The Management Board's primary purpose is to assist the Information Commissioner to discharge their statutory responsibilities on a long-term, strategic basis. Its areas of responsibility focus on the effective functioning of the office in a manner consistent with the statutory requirements and the high standards expected from a public body.
Members – Commissioner, Deputy Commissioners and Non-Executive Directors
John Edwards began his term as UK Information Commissioner on 3 January 2022. You can find more information about John at this link.
Nicola Wood MBE is the Senior Independent Director at the ICO. She has a decade’s experience at board level and is a former solicitor and ombudsman. She has worked with different groups of vulnerable consumers and takes a particular interest in issues affecting children. If John Edwards is absent, Nicola chairs Management Board meetings. Nicola has previously chaired our Nominations Committee and Remuneration Advisory Sub-Committee.
Nicola was awarded an MBE for services to regulation in the 2024 King's New Year Honours.
Paul Arnold MBE, Deputy Chief Executive and Chief Operating Officer, has over 25 years’ experience regulating data protection and freedom of information. His approach to regulation combines supporting economic growth whilst protecting people from harm. This means empowering people to confidently share their information to use the products and services that drive our economy and our society, while helping organisations to responsibly use information to invest and innovate.
He has overseen the development and transformation of the ICO through many periods of societal and economic change. These include the evolution of cloud computing and online services, the rise of social media platforms, the implementation of GDPR and changes to how we live and work following a global pandemic.
Paul is driven by continuous learning, improvement and innovation with a relentless focus on delivering impact and empathy for the ICO’s customers and stakeholders. He chairs the ICO’s Executive Team to lead delivery of an ambitious ‘ICO25’ strategy and to effectively respond to emerging regulatory risks and opportunities such as generative AI and the forthcoming change to the ICO’s governance and constitution.
As a severely visually impaired person, Paul is passionate about equality of access to opportunity and showcasing the importance and potential of people like him, doing jobs like his, making it easy for others to expect to do the same.
Paul was also awarded an MBE for services to regulation and equality, diversity and inclusion in the 2024 King’s New Year Honours.
Ailsa Beaton OBE was a Management Board member at the Metropolitan Police Service, Chief Information Officer at ICL plc and a Senior Partner at PA Consulting Group. She started her career as an accountant before moving into information technology with General Electric (USA).
She now has a portfolio of non-executive roles as well as undertaking interim management and consultancy work. These include being a non-executive director of ACL-UK Ltd, being a governor of the Legal Education Foundation and sitting on the Advisory Board for Information Management and Information Systems of Leeds University Business School. Ailsa also chair’s the ICO’s Audit and Risk Committee.
Ailsa was awarded an OBE in the 2010 Queen's New Year Honours for services to policing.
Stephen Bonner, Deputy Commissioner (Regulatory Supervision), is responsible for leading supervision and enforcement matters across the ICO. His work includes ensuring that the ICO is positioned to effectively regulate in the digital landscape; and the ICO’s investigative, regulatory cyber, audit and assurance teams deliver their strategic plans. He fronts communications, public and stakeholder engagement on how taking a pragmatic and balanced approach to privacy can help organisations thrive whilst protecting the rights of the most vulnerable.
Ranil Boteju is the Group Chief Data and Analytics Officer at Lloyds Banking Group, with accountability for delivering the Bank’s Data Strategy. Prior to Lloyds Banking Group, Ranil has held senior Data leadership roles at HSBC, Standard Chartered Bank, Vodafone NZ and the Commonwealth Bank of Australia and has more than 20 years’ global experience in Data and Analytics, with roles in Hong Kong, Singapore, Sydney and Auckland.
David Cooke was, until March 2016, the Director (CEO) of the independent British Board of Film Classification, a post he held for nearly 12 years. Before that, David was a Civil Service Director working on such diverse topics as asylum, the Northern Ireland peace process, criminal justice and constitutional reform. David is also currently a Visiting Professor in the Public Policy Department at the University of Lincoln.
