Civil Service Commission names four new commissioners

Regulator overseeing civil service recruitment makes four appointments – with strong emphasis on private sector backgrounds


By Sarah Aston

25 Sep 2015

Four new commissioners drawn from the public and private sectors have been appointed to the Civil Service Commission (CSC).

Jan Cameron, Isabel Doverty, Sarah Laessig and Kevin Woods will join the CSC – which oversees the civil service recruitment process and advises departments on the Civil Service Code – on October 1.

In July, Civil Service World reported that the commission was recruiting following the retirement of Adele Bliss, Peter Blausten and Eliza Hermann, all of whom completed five-year terms in March. 


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At the time, first civil service commissioner Sir David Normington expressed a desire for applicants with private sector experience. Of the four successful applicants, three have private sector backgrounds. 

Welcoming the appointments, Normington said their experience would make them “a great addition to the team”.

He added: “The open competition for these posts attracted an extremely strong field of candidates. I am delighted that four such talented individuals have been appointed to join the Commission Board. Their experiences and expertise in HR and leadership in a range of other organisations will be a great addition to the team and I look forward to working with them.”

Who are the new civil service commissioners?

Jan Cameron: Cameron serves as a member of the employment Tribunal for the HM Court Service. Until recently, she was the group services director for consulting group Norman Broadbent plc, and has worked for Sainsbury’s and Homebase

Isabel Doverty: Doverty is co-principal of an independent consulting practice. She is the former global head of human resources, wholesale banking in Standard Chartered Bank. 

Sarah Laessing: Over her career, Laessing has held a number of roles, which include: commissioner on the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission, a trustee on the international management board of the Association of MBAs, and was an executive adviser for London Business School’s masters in finance programme. Previously, she had a 17-year career in banking.

Kevin Woods: Woods was most recently director general of health and chief executive of the Ministry of Health in New Zealand. Prior to that, he was the chief executive of NHS Scotland and director general for health in the Scottish government.

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