Financial Services Ombudsman: Appointment of Members

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A decision made 7 October 2014:

Decision Reference: MD-E-2014-0104
Decision Summary Title :	Appointment of OFSO Board		Date of Decision Summary:	7 October 2014
Decision Summary Author:	Strategy Manager		Decision Summary: Public or Exempt? (State clauses from Code of Practice booklet)	Public
Type of Report: Oral or Written?	Written		Person Giving Oral Report:	N/A
Written Report Title :	Appointment of OFSO Board		Date of Written Report:	7 October 2014
Written Report Author:	Strategy Manager		Written Report : Public or Exempt? (State clauses from Code of Practice booklet)	Public
Subject: Appointment of John Curran, Debbie Guillou, and John Mills to the Board of the Office of the Financial Services Ombudsman (OFSO) by the Minister for Economic Development.
Decision(s): Following the nomination of Board members by the Chairman the Minister decided, in accordance with Schedule 1 of the Financial Services Ombudsman (Jersey) Law 2014, to give the States Assembly two weeks’ notice of his intention to appoint John Curran, Debbie Guillou, and John Mills to the Board of the Office of the Financial Services Ombudsman (OFSO).
Reason(s) for Decision: Following the registration of the Financial Services Ombudsman (Jersey) Law 2014 in the Royal Court on 25th July 2014, the conclusion of a recruitment process run in conjunction with the States of Guernsey and overseen by the Jersey Appointments Commission, and the subsequent nomination by the Chairman, it is necessary for the Minister to appoint the Board in order to allow OFSO to proceed with its establishment and open for complaints handling in a timely way. .
Resource Implications: There are no financial or manpower implications for the States.
Action required: Greffier of the States to be requested to present to the States the attached Report for their information at the earliest opportunity.
Signature:		Position: Minister for Economic Development
Date Signed:		Date of Decision (If different from Date Signed):

Financial Services Ombudsman: Appointment of Members

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Economic Development Department

Ministerial Decision Report

Office of the financial services ombudsman (ofso): appointment of the board

Purpose of Report

To notify the States of the Minister’s intention to appoint John Curran, Debbie Guillou, and John Mills as Board members of the Office of the Financial Ombudsman (OFSO).

Background

On 1st April 2014, under Projet P.9/2014 the States approved the Financial Services Ombudsman (Jersey) Law.

Under Schedule 1 the Minister must, at least 2 weeks before appointing the Board, present to the States a notice of his intention to make the appointment following nomination by the Chairman.

Notification to the States of the intention to appoint Board members

Following the conclusion of a recruitment exercise run in conjunction with the States of Guernsey, chaired by the Chairman of OFSO, and overseen by the Jersey Appointments Commission, the unanimous recommendation of the Interview Panel was to appoint John Curran, Debbie Guillou, and John Mills to the Board of OFSO. The Minister is advised that the Board will provide relevant experience together with strong leadership and oversight of the OFSO.

The interview panel comprised David Thomas (Chairman) representing OFSO, James Morris representing the Jersey Appointments Commission, Mr. Darren Scott representing the Economic Development Department, States of Jersey, and Mr. Mat Desforges representing the Commerce & Employment Department of the States of Guernsey.

CV’s attached:

DEBORAH GUILLOU B.ACC. (HONS), F.C.M.A., C.DIR.

PERSONAL PROFILE

A qualified accountant and Chartered Director with extensive management experience in a variety of industries, ranging from electricity to fund management, insurance and health.

EMPLOYMENT

Chief Executive: The Medical Specialist Group – July 2013 - present

Head of Generali International: Generali International Ltd – January 2009 – June 2013

Chief Financial Officer: Generali Worldwide Insurance Company Ltd – July 2005 – April 2009

Head of Finance: Generali Worldwide Insurance Company Ltd - November 2004 – June 2005

Consultant – Temporary Contract: Generali Worldwide Insurance Company Ltd - May 2004 – November 2004

Senior Manager – Finance: Investec Asset Management Guernsey - February 2002 – May 2004

Head of Finance/Finance Director: Guernsey Electricity - September 1995 – January 2002

EDUCATION / QUALIFICATIONS

Chartered Director (C.Dir) – Institute of Directors

Diploma in Company Direction (Distinction) – Institute of Directors

Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants

Bachelor of Accountancy (Hons) University of Stirling, Scotland

Blanchelande College, Guernsey

OTHER INTERESTS

Non-States Member of Public Sector Remuneration Committee (2009 – 2011)

Secretary of the Guernsey Branch of the Institute of Directors (2003 – 2007)

JOHN CURRAN

Career History

Curran Consulting Limited: (2012)

Curran Consulting Ltd is an independent consultancy assisting regulators, businesses and governments develop policy and strategies regulated sectors. Clients include both public and private sector organisations.

Channel Island Competition & Regulatory Authorities:

Chief Executive and member of the Board, September 2010 – June 2012:

Office of Utility Regulation (OUR);

Director General, January 2005 – September 2010

Office of Utility Regulation (OUR);

Deputy Director and Director of Regulation, April 2003 – January 2005

Telstra Corporation, Sydney;

Regulatory Advisor, May 2002 – March 2003

Office of Utility Regulation:

Regulatory Contractor, July 2001 – January 2002

Commission for Communications Regulation (Comreg): Dublin:

Manager, Operations Division, May 1997 – June 2001

Irish Civil Service:

June 1990 – May 1997

Qualifications & Interests

- Diploma in Company Direction, Institute of Directors (2010)

- Certificate in Electronic Engineering, Galway Institute of Technology (1990)

- Training includes Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), negotiations and media skills

- Chairman, Guernsey Mind (voluntary)

John Mills CBE

Mr Mills was educated at the University of Oxford, where he was awarded first class honours in Modern History in 1971. After continuing at the university in order to prepare for a research degree on aspects of its medieval history, in 1974 he was appointed to the Home Civil Service in London.

His various roles in the Civil Service included private secretary to the Minister for Industry, a secondment for several years to the Government Secretariat in Hong Kong, member of the Prime Minister’s Policy Unit (education policy and local government finance) and Director of Consumer Affairs at the Office of Fair Trading.

In 1995 he was appointed Chief Executive of Cornwall County Council. In 1999 he moved to Jersey to become Chief Executive for Policy and Resources. In 2003 he returned to the Home Civil Service in the UK as Director of Rural Policy at DEFRA, from which role he retired in 2007.

In recent years he has held a variety of non-executive roles including, until lately, member of the Board of the Jersey Financial Services Commission and vice-chairman of the Board of the Port of London Authority. He is currently a member of the Ports of Jersey Shadow Board. He holds several honorary appointments in Jersey including Tax Commissioner of Appeal and member of the States Members Remuneration Review Body; and was an independent member of the Jersey Public Accounts Committee from 2012 until the recent dissolution.

He resides in St Saviour.

Recommendation

The Minister for Economic Development will, on or after the 22nd October 2014, appoint John Curran, Debbie Guillou, and John Mills as the Board of the OFSO for a period commencing on the 1st November 2014 and ending three years after the date of registration of the Guernsey equivalent of the Financial Services Ombudsman (Jersey) Law 2014 expected later this year. In the event of a delay the total period will not exceed five years.

Resource Implications

None.