Commissioner Biographies
Sir David Normington GCB
David was Permanent Secretary at the Home Office from January 2006 to December 2010. His early career in the Civil Service involved a range of jobs in the fields of employment, training and industrial relations, and included a time as Principal Private Secretary to the Secretary of State for Employment. As Regional Director for Employment Services for London and the South East he was responsible for 500 offices and 10,000 staff. He moved through a series of senior positions in the Department for Education, and the Department for Education and Employment, including Director for Personnel and Corporate Services, and Director General for Schools. In 2001 he was appointed Permanent Secretary at the Department for Education and Skills, a post he held until the end of 2005 when he joined the Home Office.
As Permanent Secretary, David made a particular specialism of senior leadership development and human resources. In 2008 he chaired a special steering group that reported to the Cabinet Secretary on workforce and reward strategy for the Senior Civil Service. He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.
David was appointed as First Civil Service Commissioner, and the Commissioner for Public Appointments, on 1 April 2011.
Jonathan Baume
Jonathan Baume was General Secretary of the FDA, a professional association and union for the UK’s senior public servants and professionals, until October 2012. He was first elected as the FDA’s General Secretary in 1997. He joined the FDA as Deputy General Secretary in 1989, previously having worked at the TUC specialising in employment law and equality issues. After studying politics, philosophy and economics at Keble College Oxford, he joined Oxfordshire County Council in 1974 as a graduate trainee, and entered the Department of Employment Group in 1977, leaving for the TUC in 1986. Jonathan is a member of the Board of the Health & Safety Executive, serves on the ACAS Council and is a non-executive director of the Office of Nuclear Regulation.
Jonathan was appointed as a Civil Service Commissioner on 1 November 2012.
Kathryn Bishop
Kathryn is an Associate Fellow at the University of Oxford’s Saïd Business School. She has worked as a management consultant at Accenture and as an independent practitioner, and was formerly HR Development Director at Allied Dunbar and Business Transformation Director at Zurich Financial Services. She has held appointments as a non-executive director at the UK Intellectual Property Office, at the UK Border Agency and with the Welsh Government. She is also a Trustee of an educational charity, and a Governor of a Gloucestershire primary school.
Kathryn was appointed as a Civil Service Commissioner on 1 April 2012.
Adele Biss
Adele has a degree in economics (UCL). She has been a non executive director of various companies, most recently of Eurostar International Limited and of Engine Group. Over forty years her career has included founding and running a PR business and, later, a Public Affairs consultancy. She has been chairman of the British Tourist Authority and English Tourist Board, a governor of Middlesex University and a Council Member of University College London ( UCL).
Her early experience was in brand marketing at Unilever and in marketing and communications at Thomson Holidays.
Adele was appointed as a Civil Service Commissioner on 1 April 2010.
Peter Blausten
Peter is Group Human Resources Director of Morgan Crucible plc.
Previously, he was an independent consultant advising on private equity acquisitions, and on organisation development. He was Group HR Director of BAA plc, and held senior roles with US broker Charles Schwab & Co, British Airways plc, and Ford Motor Company. He was a research associate at Ashridge Business School and a member of the CBI’s Employment Policy Committee. He is a Council member of the Institute of Employment Studies and a senior consultant at the Senior Directors’ Unit.
Peter was appointed as a Civil Service Commissioner on 1 April 2010.
Christine Farnish
Christine currently chairs the Family and Parenting Institute and Consumer Focus. Prior to that she was a Managing Director at Barclays, CEO at the National Association of Pension Funds, Consumer Director at the Financial Services Authority and at OFTEL; and held a number of senior roles in local government. Her early career was at the Countryside Commission. Christine has served on the Boards of the Office of Fair Trading, the Advertising Standards Authority, ING Direct and Papworth NHS Trust; and is currently a non-executive director on the ABTA Board.
Christine was appointed as a Civil Service Commissioner on 1 April 2012.
Dame Moira Gibb
Moira was Chief Executive of Camden Council from 2003 to 2011. She chairs the Social Work Reform Board implementing the recommendations of the Social Work Task Force, which she also chaired, having previously been President of the Association of Directors of Social Services. She also serves on the Board of the UK Statistics Authority, and was a Director of the London Marathon from 2005.Moira has taught nationally and internationally, at school and university level.
Moira was appointed as a Civil Service Commissioner on 1 April 2012.
Wanda Goldwag
Wanda is an adviser to Smedvig Venture Capital and Non-Executive Director of the Performing Rights Society, International Copyright Enterprise, True North Human Capital and Surelaw.
She had a 25 year career in marketing and her last corporate role was as Managing Director of British Airways owned AIR MILES.
Wanda is also Treasurer of Eaves Housing for Women.
Wanda was appointed as a Civil Service Commissioner on 1 April 2012.
Professor Christine Hallett
Christine is Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Stirling, Scotland. She is a Professor of Social Policy and has held academic appointments at the Universities of Oxford, Keele, Western Australia and Leicester. She has researched and published in the fields of child care and protection, gender and social policy and user participation in social welfare.
She is a fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, chairs the Board of Trustees of UKCISA (UK Council for International Student Affairs) and is a Trustee of NatCen (the National Centre for Social Research). She convenes the Research and Commercialisation Committee for Universities Scotland.
Christine was appointed as a Civil Service Commissioner on 9 July 2008.
Eliza Hermann
Eliza is currently a Non Executive Director of the NHS Hertfordshire, where she chairs the Finance & Performance Committee. From 2003 until 2012 she was also a Non Executive Director of Brightpoint, a private-sector distributor of mobile phones throughout the world, where she chaired the Compensation Committee.
Her earlier career comprised more than 20 years commercial and human resources experience in the international oil and gas industry. At Amoco and subsequently BP, she led projects in Asia, Europe, the Middle East, the countries of the former Soviet Union, and in North and South America. Most recently from 2001 to 2008 she served as Vice President Human Resources at BP’s global headquarters in London.
Eliza was appointed as a Civil Service Commissioner on 1 April 2010.
Sir Neil McIntosh
Neil has completed a term as inaugural Chairman of the Judicial Appointments Board for Scotland in 2011. He pursued a career in Local Government in Scotland, latterly as Chief Executive of Strathclyde Regional Council until 1996, and has subsequently been engaged in a range of public appointments including involvement as a member of the UK Electoral Commission, Convener of the Scottish Council for Voluntary Services and Trustee of the National Museums of Scotland.
Neil was appointed as a Civil Service Commissioner on 9 July 2008.
Angela Sarkis
Angela is a charity management consultant. She is a Member of the Youth Justice Board, an Adviser to the Street Pastor’s Initiative of the Ascension Trust and Future First, and Secretary to Forest United Youth Football Club. Angela spent several years working for the Probation Service, Family Service Units; and is a former Chief Executive to the DIVERT Trust, the Church Urban Fund, YMCA England and the Nurture Group Network. She was a founding member of the Social Exclusion Unit in the Cabinet Office, a member of the Home Office Correctional Services Board, the House of Lords Appointments Commission, and adviser to the Department for Education and Skills. Angela is a former Governor of the BBC and has recently served on the Board of Capacity Builders.
Angela was appointed as a Civil Service Commissioner on 1 April 2012.
