Meet the Equity Release Council Team
The Equity Release Council is headed by the Chair, who oversees the direction of the organisation and the Chief Operating Officer, in charge of the running and strategic deployment of The Council as a whole. The Standards Board Chair oversees the delegated authority of the rules and guidance and The Head of Public Affairs Oversees the development of policy setting, advocacy, and engagement across a range of stakeholders at both ministerial and industry levels.
Click here to read more about the Main Board members.
David Burrowes, Chairman
David has been a practising solicitor for 25 years. During this time, he was first a Local Councillor in Enfield and then Member of Parliament for Enfield Southgate between 2005 and 2017. David championed social justice and consumer protection and led campaigns on issues affecting elderly people.
David served as Parliamentary Private Secretary to three Cabinet Ministers, and sat on the influential Home Affairs and Public Accounts Select Committees, and was also Shadow Justice Minister from 2007-2010.
Donna Bathgate, Chief Operating Officer
Donna has been COO since 2013. Her responsibilities include overseeing the strategic delivery of The Council, whilst managing the development of its membership and policy propositions, and establishing key relationships across the industry. Having started her financial services career with LV=, she was also with the Life Insurance Association (LIA) before joining the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII) as Head of Marketing Operations and Strategic Projects where she was responsible for many the professional body’s major Business Improvement Programmes including the launch of The Personal Finance Society and The Society of Mortgage Professionals.
Chris Pond, Standards Board Chairman
Chris Pond, chairs The Council’s Standards Board and is a former Labour MP, Minister with Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and Parliamentary Private Secretary with HM Treasury under Gordon Brown. A former lecturer in Economics, Chris was also a director at the FSA (precursor to the now FCA) involved with the establishment of the Money Advice Service (MAS). He is also a council member of the Institute for Fiscal Studies and chairs Credit Action.
Sean Smith, Head of Public Affairs
Sean has a breadth of knowledge in many fields including the Social Care Bill and mental capacity issues and joined us from The Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) and formerly of The Intellectual Property Office (IPO) and DEFRA. Sean brings a wealth of experience both on home ground and internationally, leading on complex policy issues and dealing with a variety of key stakeholders across the political and regulatory landscapes.
He focuses on the continued development of Council policy setting, advocacy, and engagement across a range of stakeholders at both ministerial and industry levels, whilst ensuring that members and other partners are kept fully informed on the key issues affecting the sector and member firms.
The ARC Agency provides marketing and communications support with Alex Ritchie as the key contact.
Enterprising Administration Services provides member services support with Sarah Hall as the key contact.
Thornby Associates provides accounting and secretariat services with key contacts Mike Ockendon & Julia Pryer.
Gwyn Airdre provides business relationship development support.
Jim Dredge provides advisory services to the Council.
