National Assembly continues its commitment to accountability and best practice with appointment of new independent advisors
14 November 2012
A wealth of boardroom, government and public sector experience, at the highest levels, will help the National Assembly meet its own high standards of good governance and efficient use of public money.
The Assembly Commission has appointed three new independent advisors, who will replace the existing advisors over the next year.
Independent advisors are used by the Commission to ensure that Commissioners and the Assembly’s senior management team are supported and constructively challenged in their roles.
That’s why only candidates with a breadth of expertise in the business, industry and other sectors were considered.
The advisors will be involved in performance monitoring and in maintaining a critical overview of the Assembly’s financial controls and risk management procedures as members of the Commission’s Audit Committee.
“It is right and proper that Wales’s law-making body is held to the highest possible standards in everything it does,” said Presiding Officer, Rosemary Butler AM.
“The National Assembly Commission has a budget of £47million a year and we aim to attain the highest possible standards, whether it is spending public money in the most cost effective way, or the way we deliver parliamentary support to Members.
“I am delighted, therefore, that we have attracted candidates of such high calibre, with such a wide range of expertise and experience in different sectors of business and walks of life.
The advisors are:
Helena Feltham
Helena has had a long career in Retail and Human Resource Leadership, and has held Board Appointments as HR Director at Marks & Spencer and HR Director at Woolworths South Africa, returning to the UK in 2005 when she joined Odgers Berndtson in Executive search. She is currently HR Director at Jack Wills Ltd.
Helena has also served as a Non-Executive Director of an NHS Trust, and is currently a Justice of the Peace.
Eric Gregory
Eric is currently Non-executive Director with Home Office Identity & Passport Service and with Cabinet Office Electoral Registration Transformation Programme (ERTP). He has just completed three years as Non-Executive Director for the Crown Prosecution Service London, also Chair of the Change, Risk and Audit Committee.
Eric worked for John Lewis Partnership between 1983 and 2009. During his time there, his responsibilities included HR and IT Director and Board Member for John Lewis, IT Director and Board Member for Waitrose, and Director of Computer Services.
Keith Baldwin
Keith has spent 20 years as a Partner in PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC), most recently as Deputy Partner-in-Charge of Government Consulting. He also led the Risk Management function of PWC’s Advisory Business.
Since 2010, he has also performed the roles of Non-executive Board Member and Member of the Audit Committee at CVQO Ltd. (which helps young people obtain vocational qualifications). He has been a non-executive Member of Council and Member of the Audit Committee at the National Army Museum since 2010. He was a non-executive Director for Judicial Studies Board (within Ministry of Justice) from 2007 to 2011.