Ofcom announces appointment of the Chairman of the Consumer Panel
09 December 2003
Ofcom today announced the appointment of Colette Bowe as the Chairman of its independent Consumer Panel. The Consumer Panel is the body set up under the Communications Act 2003 to advise Ofcom on the consumer interest in the broadcasting and telecommunications sectors.
Colette will be responsible for chairing a panel of 10-12 part-time members representing to Ofcom the interests of individual consumers and small businesses. She is currently Chairman of the Council of the Telecoms Ombudsman Service (Otelo) - the alternative dispute resolution service for the telecoms industry - and will stand down from this post when she takes up her role with the Consumer Panel.
Colette is the Deputy Chairman of Thames Water Utilities Ltd, a board member of the Yorkshire Building Society and the Statistics Commission and also the incoming Chairman of the Council of Queen Mary, University of London.
She has worked as a full-time executive at the most senior levels in the fund management business, City regulation and Whitehall. A former Chief Executive of the Personal Investment Authority (PIA) and Director of Retail Regulation at the Securities and Investments Board, Colette has held various civil service posts in the Department of Trade and Industry. She is also a former Chief Executive of Save and Prosper Group and of Fleming Funds (Luxembourg).
Colette Bowe said: "The Consumer Panel will be a critical friend to the Ofcom Board. The Panel's recommendations to Ofcom will be supported by independent research and will perform an important role in helping inform Ofcom's decision-making."
"The Panel will raise issues of consumer interest, including those affecting rural consumers, the elderly, people with disabilities and those who are on low incomes or otherwise disadvantaged. It will also address issues of importance for small businesses."
Ofcom Chairman Lord Currie said: "Colette Bowe's commitment to representing the consumer interest, allied to her long career in the public and private sectors and her deeply relevant understanding of the markets Ofcom will regulate, make her ideal for this key role championing the interests of consumers."