Emily Keaney, Deputy Commissioner Regulatory Policy, is responsible for overseeing the ICO’s policy work programme, both domestically and internationally, as well as leadership of the policy profession. Emily also provides ET support and oversight for the work of the ICO’s economic analysis directorate and oversees our work in responding to and preparing for major legislative change.
Jeannette Lichner is an experienced non-executive director, business advisor, educator and executive mentor/coach. She has more than 30 years international banking experience gained as a senior executive, consultant and non-executive director.
In addition to her role with the ICO, she is Chair of Elucidate GmBh, a Berlin-based regulatory technology start up; Chair of Square 4, a UK-based regulatory consulting firm; and is a member of the Global Advisory Board of the University of Virginia, of which she is an alumna. She is a senior associate and head tutor the of High Impact Leadership course at the Cambridge Institute of Sustainability Leadership. In addition, she is an active member of the Chartered Management Institute
Jane McCall is Chair of the Tameside and Glossop Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust. In May 2020, she became the Chair of Peaks and Plains Housing Trust, a social housing provider based in Macclesfield. Jane has significant experience as a Non-Executive Director in the NHS, including at Stockport Foundation Trust and University Hospitals of South Manchester Foundation Trust; the latter as Deputy Chair.
Previously Jane was (until April 2021) an External Commissioner on the House of Commons Commission and (until May 2016) Deputy Chief Executive at Trafford Housing Trust, a housing business with a social purpose based in Greater Manchester.
She has worked in the social housing sector for over 25 years and has been in senior management for the last 15 years. Her previous posts include Managing Director of two business subsidiaries within the Regenda Group, and Divisional Technical Director for the Places for People Group. Jane also chairs the ICO’s People Committee.
Tracey Waltho has over 25 years’ experience in the Civil Service, having joined the Government Economic Service as a new graduate. She was Director of Economic Policy co-ordination running the Prime Minister’s National Economic Council in 2008/9 and has also served as the Chief Economist and Director of Strategy at the Department for Transport. Most recently she has served as Director General Civil Service at Cabinet Office, and Director General Housing and Planning – leading government’s Covid response across Housing and Planning, including the response for Rough Sleepers known as ‘Everyone In’. Most recently she was Executive Director of Strategy and Transformation at Citizens Advice. She has extensive experience of government decision making and transformational change.
Executive Directors – attendees
All of our Executive Directors attend Management Board meetings in non-voting capacity.
Stephen Almond, Executive Director – Regulatory Risk, leads the ICO’s teams charged with engineering information rights into the fabric of new ideas, technologies and business models as part of our dynamic digital economy, including through the Digital Regulation Cooperation Forum.
Angela Balakrishnan, Executive Director – Strategic Communications and Public Affairs, oversees the development and delivery of the ICO’s strategic communication and engagement activities across the organisation. This ensures the ICO grows awareness of the value and impact of its work, gathers insight to inform what we do and how we do it, and shapes perception and sentiment about information rights and the role of regulation. She also helps the organisation leverage communications and engagement as a regulatory tool to influence behaviour on information rights.
In addition to leading the corporate communications, private office and public affairs teams, she provides strategic direction and advice to teams across the ICO, helping them communicate and engage with impact to support the ICO's purpose - empowering people through information.
Claudia Berg, General Counsel, is responsible for ensuring the ICO is discharging its legal duties and operating consistently in line with agreed legal risk appetite and informing the way the laws we oversee are developing. Claudia is the head of profession for the lawyers at the ICO, wherever they are positioned in the organisation.
Rob Holtom, Executive Director - Corporate Digital, Data & Technology, is responsible for how the ICO's digital services, data capabilities and technology underpin the organisation's operations and strategic transformation.
Louise Locke, Executive Director of Customer Service, is responsible for the ICO’s customer service strategy, performance, and engagement. She is leading our customer service approach as we continue to innovate and engage effectively with our customers.
Louise is responsible for Business Services, Freedom of Information Complaints and the Public Advice and Data Protection Complaints Service.