Our Board

The NS&I Board consists of Executive and Non-executive Directors and representatives of HM Treasury. The Executive Directors on the Board also make up the Executive Committee.

The biographies linked below are updated annually upon the publication of our Annual Report and Accounts.

Annual Report and Accounts

  • Executive Directors

  • Dax Harkins

    Dax Harkins

    Chief Executive

    Dax Harkins

    Dax Harkins

    Chief Executive

    Dax was appointed NS&I Chief Executive on 12 April 2023, having been Acting Chief Executive from 13 March 2023.

    Prior to this, Dax was responsible for the development and delivery of NS&I’s business-to-business strategy, as well as overseeing and assuring NS&I’s operational performance

    A joint honours degree graduate of the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology, Dax has worked in financial services for almost 30 years. Starting his career in sales, Dax quickly progressed into various marketing roles, with a focus on product development, customer management and customer experience.

    In 2003, Dax joined NS&I and, in 2011, moved from marketing to Programme Director for the retender of the NS&I outsourcing contract. After successfully awarding the contract and ensuring a smooth transition, Dax was appointed to the board in 2014 as Business-to-Business Director and became an Institute of Directors-accredited Chartered Director in 2018.

    2022-23 Salary: 
    £120,000 - £125,000

  • Patrick Briscoe

    Patrick Briscoe

    B2B and SIAM Director

    Patrick Briscoe

    Patrick Briscoe

    B2B and SIAM Director

    Patrick joined NS&I in December 2023 as Director, Service Integration & Management (SIAM) and Business-to Business (B2B) and has over twenty years’ experience delivering critical services and operations.

    Patrick was most recently at the Home Office where he led various service delivery functions with scope across all the Department’s business areas, working with and integrating multiples suppliers in an extremely complex and challenging environment.

    Prior to joining the Civil Service, the majority of Patrick’s career has been spent working in similar roles in retail and commercial banking organisations, as well as a short period with a major B2B travel management company.

    2023-24 Salary:
    To be published in NS&I's Annual Report and Accounts 2023-24.

  • Ruth Curry

    Ruth Curry

    People and Finance Director

    Ruth Curry

    Ruth Curry

    People and Finance Director

    Ruth Curry joined NS&I on 1 July 2019. She has extensive civil service experience, starting her career in the Cabinet Office and undertaking a wide variety of policy roles, including leading on Open Government, clerk to the Intelligence & Security Committee, and as the Health policy lead in the Office of Public Service Reform.

    Having qualified as an accountant in 2006, Ruth has held senior finance roles in a number of departments including the Department for Education, Serious Fraud Office and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. Before joining NS&I, Ruth was Acting Director of Finance and Business Services Director at HM Land Registry.

    Before joining the civil service, Ruth was a solicitor working on company and commercial issues in the City. She studied Law at Lancaster University, completed her legal studies at Guildford College of Law, and undertook her articles with Stephenson Harwood LLP.

    2022-23 Salary:
    £120,000 - £125,000

  • Andrew Gudgeon OBE

    Andrew Gudgeon OBE

    Risk Director

    Andrew Gudgeon OBE

    Andrew Gudgeon OBE

    Risk Director

    Andrew Gudgeon OBE joined NS&I in December 2023 as the Director of Risk. Andrew had a 29-year career in the Royal Air Force, during which he held senior leadership positions in the Ministry of Defence, the UK Cabinet Office, and the US Pentagon. Following retirement from the Royal Air Force, he was honoured with an OBE for services to cyber warfare.

    Andrew joined NS&I from the Zurich Insurance (UK) Senior Leadership team, where he was Head of Enterprise and Operational Risk Management. As a technical/engineering expert, he sat on the Zurich Municipal Services Board and on the Non-Insurance Risk and Controls Committee, modernising risk management, providing data-led risk advice and support across the insurance capabilities.

    Andrew entered the financial sector in 2016 as Head of Operational Risk at Nationwide Building Society, where he oversaw risk within the early-stage delivery of a major technical transformation and digitisation programme. Andrew recently stood down as a Board Director with the Swindon and Wiltshire Local Enterprise Partnership, where he led on the delivery of the UK’s first Business Cyber Centre which opened in 2022.

    2023-24 Salary:
    To be published in NS&I's Annual Report and Accounts 2023-24.

  • Gareth Headon

    Gareth Headon

    Communications and Strategy Director

    Gareth Headon

    Gareth Headon

    Communications and Strategy Director

    Gareth joined NS&I's Board in February 2021 as Acting People and Strategy Director. In December 2022 he was appointed Communications and Strategy Director. He leads internal and external communications, market research and insight, and strategy.

