The Publica Board is made up of three Executive Directors and six Non-Executive Directors. This provides a great balance of accountability, Council knowledge and external experience and insight.
Jan Britton - Managing Director
Jan joined Publica in October 2019 and stepped into the role of Managing Director in December 2019.
With almost 30 years of experience gained through a varied career within the planning, regeneration, environment, parks, conservation, waste and recycling departments of local government, Jan has a strong appreciation of the demands of running local services, and a wealth of ability in partnership working and managing significant change and transformation.
Frank Wilson - Executive Director
Frank has worked in local government finance for 36 years. After completing a degree in Economics at Newcastle he went on to complete his professional accountancy qualifications in Leeds. After an early career in North Yorkshire he moved to Oxfordshire spending 11 years as Chief Financial Officer at West Oxfordshire District Council leading on financial strategy and shared services. In 2010 he took on Director responsibilities for Resources at Cotswold District Council as part of the initial shared service between Cotswold and West Oxfordshire. Frank was also a founding Director of Ubico helping it get established with partners Cotswold and Cheltenham. Prior to the formation of Publica, he acted as Head of Paid Service at both Cotswold and West Oxfordshire. Within his Publica role he leads on resources and modernisation and has led the partner Councils’ approach to commercialisation.
Sally Walker Chair – Non Exec Director
Sally is an experienced senior civil servant with a 25-year career in the national security community. She was responsible for the stand up of the National Cyber Force and also led, as Director Cyber, the operational leadership, technical capability and strategy development for UK cyber operations. While at GCHQ she was also Diversity Champion and Executive Board Member.
As part of her current portfolio of interests, Sally runs a consultancy business, Human Digital Thinking, which specialises in the influence of big data and digital environments on leadership and decision making. She mentors start up companies for Oxford Business School, focusing in artificial intelligence and net zero scientific advancement. And she runs a volunteer network locally and is mum to 3 teenage boys; Friends of Charlton Kings has led a range of community developments since 2017.
Chris Wood – Non Exec Director
Chris has been a qualified chartered accountant for more than 30 years and has worked in senior finance and leadership positions with a wide range of public, private, and not-for-profit organisations both in the UK and overseas. Chris is currently the Bursar, and a Fellow, of St Hilda’s College in Oxford. He also sits as a non-executive director and audit committee chairman for Navitas UK Holdings Ltd, and as an independent member of the audit and risk committees of the Office for Nuclear Regulation and the Architects Registration Board. Chris is also a chartered marketer and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.
Steve Anderson Dixon - Non Exec Director
Steve is the CEO of JBP a National Communications Agency with offices in Bristol Westminster, Manchester, Cardiff and Warwick. In this role Steve has responsibility for delivering PR, Public Affairs and Stakeholder Engagement Communications programmes for both the private & public sector. He is also the Chairman of the Board of the British Veterinary Association, the voice of the UK veterinary profession. Steve has nearly 40 years’ experience in the media, formerly with Northcliffe Media, the regional division of The Daily Mail & General Trust, as Divisional Managing Director and then latterly as Managing Director of Trinity Mirror's regional newspapers & online business, subsequently becoming Chief Operating Officer of the expanded business following acquisitions.
James Towner - Non Exec Director
James works for WNS Limited, a global business process outsource company, as Head of Energy and Utilities for the UK and Europe. He has spent more than 25 years delivering and transforming customer service operations for organisations including Thames Water and HSBC. He was Chief Operating Officer for the Research Council’s shared service centre, when the seven UK Research Councils created a new approach to sharing services.
Rosa Stewart - Non Exec Director
Rosa is an energy and climate change professional with experience from both public and private sectors, including as Senior Civil Servant at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. She advises companies and organisations on energy and climate policy, regulation and campaigns. She is also a founder of a home decarbonisation related start-up and a Board Member at the Retail Energy Code Company and the Conservative Environment Network. She is a qualified solicitor by professional background.
Paul McCloskey - Non Exec Director
With a background in mathematics and engineering, Paul brings a wealth of experience in managing organisational change and development, and IT security in a range of organisations from Royal Mail to BT plc and in the charitable sector. As a councillor he has been a vice chair of licencing and sat on numerous committees and panels from planning to treasury management.
The other interests of our Non Executive Board members can be found here: Declaration of interests
