It gives me enormous pleasure to have joined the Southern Co-op team and it is an immense privilege to be the Chair of our Board. I have been a member of the Co-op for most of my adult life and a member of Southern Co-op since moving to the Isle of Wight some time ago.

I have significant experience across a variety of sectors which I now bring to the board of the Southern Co-op. I was Chief Executive of the Law Society from 2000 to 2006, preparing it for the advent of the Legal Services Act 2007 by establishing the separate regulatory functions from its representative functions. Since then I have been and remain on various boards of both private and public and also charitable bodies variously acting as chair, vice chair and trustee. I was made a Privy Councillor to assist in my role leading the Detainee Inquiry established by the Prime Minister in 2010.

The principles of cooperative working have always been important to me in my work both nationally and internationally. They are so important in an increasingly competitive world where ethical standards so often slip. By working together in our jointly owned organisation, we have a real chance to ensure the highest standards and integrity needed for an efficient democratically governed organisation on behalf of the membership.