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UK Government: Building on our success: Communities and Local Government appoint five non-executive board members(M2 PressWIRE Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) RDATE:05062008 Peter Housden, Permanent Secretary, has today announced the appointment of five non-executive members to the Board of Communities and Local Government: * Polly Cochrane, Marketing Director, Channel 4; * Debbie Hewitt, Managing Director, RAC Automotive Group; * Rob Vincent, Chief Executive, Kirklees Metropolitan Borough Council; * Sarah Weir, UK Cultural Olympiad Launch Director for the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Head of Art and Culture Strategy for the Olympic Delivery Authority; and * Peter Doyle, Chair of Church Urban Fund and a Governor of the Peabody Trust. Welcoming the appointments, Peter Housden said: "We are not resting here and will shortly appoint a sixth member from the Third Sector. Our non-executives will bring a range of external perspectives and will help the Department reach out further to communities and stakeholders." Notes for editors 1. Polly Cochrane is Marketing Director at Channel 4, Debbie Hewitt is Managing Director of the RAC Automotive Group and Rob Vincent is Chief Executive of Kirklees Metropolitan Borough Council (see biographies below). 2. Polly Cochrane and Rob Vincent have taken up their posts from 1 June 2008. Debbie Hewitt will join on 1 October 2008. 3. Sarah Weir and Peter Doyle have been members of the Board since September 2006, and have been reappointed for a further two years (until August 2010). 4. Non-executive Board members receive a fee of GBP10,000 gross per annum for an estimated time commitment of 20 days a year. 5. The advert for the new non-executive Board member with Third Sector experience can be found at: http://www.communities.gov.uk/corporate/jobscontracts/generalecruitmen t/currentvacancies/nonexecutiveboard/ The closing date for applications is Friday 13 June 2008. 6. Bob Kerslake and Jane Todd stepped down as non-executive Board members in December 2007. The eight executive members of the Board are: * Peter Housden, Permanent Secretary (chair) * Richard McCarthy, Director General, Housing and Planning * Joe Montgomery, Director General, Regions and Communities * Chris Wormald, Director General, Local Government and Regeneration * Susan Scholefield, Director General, Cohesion and Resilience * Mike Falvey, Director General, HR and Business Change * Hunada Nouss, Director General, Finance and Corporate Services * Christina Bienkowska, Director, Strategy and Performance Biographies Debbie Hewitt Debbie is the Managing Director of the RAC Automotive Group. Debbie joined Lex Service Plc in 1987, the company that acquired the RAC in 1999. Prior to that she worked for Marks and Spencer. She has held a variety of operational, HR and general management roles culminating in her appointment to RAC Plc in 2000, becoming Managing Director of RAC Roadside in 2004, and Managing Director of RAC Plc in 2006. RAC was acquired by Norwich Union (Aviva Plc) in May 2005. Debbie is also a non-executive director of Luminar Plc, (the UK's largest nightclub operator), Mouchel Parkman Plc, (a professional support services group) and Domestic and General Plc, (an International provider of brown and white good warranties). She is also a non-executive director of the Office of Government Commerce, a part of the UK Treasury which oversees the Government's procurement activities. She has previously held non-executive directorships at De Vere Plc and Alumasc Plc. Debbie holds an MBA (distinction) from Bath University, she is a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel Development, a trustee of the Recovery Industry Support Charity (RISC) and a Parish Councillor. Polly Cochrane Polly is a Marketing and Communications professional. She is currently Director of Marketing for Channel 4 Corporation, where she has helped shape the organisation's response to the impact of digital switchover. In her ten years with the broadcaster she has transformed the Marketing and Communications function into an industry standard bearer, supported by an award winning in house agency which she founded in 2001. Polly is also currently Chairman of Freeview. Prior to joining Channel 4 she worked on the launch of Channel 5, The Granada Media Group's launch of The Observer and the UK launch of Vanity Fair for Conde Nast. Before entering the media industry, she spent four years in advertising after graduating from Cambridge with a degree in Architecture. Rob Vincent Rob Vincent was appointed as Chief Executive of Kirklees Council in September 2004. He joined the council 20 years ago to lead its education resource management. He was appointed Chief Education Officer in the mid-1990s. Rob's professional background is in Civil Engineering and Town Planning. He has subsequently worked in Dorset, Tameside and Kirklees in a range of Planning, Corporate Policy, Resource Management, Education and Organisational Leadership roles. Kirklees is a strong supporter of City Regional Structures. Within local networks Rob takes a particular interest in Cohesion and Transport agendas. Nationally Rob is a member of the Association of the Chief Police Officers (ACPO) PREVENT Board and chairs the Society of Local Authority Chief Executives (SOLACE) Comprehensive Area Assessment (CAA) Working Group. He also speaks on Carbon Reduction issues. Sarah Weir Sarah Weir has recently taken up two part-time roles as the UK Cultural Olympiad Launch Director for the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games (LOCOG), and Head of Art and Culture Strategy for the Olympic Delivery Authority. Prior to that, Sarah was Executive Director, Arts Council England, London, from April 2003. She was previously executive director of the Almeida Theatre and project champion for the Almeida's Capital campaign. She is a board member of Stonewall. Sarah started her career in the Lloyd's insurance market. She worked for Aldgate Group Brokers, where she rose to become their non-marine managing director. Following a change of career from business into the arts and a year working at Purdy Hicks Gallery, Sarah moved to the Association of Business Sponsorship of the Arts as head of their pairing scheme, becoming deputy director general in 1996. In 1997 Sarah moved to the Royal Academy of Arts as head of corporate sponsorship, becoming fundraising director in 1999. Peter Doyle Peter Doyle was a partner in KPMG from 1986 until his retirement from the firm in 2002. While at KPMG he carried a number of senior roles, including as head of London office and as UK head of financial services; he served on the UK board for 3 years. Since then he has acted as interim finance director in financial services, including a period at the Export Credit Guarantee Department in 2004/5. Among his charitable and other interests he is chair of the Church Urban Fund and a Governor of the Peabody Trust. News Releases: http://www.communities.gov.uk/newsroom ((M2 Communications Ltd disclaims all liability for information provided within M2 PressWIRE. Data supplied by named party/parties. Further information on M2 PressWIRE can be obtained at http://www.presswire.net on the world wide web. Inquiries to [email protected])). 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