In this article, the author reflects on the changing senior leadership and management structures in our higher education institutions. The author presents objective evidence of these changes but includes his own interpretations based on many years of observation and frequent discussions with colleagues across the whole sector. The author notes that it is evident that the rising challenge facing individual institutions has invariably changed the structure and role of the senior team in nearly all universities and colleges. However, there seem to have been fewer fundamental changes than might be imagined. (Contains 6 figures.) [This paper is based on a Keynote presentation delivered at the AUA Annual Conference at the University of Nottingham in April 2007.]