She is on the board of ORR but no transport experience

[tom73]

Anne Heal
She chairs the Thames Water Customer Challenge Group, is a board member of ELEXON, the electricity settlement body, a lay member of the General Dental Council, and an independent member of the Bank of England Enforcement Decision Making Committee.
Anne was previously Director of Regulatory Affairs for BT Group, leading the regulatory negotiations that led to the creation of Open Reach, where she then became MD, Strategy.
She has also been a board member of Ofqual, the qualifications regulator. Anne chairs a charity, Volunteering Matters, is a trustee of NCVO and BalletBoyz, sits on the Governance and Nominations Committee of Diabetes UK and is a director of the London Design and Engineering UTC.
It seems strange that someone with no transport background whatsoever should be on the Board of the Office of Rail and Road. Surely there are people more deserving of the lofty position.
https://orr.gov.uk/about-orr/who-we-are/the-board

 

[6Gman]

Presumably she travels. And has relevant experience of regulatory and governance issues. Similar role to a non-executive director in any company.

 

[Clarence Yard]

She’s a Regulatory expert (and a bit of a board “Groupie”!). Not everyone on the board should have transport experience - you need people who have expertise of the Regulatory world at large.

 

[30907]

Presumably she travels. And has relevant experience of regulatory and governance issues. Similar role to a non-executive director in any company.

And indeed similar to a number of other non-execs of ORR - gender apart

 

[Fawkes Cat]

There's a balance to be got. Presumably you want board members who understand the issues - but given that (if I've understood things right) the ORR regulates the railway, you also need people who are sufficiently detached that they will not be biased (and would not be perceived as biased). As long as the board has some people who do have railway knowledge, then the lack of railway experience of one member isn't of itself a reason to argue that they shouldn't be on the board.

 

[Abpj17]

So she has experience of consumer advocacy, highly regulated industries? How is that not relevant for ORR?

You also don't make the same claim of Michael Luger, Graham Mather, Rodney Norman or Justin McCracken? Is it just because you came across her first on the page?

 

[Mathew S]

This is really a little bit personal isn't it?
I'm sure the board of the ORR, whether you agree with them or not, was selected to encompass a range of experience and backgrounds as you would with any board of any organisation. A group of people who all have the same/similar backgrounds, knowledge and experience is the very opposite of what you want on any decision making body.

 

[DarloRich]

Anne Heal
She chairs the Thames Water Customer Challenge Group, is a board member of ELEXON, the electricity settlement body, a lay member of the General Dental Council, and an independent member of the Bank of England Enforcement Decision Making Committee.
Anne was previously Director of Regulatory Affairs for BT Group, leading the regulatory negotiations that led to the creation of Open Reach, where she then became MD, Strategy.
She has also been a board member of Ofqual, the qualifications regulator. Anne chairs a charity, Volunteering Matters, is a trustee of NCVO and BalletBoyz, sits on the Governance and Nominations Committee of Diabetes UK and is a director of the London Design and Engineering UTC.
It seems strange that someone with no transport background whatsoever should be on the Board of the Office of Rail and Road. Surely there are people more deserving of the lofty position.
https://orr.gov.uk/about-orr/who-we-are/the-board

And? Is the problem thst this lady is a woman? Ffs. This board

This lady seems to have a wealth of experience in regualtory, governance and oversight roles. This is exactly what you want in a non executive director

I guess that not knowing the correct shade of paint to use on a class 37 is what matters more to dinosaurs.

I think the issue rests closer to home and perhaps starts with not understanding what is being criticised

Ps also maybe edit the thread title to nake it less silly and less passive aggressive!

 

[DarloRich]

So she has experience of consumer advocacy, highly regulated industries? How is that not relevant for ORR?

You also don't make the same claim of Michael Luger, Graham Mather, Rodney Norman or Justin McCracken? Is it just because you came across her first on the page?

Exactly! Spot on

 

[sw1ller]

Is she a banker, communications engineer or dentist though? Or has she just been employed because she has other qualities that are relevant to the role?

 

[Max]

I simply do not see the point of this thread. It seems to have been set up solely to criticise/scrutinise one lady, for no good reason that I can see. I think based on the responses the OP has got a pretty decent feel for why Anne Heal might be a suitable candidate for this role, so there seems to be little reason to keep it open.