Announcing her appointment, Dr Nelson Ogunshakin OBE, chief executive of ACE, said: “Barbara is a respected professional leader and mentor with vast experience in many industry sectors and has great vision and focus that will lead ACE in the future.It is exciting to welcome her to ACE’s Advisory Board and I am confident she will bring a fresh perspective and momentum.”
Lady Judge started her career as a corporate lawyer with a New York law firm and has spanned jobs in the US government, merchant bank Samuel Montagu & Co and advisor to the UK and Japanese nuclear industries. Lady Judge’s experience in the energy sector has included her chairmanship of the UK Atomic Energy Authority and directorship at Statoil where she is now a member of its Strategic Advisory Council.She is currently chairman of the International Advisory Board of the Energy Institute at UCL, and is also finishing her second term as chairman of the Pensions Protection Fund.
In May 2015, Lady Judge was appointed the first female chairman of the Institute of Directors in its 112-year history, and has been a strong supporter of encouraging women into professions long dominated by men, especially in the field of engineering.
Lady Judge said: “This is a crucial time for the industry with much-needed investment a key priority for ACE to influence at national, devolved, regional and local levels.ACE has recognised the business imperative to embed a diverse and inclusive culture for positive sustainable change within its member firms, and I am committed to moving this important agenda forward.”
Dr Ogunshakin added: “Companies can no longer have any excuses not to implement a diverse and inclusive culture in today’s modern work environment.We ignore the issues at our peril and risk our industry faltering under the magnitude of challenges ahead.”
