WIG announces first female Chair and new cross-sector board appointments | Article

Independent, not-for-profit WIG (The Whitehall & Industry Group www.wig.co.uk), whose charitable purpose is to encourage cross-sector collaboration, is delighted to announce the appointment of a new Chair and six new trustees to its Board.   

Rachel Sandby-Thomas CB, will be the first female chair of WIG as it approaches its 40th anniversary in 2024. Rachel is Registrar at the University of Warwick, and previously spent 23 years in central government, the last eight years of which were as a Director General. Rachel, who is currently Deputy Chair, will take up the Chair role in November when current Chair, Phil Thomson, steps down. 

Rachel, who has been a trustee of WIG since November 2017 said: “I have been a long-term supporter of WIG’s work to convene leaders in a safe space to collaborate for the greater good. It is such a simple yet effective mission that couldn’t be more important today. When I first became a trustee, I was thrilled to see evidence of the positive benefit WIG brings to both individuals and organisations.  It’s a privilege to lead the WIG Board in its endeavours to improve the quality of dialogue and leadership between sectors to increase prosperity for all.” 

New Deputy Chair and new Trustees 

Andrew Miles, a WIG Trustee since January 2022, steps up to be Deputy Chair in November. Andrew is EMEA Head Healthcare and Life Sciences Google Cloud and has spent his career working in the life sciences sector with public and private sector clients to improve healthcare outcomes whilst supporting affordability goals.  

Six new trustees have also been appointed to complement the skills and experience of existing Board members: 

Melbourne Barrett, Chief Executive, Nottingham City Council 

Mel was previously Chief Executive of Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council and led housing and regeneration at Hammersmith & Fulham and Oxford City Councils. 

Barbara Bradley, Director General, Department for Work and Pensions   

Barbara’s career spans the Home Office, Department of Health and Social Care as well as PA Consulting, Serco and IBM. 

Gareth Davies CB, Permanent Secretary, Department for Business and Trade 

Gareth began his career as a management consultant before joining the civil service and led the Prime Minister’s Strategy Unit. Gareth was formerly a DG at BEIS and 2nd Permanent Secretary at DfT. 

Jasvinder Deo, Global Audit & Risk Director, PZ Cussons  

Jasvinder is a Chartered Accountant and prior to her current role she held senior positions at Tesco including Group Audit Director, and Group Risk and Transformation Director.  

Maria Laine, President Boeing UK, Ireland and Nordics 

Maria has three decades of global experience at Boeing, including working in Asia, Australia, the US and key European markets. She previously worked at the US Department of Commerce. 

Joanne Roney OBE, Chief Executive, Manchester City Council 

Joanne was previously Chief Executive of Wakefield Council following senior roles in housing for Kirklees and Sheffield City Councils. She began her career as an apprentice at Birmingham City Council. 

Phil Thomson, outgoing Chair of WIG and President, Global Affairs, GSK, said: “WIG is extremely fortunate to be able to draw on the significant combined experience of existing and new trustees.  I am delighted to be able to leave WIG in such expert hands under Rachel’s leadership.  It has been a privilege to lead the Board of this extraordinary organisation for the past 6 years and I look forward to seeing it strengthen its contribution to our economy and society in its 40th year and beyond.” 

Dr Neil Bentley-Gockmann OBE, Chief Executive of WIG said: “No one sector has a monopoly on wisdom, expertise or values and the future of our society, economy and environment will depend on all sectors working better together. Our new Board is rich in skills and cross-sector experience enabling our organisation to become an even stronger convening platform to help tackle the significant and complex challenges we now face as a country.” 

All new appointees to WIG’s Board will take up their positions in November 2023. 

For more details on our Board, see https://www.wig.co.uk/who-we-are/our-trustees-and-patrons 

 

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