    Gareth joined NS&I in 2008 initially as Head of Media and then Head of Communications leading on all internal and external communications activity. He became Assistant Director, Communications and Strategy in 2014. 

    Prior to N&SI, Gareth spent six years with Eurostar where he worked across corporate and consumer PR and government relations. He also worked for two years in Which? magazine’s press office and began his career at a PR agency working with clients in the technology sector.

    2022-23 Salary:
    £115,000 – £120,000

  • Matthew Smith

    Matthew Smith

    Chief Operating Officer

    Matthew Smith

    Matthew Smith

    Chief Operating Officer

    Matt is responsible for the delivery of the NS&I outsourcing business model and the relationship with the Agency’s key partner Atos, including service delivery, complaints, commercial and change assurance and procurement. He joined NS&I in August 2018 and brings over twenty-five years of global experience leading sourcing, operational excellence and business transformation initiatives to deliver customer-focused outcomes.

    Matt was most recently Director of EMEA Supply Chain for DXC Technology (DXC), the world’s leading independent, end-to-end IT services and solutions company, during a period of major change before, during and after the creation of DXC through the merger of Computer Sciences Corporation and HP Enterprise Services. Before DXC, Matt had a long career with the Dun & Bradstreet Corporation (DNB), where he was most recently Global Vice-President and Chief Procurement Officer with responsibility for sourcing and third-party compliance.

    Prior to that he was International Vice-President for strategy implementation and business process reengineering across DNB’s footprint in Europe, Asia Pacific and South America, where he partnered with stakeholders to deliver operations and supply chain strategy, operating margin optimisation and acquisition integration. Earlier in his career, Matt had a variety of roles in operations management, sourcing and change implementation.

    Matt is a certified practitioner of Managing Successful Programmes and a previous recipient of the annual Institute of Consulting award for best internal consulting project.

    2022-23 Salary:
    £140,000 - £145,000

  • Andrew Westhead

    Andrew Westhead

    Retail Director

    Andrew Westhead

    Andrew Westhead

    Retail Director

    Andrew joined NS&I as Retail Director in September 2023. He has 18 years of financial services experience within the private sector, most recently working for Nationwide Building Society for 13 years as a Regional Director. In 2021, Andrew completed his Executive MBA from The University of Nottingham.

    2023-24 Salary: to be published in NS&I's Annual Report and Accounts 2023-24.

  • Ed Anderson CBE

    Ed Anderson CBE

    Independent Non-executive Chairman

    Ed Anderson CBE

    Ed Anderson CBE

    Independent Non-executive Chairman

    Ed was appointed as a Non-executive Director on 1 February 2016 and was appointed Chairman on 1 January 2017.

    Ed is currently Lord-Lieutenant of West Yorkshire. He was Chairman of the Yorkshire Building Society from 2007 to 2015. He was Managing Director of Leeds Bradford Airport for 10 years and, until August 2019, was Chairman of the Airport Operators Association (AOA).

    He is also a former President, and Chairman, of Leeds Chamber of Commerce and is a director of a number of other public and voluntary sector organisations in Yorkshire. Ed is an economics graduate and a qualified accountant.

    He was awarded a CBE in the 2022 New Year’s Honours list.

    2021-22 Remuneration:  
    £20,000 - £25,000

  • Nina Hingorani-Crain

    Nina Hingorani-Crain

    Independent Non-executive Director

    Nina Hingorani-Crain

    Nina Hingorani-Crain

    Independent Non-executive Director

    Nina was appointed as a Non-executive Director in November 2021.

    Nina has had a diverse 25-year career, with high profile roles in the corporate, public, regulatory and charity sectors. Her executive career has largely been in financial services and includes 10 years advising UK and global financial services organisations, followed by 10 years in senior roles at the UK’s financial regulator, including as Chief of Staff and Principal Private Secretary to the Chair during the global financial crisis.

    After leading the establishment of the Financial Conduct Authority, since 2015 Nina has focused on a non-executive career. She is a board member of a London mental and community health NHS Foundation Trust and has previously been a board member of the Charity Commission for England & Wales and of the National Residential Landlords’ Association. 


    2021-22 Remuneration: 
    £5,000 – £10,000

  • Jill Lucas

    Jill Lucas

    Independent Non-executive Director

    Jill Lucas

    Jill Lucas

    Independent Non-executive Director

    Jill was appointed a Non-Executive Director for a three year term from February 2019. Jill has spent all her career in technology, currently as a consultant at US Healthcare-giant, Mass General Brigham and prior to that at Unilever.  She has served as Chief Information Officer at both Towergate Insurance and Belron International. In her early career, she undertook many technology leadership roles at Reuters (now Thomson Reuters), Barclays and Sainsburys. Jill has also been a Non-executive Director of Curtis Banks plc and Chairman of Dunstan Thomas Ltd.

