Dublin and is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland (since 1992).