Christine Farnish
Christine Farnish brings a wealth of experience to the Family and Parenting Institute. She was Group Public Policy Director at Barclays from 2006 to 2011. She is also Chair of Consumer Focus, the consumer watchdog and ABTA, the travel association.
Christine cemented her national reputation during her time as Chief Executive of the National Association of Pension Funds, a membership body spanning public, private and voluntary sectors. This role saw the Observer describe her as the '£650 billion woman'. Before joining NAPF she held senior roles at the Financial Services Authority and at OFTEL and, prior to that, worked in local government and at the Countryside Commission. She has served on the Boards of the Office of Fair Trading, the Advertising Standards Authority, Papworth NHS Trust and ING Direct.
Christine has four grown up children and is married to John. In her spare time she enjoys trekking and following the fortunes of Tottenham Hotspur.
Maggie Darling
Following a long and successful journalistic career, including as staff writer for the Glasgow Herald, Sunday Standard and Daily Record, Maggie undertook considerable charity work opening up 11 Downing Street to host events with small and medium sized charities during the time her husband was Chancellor of the Exchequer. As lead patron for Scottish charity Circle, which provides community based support to marginalised children and families, Maggie understands only too well the difference early intervention can make.
Ken Hogg
Ken Hogg is Chief Actuary and Chief Financial Officer of RGA UK Services Limited. His wide-ranging role includes oversight of the U.K. office’s operations, finance & valuations, protection pricing, and research teams.
Before coming to RGA, Ken was a Director with the U.K.'s Financial Services Authority (FSA), where he led the Authority’s work on U.K. and European insurance sector issues. In that capacity, he also represented the FSA with the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA, formerly CEIOPS), and was on the Executive Committee of the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS).
Ken’s more than two decades of experience in the insurance industry includes stints with MGM Advantage, where he was Chief Financial Officer, and AIG Life UK, where he was Chief Operating Officer. He was also with AEGON, where he served in various roles. These include Marketing Director of the UK business, as well as playing leading roles in setting up two new life offices. These were AEGON’s Scottish Equitable International subsidiary in Luxembourg (where he served as Chief Actuary), and the India-based joint venture between AEGON and its local partner (where he served as Sales and Marketing Director). He has also served as a Trustee of pension schemes, and as member of CBI Council.
Ken qualified as a fellow of the Faculty of Actuaries in 1991. He earned a 1st class honors degree in Actuarial Mathematics and Statistics from Heriot Watt University in 1987. Ken was a regular speaker for the FSA at industry and professional events. He is a regular fund raiser for charity through endurance hiking and biking events.
Diana Hunter
A dynamic professional with 20 years experience at a senior level in two major UK food retailers, Diana Hunter is now Director of Convenience at Waitrose.
She joined the John Lewis Partnership early in 2004 to take up the role of Head of Merchandising, before progressing to Director of Store Development, where she oversaw the development of new formats and the significant growth of selling space Waitrose has seen in recent years.She is now charged with leading the Waitrose drive into the Convenience market through the roll out of the ‘Little Waitrose’ format.
Diana began her career at Sainsbury’s where she held a number of roles, working on Future Stores and Format Development. With a keen eye for upcoming trends and a proven track record in innovation, Diana is able to identify what matters to the customer and turn it into long term sustainable plans.
Diana lives in Henley with her son, Samuel. She has a passion for design and enjoys travelling the world. She is delighted to be joining the Board of The Family and Parenting Institute.
Paul Johnson
Paul has been director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies since January 2011.
He has worked on the economics of public policy throughout his career. As well as a previous spell at the IFS in the 1990s (including a period as deputy director) Paul has been chief economist at the Department for Education and director of public spending in HM Treasury, where he had particular responsibility for environment (including climate change), transport and public sector pay and pensions. Other positions include a period as head of economics at the FSA and as a senior associate with Frontier Economics.
Between 2004 and 2007 Paul was deputy head of the Government Economic Service. He has served on the council of the Economic and Social Research Council and was a founder council member of the Pensions Policy Institute. In 2010 he led a review of the policy of auto-enrolment into pensions for the new government. He has been a member of a number of advisory boards and commissions including the Pension Provision Group, the Commission on taxation and citizenship, the Youth Justice Commission and the Commission on Living Standards. He is currently an editor of the Mirrlees Review of tax economics and policy.
Paul has published and broadcast extensively on numerous issues in the economics of public policy including tax, welfare, pensions, education, climate change and public finances.
Martin Pilgrim
Martin Pilgrim worked in local government for 39 years, mainly at a senior level on policy issues in local government representative bodies. His last post was as Chief Executive of London Councils, the organisation which brings together London’s 33 borough councils. Since his retirement in 2007, Martin has undertaken a number of roles in the not-for-profit sector. He is Chair of the London Sustainability Exchange. He is the Chair of the England Council and the London Regional Council of The Prince’s Trust; he is also a member of the National Advisory Board and was a Trustee (2009-2010) of The Trust. He is Treasurer and a Trustee of the Family Rights Group. He has similar roles with Daycare Trust. He was a director of Film London (2005-2011).
Martin is a Chartered Public Finance Accountant and has a Master’s degree in Management from the University of Kent.
Chris Pond
Chris Pond is Director of Financial Capability at the Financial Services Authority. He was previously Chief Executive of One Parent Families/Gingerbread, MP for Gravesham, Work and Pensions minister, Parliamentary Private Secretary in the Treasury, a member of the Social Security Select Committee and honorary visiting professor at Middlesex University.
Before entering Parliament, Chris was Director of the Low Pay Unit and Chair or trustee of a number of voluntary organisations in the social policy field. He now chairs Capacitybuilders, a funding agency for the Third Sector responsible to the Cabinet Office.
Ryan Shorthouse
Ryan is a Researcher for the Social Market Foundation with expertise in social policy, including early years, education and welfare. He was previously a researcher for Rt Hon David Willetts MP, where he authored the Conservative Party's Childhood Review, and an adviser to the Shadow Minister for the Family, formulating Conservative party policy and managing media relations. Ryan is the Director of Bright Blue - a group campaigning for progressive policies from the Conservative Party - and is editor of The Progressive Conscience, Bright Blue's magazine. He was the Political Secretary of the Bow Group and writes regularly on social affairs for various national newspapers and magazines. He was educated at the University of Warwick.
Kate Stephens
Kate is currently a Director at MHP, one of the UK's leading public affairs and PR consultancies. She has direct responsibility for MHP's marketing and external profile, which includes everything from advertising to the website, promotional materials, events, sponsorship, awards and any specific new business initiatives. MHP is also part of the Engine Group, an independent group of 12 companies with expertise across the marketing and communications spectrum
David White
David White is the principal of Romyla Consulting and Chairman of EMCAS.
Previously he was Chief Executive of The Children’s Mutual where he was responsible for leading a period of unprecedented growth in the number of customers, sales and embedded value. The Children’s Mutual also won a string of customer service awards and was voted customer service company of the year on two occasions. He has been a member of the ABI’s Consumer Strategy Committee and also a Steering group Member for the FSA’s initiative on Financial Capability (now CFEB).
Having started his financial services career in the pensions division of Scottish Life, prior to joining The Children’s Mutual, David was Product Group Director (Pensions) at Prudential where he was responsible for Prudential's wide range of pensions products.
He is a member of the Policy Advisory Council at the leading think tank IPPR, a Trustee of pfeg (the personal finance education group) and on the Board of TISA (Tax incentivised savings association) which leads in policy development on behalf of the savings and investments industry.
