The Cabinet Office has announced the appointment of an interim chair of the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments to replace Eric Pickles, who departed the role two days ago.
Isabel Doverty, who has been an independent member of the committee since 2021, has been appointed as the lobbying watchdog’s interim chair from 1 April until 31 December 2025.
Doverty, who had a 30-year private sector career in HR, is also an independent member of the State Honours Committee and was an independent civil service commissioner from 2015 to 2020.
The Cabinet Office said Doverty has held senior HR roles in the energy and financial services sectors, specialising in employee relations, organisational change, and executive level recruitment. This included a role as global head of human resources, wholesale banking at Standard Chartered Bank.
The chair leads Acoba's work, which involves independently advising the government, former ministers, senior civil servants and other crown servants on the rules around taking employment after leaving their jobs.
Last week, the House of Commons’ Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee called for “urgent” clarity on the governance of the watchdog ahead of Pickles’s departure.
The initial recruitment campaign for a permanent chair ended without a hire being made because the preferred candidate had to withdraw for personal reasons. Ministers then searched for an interim chair of Acoba to ensure continuity of leadership.