Switching Sectors: Leaders Who Have Made the Move Between the Private and Public Sectors

The UK Government’s Talent Attraction Ambition focuses on porosity; the way that high-calibre business leaders can transfer their skills and experience across to civil service roles to greatly benefit the public sector, and the people. 

Join Lucy Harding, Jes Ladva, Rebecca Royle and Anna Dickinson as they speak with a range of high-profile leaders who have made that move between sectors. We aim to explore the motivations for making the move, the challenges and learning curves they’ve experienced and also what in their view are the ‘pull’ factors for considering a career move into the public sector.

View the interviews below, and look out for more coming soon.

In our latest episode: Gareth Rhys Williams CB, Chair, National Highways 

Gareth Rhys Williams has a background in engineering, holding several CEO roles with organisations such as Charter International and PHS Group before moving to the Cabinet Office in 2016 as Government Chief Commercial Officer (GCCO). Gareth spent eight years building the Government Commercial Function (GCF) into the 6,000 strong cross-government network of civil servants it is today procuring, or supporting the procurement of, goods and services for government. He left this role in June this year to take up the role of Chair for National Highways. 

Gareth speaks with Anna Dickinson to discuss the inception of the GCF, the implications and considerations that come with being a senior leader in the civil service. He shares his reflections on the all-important topic of maintaining levels of resilience in the face of the inevitable scrutiny that comes with being a senior civil servant and also reflects on his time in ‘the centre’ and what he will miss.  

In this episode: Akshay Kaul, Director General, Infrastructure Group, Ofgem.

Working in government for over 20 years, Akshay Kaul began his career as an investment banker before joining HM Treasury in 2010. Akshay is now Director General, Infrastructure Group, Ofgem. Anna Dickinson joins Akshay to explore his background in the civil service, his current role at Ofgem, the importance of attracting technical talent, what both sectors can learn from one another, and advice for anyone considering a move into the public sector.

In this episode: Simon Baugh, Chief Executive of the Government Communication Service.

Previously Director of Media and Public Relations for Heathrow, Simon Baugh joined the civil service in 2015 as Director of Communications for the Department for Transport. Eight years later, Simon is now the Chief Executive of the Government Communication Service. Simon speaks with Anna Dickinson, Consultant in the Central Government Practice, discussing his motivations for making the move to the public sector, reflecting on the similar levels of challenge and pressures and importantly, challenging the preconceptions of working in public service. 

In this episode: Sir John Manzoni, AWE & SEE PLC Chair, Civil Service Chief Executive & Cabinet Office Permanent Secretary (until 2020).

Sir John Manzoni made the switch to the public sector, initially to lead the Major Projects Authority with the Cabinet Office and after 6 months, moved into the role of Chief Executive of the Civil Service and Cabinet Office Permanent Secretary, in which he served for almost 6 years. Prior to the switch, Sir John held many leadership positions in the Oil and Gas sector, as President/CEO of Talisman Energy for 5 years, and in various roles with BP for the previous 24 years. 

Sir John speaks with Jes Ladva about the differences in difficulty, complexity and importance of his public service roles as compared to running a private business, and how experience from a private business background can complement the intellect and intricacies of policy making and implementation.

In this episode: Nick Reed, Chief Road Safety Advisor for National Highways

Nick Reed spent 13 years at the Transport Research Laboratory, latterly as TRL Academy Director. He then moved to Bosch, the world’s largest automotive supplier, as Head of Mobility before making the switch to the public sector to become the government’s first Chief Road Safety Advisor at National Highways. 

Nick speaks with Becky Royle, Head of Central Government and Housing Practice UK, about his role, what motivated him to make the switch, and his experiences around the transition. 

In this episode: Rob Woodstock, Chief Commercial Officer, HMRC

Rob Woodstock spent 25 years in Management Consulting across procurement and supply chain, advisory, technology and outsourcing with Accenture. Rob decided to take on a new challenge with an increased sense of social purpose by becoming HMRC’s Chief Commercial Officer, a significant leadership role within the Government Commercial Organisation.

Rob speaks to Lucy Harding, Global Head, Procurement & Supply Chain Practice, about exciting programmes he became involved with following his move to the HMRC, including the borders for Brexit project working with traders and third parties to make sure the transition was smooth. 

The scale and complexity of the challenge, as well as the inevitably increased levels of public scrutiny, are just a few things Rob has found are unique to what civil service can offer and he describes how his skills transferred over to the public sector role. 

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