    Jill was reappointed to the NS&I Board on 1 February 2022 for a further three year term. 

    2021-22 Remuneration:
    £15,000 - £20,000

  • David Woodward

    David Woodward

    Independent Non-executive Director

    David Woodward

    David Woodward

    Independent Non-executive Director

    David was appointed as a Non-Executive Director for a three-year term from January 2023.

    David commenced his non-executive career in 2008. He has over 10 years of financial services experience and over five years working with community and hospital NHS Trusts. He is an experienced audit committee chair and a former Non-Executive Director of the Hinckley and Rugby Building Society.

    David is also a Trustee of the charity the Consumers’ Association and an Independent Committee Member of the Finance and Estates Committee for Trent College.

  • Azin Roussos

    Azin Roussos

    HM Treasury representative

    Azin Roussos

    Azin Roussos

    HM Treasury representative

    Azin Roussos is one of two Deputy Directors for the Debt and Reserves Management team in HM Treasury. She has lead responsibility for advising on overall debt financing through the both the wholesale market and the Government backed savings organisation, NS&I. Her team are also responsible for managing the UK’s official reserves, coinage policy, and a range of Bank of England issues (notes, market interventions and shareholder interest). She also sits on the Themes Subcommittee of the Royal Mint Advisory Committee on the Design of Coins, Medals, Seals and Decorations.

    Azin was reappointed to the NS&I Board as HM Treasury’s representative in September 2023.

Appointments

All appointments to NS&I’s Board are made on merit. Political activity plays no part in the selection process. However, in accordance with the original Nolan recommendations there is a requirement for appointees’ political activity (if any) to be made public.

Nolan recommendations

As part of the government’s transparency agenda NS&I has published an organisational chart showing the most senior salaries. This information will be updated to reflect any changes.

NS&I Board responsibilities and terms of reference NS&I Board members register of interests

Directors' Expenses

NS&I staff members undertake their duties in line with the requirements of the Civil Service Code and Civil Service Management Code, which make clear that civil servants must make sure public money and other resources are used properly and efficiently.

NS&I has published the following information about NS&I Executive Directors and Non-executive Directors’ business expenses & hospitality. NS&I will continue to publish similar information on a quarterly basis.

Directors' Expenses

 

Committees

The main responsibilities of the Audit and Risk Committee are to assure the Accounting Officer and the Board as to the adequacy of:

  • The strategic processes for risk control, governance and security within NS&I and outsourced processes
  • The accounting policies, accounts and annual report of NS&I
  • Internal and external audit plans, the results of audit work along with management’s responses to any issues identified
  • The system of internal control including internal audit arrangements
  • Processes in place to ensure appropriate compliance with regulation
  • Anti-fraud policies, whistle-blowing processes and arrangements for special investigations

Further information about membership and work of the Audit and Risk committee is provided in the Annual Report and Accounts.

Click on the link below to view the Audit and Risk Committee's terms of reference:

Audit and Risk Committee terms of reference

The Remuneration Committee (formerly Appointments and Remuneration Committee) reviews the Chief Executive's recommendations on pay and performance-related awards to confirm that it is consistent with government policy and HM Treasury pay guidance. 

The committee also advises on the role and appointment of Executive NS&I Board members. The committee reviews succession planning arrangements for senior staff within NS&I.

Further information about the membership and work of the Remuneration Committee is provided in the Annual Report and Accounts.

Click on the link below to view the Remuneration Committee terms of reference:

Remuneration Committee terms of reference
Promo media image

Inspire & Invest is our business strategy from 2023 - 2025

Our Inspire & Invest Strategy has cross-cutting strategic aims reflecting our joined up approach to delivering our vision and purpose.

Our purpose and mission

Below are our three key strategic aims for the next two years:

  1. Building a self-service digital business
     
  2. Increasing efficiency
     
  3. Building a nimble, scalable and flexible business 

Find out more about our strategy, including our vision, purpose, strategic aims and values.

Find out more

Strategic Partnerships

Our operational partner

In May 2013 NS&I announced that Atos had been awarded an outsourcing contract to deliver customer-facing and back office services to NS&I’s 25 million customers.

The contract, which began on 1 April 2014, sits at the heart of NS&I’s business and support its range of savings products and its payment processing services for government clients.

In April 2019 NS&I exercised the option to extend the contract by an additional three years following the end of the principal contract period from 2014-2021. This means the relationship between NS&I and Atos will continue until 2024.

NS&I Government Payment Services

NS&I Government Payment Services transforms public sector payments. Our digital payment platform and processes enable the efficient delivery of citizen-centred transactions.

By government. For government.

 

More about NS&I GPS