They have been appointed for three years and will provide independent advice, support and scrutiny on the department’s work.
The new board members will work with civil servants and ministers across all areas of the department, helping on the government’s priorities including the response to COVID-19, reactivating the labour market and delivering a modern, fair and affordable welfare system.
They join the existing Non-Executive Board Members, Nick Markham (Lead), David Holt, Ashley Machin and Eleanor Shawcross.
Valerie Hughes D’Aeth
Valerie was Chief HR Officer of the BBC and a member of the BBC’s Executive Committee from 2014 until the end of 2019.
Prior to this, she held the role of Group HR Director at Amey for five years, and before that Group HR Director of Steria. Over her career, she has worked across a broad range of organisations in a variety of sectors and countries, with particular focus on organisation efficiency and effectiveness, culture change and HR transformation.
Valerie is Fellow of the CIPD and provides business advice and mentoring support to individuals and organisations. She also contributes regularly to debates on commercial and people related issues, writing and speaking at conferences.
David Bennett
David is a Non-Executive Director with over 30 years’ experience in financial services, having held a range of senior executive positions in retail banking both in the UK and overseas, including the USA and Australasia.
He was a Director of Alliance and Leicester plc between 2001 and 2008, serving as Group Finance Director and then Group Chief Executive until its sale to Santander in 2008. He has also held a number of executive positions in Abbey National plc, Cheltenham & Gloucester plc, Lloyds TSB Group and the National Bank of New Zealand.
David is currently Chairman of Virgin Money UK plc and Ashmore plc, and a Non-Executive Director of PayPal (Europe) Ltd. Previous appointments include Chairman of HomeServe Membership Ltd, and Non-Executive Director at Bank of Ireland UK, Together Money and easyJet plc. David also acts as an advisor to FinTech businesses and is an independent coach and mentor.
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