Two new non-executive directors appointed to DWP Departmental Board
Iain Duncan Smith appointed Dame Clara Furse and David Lister to the Department for Work and Pensions’ Departmental Board.
Iain Duncan Smith today appointed Dame Clara Furse and David Lister to the Department for Work and Pensions’ Departmental Board.
Dame Clara Furse, who was Chief Executive of the London Stock Exchange for eight years, is a non-executive Director at Legal and General, Nomura Holdings and Amadeus IT Holdings. David Lister is the Chief Information Officer for the National Grid as well as a Board member of e-skills, the UK Sector Skills Council.
Welcoming the appointment, Iain Duncan Smith said:
Dame Clara and David bring a wealth of knowledge from the highest level of business across finance and IT that will be invaluable as we continue to deliver our far-reaching reforms to the welfare and pensions system.
Dame Clara Furse said:
This represents an exciting opportunity to help the DWP as it takes forward a demanding and important programme of reform. I look forward to adding my experience to that of other Board members to help ensure that the Department delivers real value for money to the taxpayer.
David Lister said:
This is an exciting time to be involved with the DWP as it undertakes such wide-ranging reforms. I believe that Government can learn from the experience of business in terms of how it delivers changes of this nature, and I look forward to working with the Secretary of State, Ian Cheshire and other Board members to this end.
DWP’s Lead Non-Executive Director Ian Cheshire said:
Dame Clara and David will be strong additions to the Departmental Board. Their combined experience in the financial and IT sector means that the Department can benefit from the best advice from the business world as it takes forward its ambitious reform programmes.
Permanent Secretary, Robert Devereux said:
These appointments underline our determination to ensure the Departmental Board can call upon expertise of the highest order. In Dame Clara and David we have two people who have worked with some of the biggest and most successful UK and global companies and I look forward to them bringing their experience to the challenges the Department faces over the coming years.
Notes to Editors:
- Dame Clara Furse is a non-executive Director of the Legal and General Group, Nomura Holdings (and its FSA regulated subsidiaries) and Amadeus IT Holdings; she is Chairman of Nomura Bank International, Amadeus’ Remuneration and Nominations Committee and is a member of two Audit and two Risk Committees. Previously Dame Clara was the Chief Executive of the London Stock Exchange between 2001 and 2009. Before that she was the CEO of Credit Lyonnais Rouse and worked at UBS for 15 years.
- Dame Clara Furse will also chair the Department’s Audit Committee with effect from October 2011.
- David Lister has been the Chief Information Officer for the National Grid since 2009 and a Board member of e-skills, the UK Sector Skills Council since 2008. David was Group Chief Information Officer for the Royal Bank of Scotland 2008-2009 and Chief Information Officer for the Reuters Group 2005-2008. David has also worked in similar roles for Boots, Glaxo Wellcome and Diageo.
- Non-executive Board members are offered an honorarium of £15,000 a year in line with the Bank of England non-executive Directors of Court. The role of Chair of the Departmental Audit Committee attracts an additional £5,000 a year. Dame Clara Furse and David Lister have waived their entitlement to these payments.
- Non-Executive Board members will exercise their role through influence and advice, supporting as well as challenging the executive. They will advise on performance (including agreeing key performance indicators), operational issues (including the operational/delivery implications of policy proposals), and on the effective management of the Department.
- They will also provide support, guidance and challenge on the progress and implementation of the business plan, and be involved in recruiting, appraising and ensuring appropriate succession planning of senior executives. They will form committees responsible for audit, risk and remuneration. To share best practice and to ensure Departments learn from the successes and failures of comparable organisations, they will meet regularly with other non-executives across government and the Government lead non-executive Board member.