Cabinet Office minister Oliver Dowden has appointed four new non-executive directors to the department, with their backgrounds spanning HR, IT and change management.
The deputy prime minister has picked Janette Beinart, Marcus Boyle, Stephen Gordon-Dando and Jenni Myles as the Cabinet Office’s latest non-executive board members.
Bernard Hogan-Howe and Henry de Zoete have also been reappointed for second terms. All six have all have been appointed on three-year contracts.
“They will work with civil servants and ministers across the Cabinet Office, with a particular focus on digital transformation, strategic HR and government efficiency,” a press release said.
Announcing the appointments, Cabinet Office minister and deputy prime minister Oliver Dowden said: “Our new board members bring a wealth of experience and expertise to add to the existing skill-set of our board.
“They will play a crucial role in ensuring the Cabinet Office is well placed to deliver the government’s agenda, and I look forward to working closely with them.”
Gordon-Dando and Myles are both HR specialists. The former is currently a senior adviser at private investment firm Bain Capital, while the latter is executive vice president and chief people officer at science, technology and engineering company KBR.
Beinart has a background in information technology and was most recently interim group chief information officer at savings and investment firm M&G Prudential. Beinart is also a NED on the board of National Highways. Boyle, who has been chair of the Gambling Commission since 2021, has a background in change management, working for some of the world’s largest professional services firms.
They join the following existing Cabinet Office NEDs:
- Anand Aithal, lead non-executive director
- Michael Ashley, chair of the department’s audit and risk committee
- Michael Jary, government lead non-executive director
- The reappointed Henry de Zoete and Lord Howe
NEDs are ministerial appointments who provide independent advice, support and scrutiny of departments’ work.
The Cabinet Office press release said all members were appointed following open and fair competition.
MPs raised concerns in a report published last month about the role of NEDs in government and how they are recruited. The Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee report called for the recruitment process to be brought in line with public appointment standards and for more clarity about what skills NEDs should have and what work they should be doing.