The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has announced the appointment of four non-executive directors to its board, expanding its NED count to seven.
Among the new names are Stephen A. Carter, who was Gordon Brown’s chief of strategy before being ennobled and becoming minister for communications, technology and broadcasting from 2008-2009, and Dame Carolyn McCall, who is chief executive of no-frills airline easyJet.
They are joined by Kathryn Parsons, co-founder and chief executive of the tech training firm Decoded and chair of the Digital Skills and Innovation Fund; and organisational change expert Stuart Quickenden, who is managing partner at the Boston Consulting Group.
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The appointments more than double the headcount of existing BEIS non-exec board members Archie Norman, Charles Randell, and Professor Dame Ann Dowling.
Business and energy secretary Greg Clark said the new appointments highlighted the department’s commitment to strengthening its relationship with key business sectors.
“Our new board members are ideally placed to help us build an economy that works for all and ensure that we deliver a successful industrial strategy,” he said.
BEIS perm sec Alex Chisholm said the new non-execs brought experience that would “bolster the knowledge and insight of the department as we refresh policy frameworks and work to deliver change”.
Before joining easyJet in 2010, McCall was chief executive of Guardian Media Group.
Carter is currently group CEO of academic publishing, intelligence and events company Informa. During his time in government, he was minister responsible for the Digital Britain report. Prior to his stint with Gordon Brown he was the first chief executive officer of watchdog Ofcom.
Parsons’s Decoded business has become a leader in its field since it was founded in 2011, while Quickenden has a 20-year history at the management consultancy he leads.