Anthony Freeling

Anthony Nigel Stanley Freeling (born 6 August 1956) is a British management consultant, marketing expert, university administrator, and academic.

He served as Acting Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge from October 2022 to June 2023, and was President of Hughes Hall, Cambridge from 2014 to 2022.

Freeling was born in London in 1956, the son of Dr Paul and Shirley Freeling.

He was educated at Haberdashers' Aske's School, Elstree, and St John's College, Cambridge, where he graduated with a first-class BA degree in Maths in 1978, an MPhil in Control Engineering and Operational Research in 1980 and a PhD in Management Studies in 1985.

In 2022 he was made an Honorary Fellow of St John's College.

Before moving to academia, Freeling worked as a Director (senior partner) of McKinsey & Company and was a member of the Governing Body of the Open University.

In 1989, Freeling married the then Laurel Claire Powers.

Together they have two daughters.

From 2008 to 2014, Freeling was a City Fellow of Hughes Hall, Cambridge; this is a type of fellowship held by those active in the City of London or other areas of business rather than full-time academics.

In December 2013, he was elected President of Hughes Hall, and he took up the appointment on 1 October 2014, for a period of eight years.

His term as master ended in July 2022.

In May 2022, it was announced that Freeling was to become Acting Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge, following the announcement of the early departure of then Vice-Chancellor Stephen Toope.

He took up the post on 1 October 2022 and held the appointment for nine months, until the appointment of Deborah Prentice: he was the first acting vice-chancellor in the history of the university.