NS&I chair Gerald Lemos has stepped down from the role to become a whip in the House of Lords.
Lord Lemos was appointed to the NS&I Advisory Board as chair from 1 April 2024 on a three-year term but stepped down with immediate effect on Wednesday to take up an appointment in the Government Whips’ Office in the House of Lords, which is responsible for the management of the government's legislative programme in the second chamber.
Lemos is a former civil service commissioner (2001-2006) and has held non-executive director roles at the Crown Prosecution Service and HM Prison and Probational Service.
NS&I is an arm’s length body of HM Treasury, responsible for raising cost-effective finance for the government through the retail savings market. The chair is responsible for leading the board in the delivery of its responsibilities, while the chief executive, currently Dax Harkins, responsible for day-to-day operations and ensuring that NS&I is run on the basis of the standards set out in the Treasury’s Managing Public Money guidebook.
Non-executive appointments to NS&I’s Board, including the chair, are regulated by the Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments. The process to identify an interim chair will follow the Governance Code for Public Appointments.
HM Treasury said it will seek to confirm an interim chair as soon as possible.