Commissioners

Dr Anne Wright CBE was appointed as Chair of the Commission in October 2005. She is a member of the Commission’s Remuneration Committee and the Regulating with Excellence Reference Group. She is also Chair of the School Teachers Pay Review Body. Her former non-executive roles include the Board of English Partnerships and the Armed Forces Pay Review Body.  Her former executive posts include Chief Executive of the Ufi/learndirect and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Sunderland. Among her voluntary roles is Chair of Trustees for Youth Music Theatre UK.

Mark Harris was appointed as the National Lottery Commission’s first Chief Executive in April 1999. He was appointed as a Commissioner in October 2007 under provisions in the National Lottery Act 2006. He has recently managed the successful competition for the third Licence and overseen the transition from the second licence to the current licence, which commenced in February 2009.

Under his executive lead, the Commission has worked with Camelot to introduce a wider games portfolio, develop innovative new playing channels, and earn respect for the UK National Lottery’s work to prevent underage and excessive play. Mark holds a law degree and is a qualified public sector accountant. He previously worked in public sector audit, and on strategic development within the NHS and the Audit Commission. He is a graduate of the Cabinet Office’s Top Management Programme.

Robert Foster was until September 2004, Chief Executive of the Competition Commission. He has also held a number of senior posts in Whitehall including responsibility for the Department of Trade and Industry’s innovation expenditure and Director of Aerospace and Defence Industries. He has handled major projects including the planning and setting up of the Office of Science and Technology, and chairing the Project Board of the PFI Project to rebuild the National Physical Laboratory.

Previously he was an engineering manager in the telecommunications and electronics industries. He holds a number of Non-Executive Director appointments including the board of King’s College Hospital NHS Trust, the Jersey Competition Regulatory Authority, and is a member of the Advisory Council of Oxford Capital Partners.

Sarah Thane CBE was appointed as a National Lottery Commissioner in October 2005. She is an independent consultant on broadcasting regulation and is currently advising the BBC Trust on regulatory and compliance matters. Prior to joining the Commission, Sarah was Advisor, Content and Standards at Ofcom, the UK’s communications regulator. She was on the Management Board of the ITC, as Director of Public Affairs and later, Director of Programmes and Advertising. Sarah is a non-executive director of Films of Record, an independent film production company, and is a justice of the peace in West Suffolk. She is a Fellow and former Chair of the Royal Television Society.

Deep Sagar became a Commissioner in September 2007. He is a management consultant who has extensive experience of governance and management across various sectors. From 2001-04 he was Client Director at Ashridge Business School. This followed senior management roles internationally with multinationals including Unilever Bestfoods and Coca-Cola for over 15 years. Among the appointments he holds currently are Chair of LEASE and of Turnstone Support Limited. He was also a Member of the Casino Advisory Panel.

Mary Chapman was appointed in January 2008. She has a background in marketing, HR and general management. She has recently been appointed non executive chairman of the Institute of Customer Service. Previously she was Chief Executive of the Chartered Management Institute, leading on vision, strategic development and performance. Previously, she was the founding Chief Executive of Investors in People UK, the company responsible for the development and quality assurance of the Investors in People Standard. Before that, her career within the L’OREAL UK Group Companies included posts as Director of Personnel Operations and Managing Director of Helena Rubinstein. Mary is also a Council Member of the Girls’ Day School Trust, the largest educational charity in the UK.

James Froomberg was appointed in January 2008. He is a leisure and property industry director with over 20 years experience in the private, public and consultancy sectors. Most recently he was the Commercial Director of British Waterways where he lead the development of a number of commercial businesses and public / private partnerships, and was responsible for a £600million property portfolio. James was previously the Director of Corporate Development at Wembley plc, responsible for developing and implementing a new strategy for the Group. Before that, he was the KPMG Partner, leading its UK Leisure, Tourism, Property and PFI consultancy business.

Related Links

• Senior Management Team

  The Senior Management Team (SMT) supports the Commissioners, and leads the Commission’s teams.

Related downloads

• Commissioners' and Directors' register of interests, November 2011

  Transparency documents

  (pdf - 1.072mb)

• Commissioner Code of Practice

  Commissioner Code of Practice

  (pdf - 419kb)

• Scheme of Delegation

  The Commission’s scheme of delegation

  (pdf - 146kb)

• Standing Orders

  The Commission’s standing orders.

  (pdf - 184kb)