• Welcome
• About the UK Commission
  • Role and responsibilities
  • The Chairman and Commissioners
  • Commissioners Business Plan for 2011/12
  • Working with Sector Skills Councils
  • UK Commission expenditure budget
• The role
  • Job description
  • Person specification
  • Terms and conditions
  • Information Pack
• How to apply
• Timetable and recruitment process

The Chairman and Commissioners

Charlie Mayfield – Chairman

Charlie Mayfield was appointed the UK Commission Chairman in November 2010. Charlie became the John Lewis Partnership's fifth Chairman in March 2007. He joined the Partnership in 2000 as Head of Business Development, responsible for business strategy and development for both John Lewis and Waitrose. Charlie joined the Board as Development Director in 2001 and was responsible for developing the Partnership's online strategy. He became Managing Director of John Lewis in January 2005 prior to taking up his appointment as Chairman of the Partnership in March 2007. Charlie began his career as an officer in the army. He joined SmithKline Beecham in 1992 and became Marketing Manager for the Lucozade brand, before moving to McKinsey & Co in 1996, where he worked with consumer and retail organisations.

Our Commissioners

Our Commissioners are leaders in their fields who contribute their expertise and resources to the full range of UK Commission activities.  The Commission is a Non Departmental Public Body and also a company limited by guarantee.  The Commissioners are Directors of the Company. Commissioners are appointed by the Secretary of State and represent the interests of large, small and medium enterprise; the public, private and voluntary sectors.  The Ministers of each of the Devolved Administrations of the United Kingdom are also entitled to appoint a Commissioner.

We are currently in the process of further strengthening the Commission by appointing up to eight new Commissioners via a public appointments process.

Our Commissioners are:

Brendan Barber, General Secretary of the TUC
Brendan joined the TUC in 1975, becoming Head of the Press Department in 1979 and the Industrial Relations Department in 1987 before being appointed Deputy General Secretary in 1993.

Chris Hyman CBE, Chief Executive, Serco Group PLC
In addition to this role, Chris formed Serco's first global division, and implemented the first global practices across the company. Chris is also Non-Executive Director of United Business Media plc, the Prince of Wales' Charity In Kind Direct, Habitat for Humanity and the Borneo Tropical Rainforest Foundation.

Dave Prentis, General Secretary, UNISON
Dave was UNISON's deputy general secretary from its formation in 1993 and drove through a strategic review of the union, aimed at delivering key reforms, to bring union services closer to the members.

Dr Bill McGinnis CBE, Northern Ireland Adviser on Employment and Skills
Bill McGinnis is Chairman of the McAvoy Group Limited (off-site building solutions).
He is currently a Board member of Tourism Ireland, Chairman of Air Route Development Ltd and Non-executive Director of a number of public limited companies.

Grahame Smith, General Secretary, Scottish Trades Union Congress
Grahame was appointed as the STUC's Deputy General Secretary in 1996. In that role he headed the STUC's Policy and Campaigns Department and had specific responsibility for the STUC's work on lifelong learning and public services.

James Wates, Deputy Chairman, Wates Construction Limited
James joined Wates Construction as a management trainee, he took on the role of General Manager in 1989. Since then he has progressed through the company to be Deputy Chairman of the main Group Board. Outside the Group, he is involved with several industry bodies.

Jeremy Anderson CBE, Head of Financial Services for KPMG Europe LLP
Jeremy Anderson is Head of Financial Services for KPMG Europe LLP. He works extensively with global banks helping them to design and implement people, process and technology solutions as they deal with the challenges of a fast changing and expanding global market.

Julie A Kenny CBE, DL, Managing Director, Pyronix Limited of Rotherham, South Yorkshire
Julie is also a Board member of the Small Business Forum, Yorkshire Forward, Creative Sheffield and Vice-Chairman of the British Security Industry Association.

Larry Hirst CBE, former Chairman of IBM Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA)
Previously, Larry was General Manager for IBM's operations in the UK, Ireland, the Netherlands and South Africa. Larry is an Advisor on the Presidential International Advisory Council on Information Society and Development (PIAC) for South Africa.

Liz Sayce OBE, Chief Executive, Radar
Liz Sayce is Chief Executive of RADAR, the UK's leading pan-disability organisation. She is a member of the Disability Committee of the Equality and Human Rights Commission and a trustee of Stonewall.

Lord Victor Adebowale, Chief Executive of Turning Point
Victor joined Turning Point as Chief Executive in September 2001. Turning Point is the UK's leading social care organisation, providing services for people with complex needs.

Nigel Whitehead, Group Managing Director Programmes & Support, BAE Systems
Nigel was appointed Group Managing Director of Programmes and Support, one of four Global Operating Groups in BAE Systems, in 2008. In this role he has responsibility for UK Businesses including Surface Ships, Submarines, Security, Systems Integration and Military Aircraft.

Sir Adrian Webb, Chair of the Wales Employment & Skills Board
Sir Adrian was First Vice-Chancellor, University of Glamorgan from 1992 to 2005 and previous to that was Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Director of the Centre for Research in Social Policy, Loughborough University.

Valerie Todd, Director of Talent and Resources at Crossrail
Valerie has held a number of senior positions in local government. She is the founding President of the Women's Transportation Seminar (London), an organisation established in 2005 to be a voice for women in transport.

Willy Roe CBE, Chairman, Skills Development Scotland
Willy Roe CBE is Chairman of Skills Development Scotland, the Scottish Government's new agency serving employers, individuals and communities and acting as a catalyst for positive change in Scotland's skills performance.