IPSA - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Member of the Previous Board Members and Chief Executives Team
Dame Laura Cox served as a High Court Judge from 2002 until 2016, when she stood down from the Bench to enable her to pursue other interests and activities. She remains a Bencher of the Inner Temple and in 2019 she was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from Queen Mary, University of London for her contribution to the law.
Before her judicial appointment in 2002, Laura was in practice as a barrister for 25 years, specialising in equality and employment law. In 1995, she was elected as Head of Cloisters Chambers. She was appointed Queen's Counsel in 1994 and in December 2002 she received a "Lifetime Achievement" award from the organisations "Liberty" and "Justice" for her commitment to equality and human rights over 25 years at the Bar.
In 1998 Laura was appointed as the British member of the International Labour Organisation's Committee of Independent Experts, one of the oldest and most respected United Nations supervisory bodies, a post she held for 15 years, monitoring ILO Member States' compliance with international labour and equality standards.
In 2013 she was elected as the Vice President of the United Kingdom Association of Women Judges, serving in that role until her retirement from the Bench. She was also an active member of the Judicial College, co-designing and chairing the cross-jurisdictional skills and ethics courses for courts and tribunals judges.
Since 2016, Laura has undertaken work for a variety of organisations in the areas of equality and human rights. She has also conducted several independent investigations or inquiries, including the Independent Inquiry into the Bullying and Harassment of House of Commons Staff, delivering her final report to the House in October 2018.
Laura's post with IPSA is that of our former high judicial officeholder.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Previous Board Members and Chief Executives Team
Helen Jones served as the MP for Warrington North from 1997 to 2019. She chaired the House of Commons Petitions Committee from 2015 to 2019 and had previously been an Opposition Spokesperson, senior Government Whip and Parliamentary Private Secretary.
Prior to entering the House, she worked as a solicitor, teacher and as a justice and peace officer in the Liverpool Archdiocese.
Ian Todd joined IPSA in October 2020. He was formerly Chief Executive of the Security Industry Authority and Deputy Director General at the Independent Office for Police Conduct.
He has also held several other board-level roles in professional regulation, including the health and legal sectors. Ian has also spent time in central government, including the Department for Education and the Cabinet Office.
He has extensive experience dealing with the public in a frontline role as his first career was with the NHS ambulance services. During 15 years in the ambulance service, he was a qualified paramedic and held several roles to director level, including as part of the senior command team during the 7/7 London bombings.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Previous Board Members and Chief Executives Team
Job Titles:
- Member of the Previous Board Members and Chief Executives Team
Job Titles:
- Member of the Leadership Team
- Director of Strategy & Change
- Non - Executive Director at the Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Karen joined IPSA in August 2020. She has spent 30 years in the Customer Services industry, gaining a wealth of experience spanning financial services, utilities and telecoms at brands such as telephone and online bank First Direct, Centrica and Virgin Media.
She has a background in operational and change leadership, culture change, regulation, credit management and customer service excellence and is renowned for developing purposeful customer-centric cultures to drive advocacy and great customer outcomes, breaking down barriers to service excellence and customer retention.
Yorkshire born and bred, Karen is also a Non-Executive Director at the Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust where she is translating her keen interest and experience in people and customers into helping the Trust achieve great patient outcomes and service excellence.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Previous Board Members and Chief Executives Team
Lea Paterson CBE was previously Executive Director, People and Culture, at the Bank of England.
She is currently an Independent Member of the University of Warwick's Remuneration Committee.
Lea has previously held a number of senior management positions at the Bank of England, including Director of Independent Evaluation.
She was also an Advisor to the Bank's Board in its review of ethnic diversity and inclusion.
Before working for the Bank, Lea worked as a journalist, as Economics Editor at The Times and previously at The Independent.
Lea has been appointed as a Commissioner at the Civil Service Commission from 13 June 2022 for a five-year non-renewable term.
At the end of 2022, Lea was awarded a CBE in the annual New Year Honours list for services to the economy.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Leadership Team
- Director of Policy & Engagement
Lee's teams are responsible for IPSA's policy development, its communications and engagement with the public and stakeholders, the publication policy and information governance across the organisation.
Lee joined IPSA from the House of Commons where he worked in several roles including in communications, Members' Services and finance. Lee was the Senior Responsible Owner for the development of Parliament's Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme which is there to tackle workplace harassment and bullying.
Prior to joining the House of Commons, Lee was one of the first clerks appointed to the new Scottish Parliament in 1998 and played a role in establishing the policies and procedures for the new legislature.
Richard Lloyd OBE joined the IPSA Board in December 2018. He became Interim Chair in October 2019 and was confirmed as our Chair in November 2021.
He is also a non-executive director of the Financial Conduct Authority and the Advertising Standards Authority.
Richard's previous positions include:
Executive director, Which?
Chief executive, Consumers International
Head of policy, Shelter
Special adviser to the Prime Minister
He was awarded an OBE in 2019 for services to the economy and consumer rights.
Job Titles:
- Chairman of the Previous Board Members and Chief Executives Team
Job Titles:
- Member of the Previous Board Members and Chief Executives Team
Job Titles:
- Member of the Previous Board Members and Chief Executives Team
Job Titles:
- Director of Finance
- Member of the Leadership Team
Thomas has led IPSA's finance team since February 2022. He is responsible for leading the finance, payroll and procurement functions to deliver taxpayer value for money.
Thomas draws on his experience working as a finance professional across a variety of public and private sector roles, including Imperial College London and the Department for Health and Social Care.
He has driven better financial management across a variety of asset classes, including container ships and real estate.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Previous Board Members and Chief Executives Team
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Chartered Accountant and a Former Head
Will Lifford is a Yorkshire-based chartered accountant and a former Head of Audit at Grant Thornton.
Since retiring, he has held several non-executive and trustee roles in the public and not-for-profit sectors, including as non-executive director of Entrust, the regulator of the Landfill Communities Fund, and chair of both Yorkshire Housing and Martin House Children's Hospice.
He is currently a board member of the Charity Commission for England & Wales.