Gill Aitken

Gillian Elizabeth Aitken, (born 23 March 1960) is a British lawyer, civil servant and university administrator. Since 2018, she has been Registrar of the University of Oxford.

Early life and education Aitken was born on 23 March 1960 to Bill and Pamela Parker. She studied philosophy and theology at St Hugh's College, Oxford, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in 1982.

Career

Early career Aitken worked for McKenna & Co from 1986 to 1993 and was admitted a solicitor in December 1988. She left the private sector to join the Government Legal Service in 1993. In 2009 she became the department's Director-General for Law and Corporate Services. a role which was expanded in October 2011 as Director-General, Professional Services. In February 2014, she was appointed General Counsel and Solicitor to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), and remained in the role until July 2018.

At HMRC, Aitken headed a team of 180 lawyers and 350 employees which was noted in The Lawyer for having an 80% success rate at trial and adding £20bn to the government's tax income in 2014;

University administrator Aitken left HMRC when she was appointed Registrar of the University of Oxford in June 2018. In that capacity, she is "head of the central administrative services", with responsibility for the university's administrative services and governance. In 2019, she was also elected to a fellowship at St Hugh's College, Oxford. She is an honorary member of the Faculty of Law, University of Oxford.

Personal life In 1998, she married Robert Aitken. Together they have one one, and she also has two step sons.