Our Board and Committees

Sir Jim Harra

Chief Executive

Sir Jim Harra was appointed NS&I Chief Executive on an interim basis on 26 March 2026.

Sir Jim began his career in the Inland Revenue as an Inspector of Taxes in 1984. In January 2009, he was appointed Director of Corporation Tax and VAT, responsible for optimising the design and delivery of these business taxes.

He became Director of Personal Tax Customer Operations in March 2011, and Director Personal Tax Operations in October 2011. He was appointed Director General Business Tax on 16 April 2012.

Sir Jim took up the post as HMRC’s Second Permanent Secretary and Deputy Chief Executive on 1 January 2018.

He was appointed as HMRC’s First Permanent Secretary and Chief Executive in October 2019 and left this role in April 2025.

He received a Knighthood for public service in the King’s Birthday Honours in June 2024.

Patrick Briscoe

Enterprise Service Management (ESM) Director

Patrick joined NS&I in December 2023 as Director, Service Integration & Management (SIAM) and Business-to Business (B2B) and has over twenty years’ experience delivering critical services and operations.

Patrick was most recently at the Home Office where he led various service delivery functions with scope across all the Department’s business areas, working with and integrating multiples suppliers in an extremely complex and challenging environment.

Prior to joining the Civil Service, the majority of Patrick’s career has been spent working in similar roles in retail and commercial banking organisations, as well as a short period with a major B2B travel management company.

2024-25 Salary:
£125,000 - £130,000

Ruth Curry

People and Finance Director

Ruth Curry joined NS&I on 1 July 2019. She has extensive civil service experience, starting her career in the Cabinet Office and undertaking a wide variety of policy roles, including leading on Open Government, clerk to the Intelligence & Security Committee, and as the Health policy lead in the Office of Public Service Reform.

Having qualified as an accountant in 2006, Ruth has held senior finance roles in a number of departments including the Department for Education, Serious Fraud Office and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. Before joining NS&I, Ruth was Acting Director of Finance and Business Services Director at HM Land Registry.

Before joining the civil service, Ruth was a solicitor working on company and commercial issues in the City. She studied Law at Lancaster University, completed her legal studies at Guildford College of Law, and undertook her articles with Stephenson Harwood LLP.

2024-25 Salary:
£135,000 - £140,000

Andrew Gudgeon OBE

Risk Director

Andrew Gudgeon OBE joined NS&I in December 2023 as the Director of Risk. Andrew had a 29-year career in the Royal Air Force, during which he held senior leadership positions in the Ministry of Defence, the UK Cabinet Office, and the US Pentagon. Following retirement from the Royal Air Force, he was honoured with an OBE for services to cyber warfare.

Andrew joined NS&I from the Zurich Insurance (UK) Senior Leadership team, where he was Head of Enterprise and Operational Risk Management. As a technical/engineering expert, he sat on the Zurich Municipal Services Board and on the Non-Insurance Risk and Controls Committee, modernising risk management, providing data-led risk advice and support across the insurance capabilities.

Andrew entered the financial sector in 2016 as Head of Operational Risk at Nationwide Building Society, where he oversaw risk within the early-stage delivery of a major technical transformation and digitisation programme. Andrew recently stood down as a Board Director with the Swindon and Wiltshire Local Enterprise Partnership, where he led on the delivery of the UK’s first Business Cyber Centre which opened in 2022.

2024-25 Salary:
£135,000 – £140,000

Gareth Headon

Communications and Strategy Director

Gareth joined NS&I's Board in February 2021 as Acting People and Strategy Director. In December 2022 he was appointed Communications and Strategy Director. He leads internal and external communications, market intelligence and research, marketing and strategy.

Gareth joined NS&I in 2008 initially as Head of Media and then Head of Communications leading on all internal and external communications activity. He became Assistant Director, Communications and Strategy in 2014.

Prior to N&SI, Gareth spent six years with Eurostar where he worked across corporate and consumer PR and government relations. He also worked for two years in Which? magazine’s press office and began his career at a PR agency working with clients in the technology sector.

2024-25 Salary:
£130,000 – £135,000

Matthew Smith

Chief Operating Officer

Matt is responsible for the delivery of the NS&I outsourcing business model and the relationship with our strategic delivery partners. He also has responsibility for NS&I's commercial, information technology and business change capabilities. He joined NS&I in August 2018 and brings over thirty years of global experience leading sourcing, operational excellence and business transformation initiatives to deliver customer-focused outcomes.

Matt was most recently Director of EMEA Supply Chain for DXC Technology (DXC), the world’s leading independent, end-to-end IT services and solutions company, during a period of major change before, during and after the creation of DXC through the merger of Computer Sciences Corporation and HP Enterprise Services. Before DXC, Matt had a long career with the Dun & Bradstreet Corporation (DNB), where he was most recently Global Vice-President and Chief Procurement Officer with responsibility for sourcing and third-party compliance.

Prior to that he was International Vice-President for strategy implementation and business process reengineering across DNB’s footprint in Europe, Asia Pacific and South America, where he partnered with stakeholders to deliver operations and supply chain strategy, operating margin optimisation and acquisition integration. Earlier in his career, Matt had a variety of roles in operations management, sourcing and change implementation.

Matt is a certified practitioner of Managing Successful Programmes and a graduate of the Cabinet Office Major Projects Leadership Academy delivered by Said Business School, University of Oxford.

2024-25 Salary:
£150,000 - £155,000

Andrew Westhead

Retail Director

Andrew joined NS&I as Retail Director in September 2023. He has 18 years of financial services experience within the private sector, most recently working for Nationwide Building Society for 13 years as a Regional Director. In 2021, Andrew completed his Executive MBA from The University of Nottingham.

2024-25 Salary: 
£130,000 – £135,000

Melanie Moreland

Independent Non-executive Director

Melanie was appointed as a non-executive board member on 1 April 2024. She is an experienced executive with an extensive career in financial services. From June 2021 to July 2024, Melanie was the Head of Commercial Banking Customer Engagement, and Customer Journey Execution at NatWest. She was previously a non-executive director for Queen Margaret University for six years until December 2023.

2024-25 Remuneration:
£15,000 - £20,000

Luke Jensen

Interim Chair to the Board

Luke was appointed as a non-executive board member on 1 April 2024 and as Interim Chair on 1 September 2025. Luke is a highly experienced senior executive, particularly within large consumer facing retail and technology companies. He was most recently CEO of Ocado Solutions and Executive Director of Ocado Group and previously a member of Sainsbury’s leadership team. Luke is an independent non-executive director for The Co-operative Group and a non-executive director, and previously executive Chair, at Hana Group SAS.

2024-25 Remuneration:
£15,000 - £20,000

Nina Hingorani-Crain

Independent Non-executive Director

Nina was appointed as a Non-executive Director in November 2021.

Nina has had a diverse 25-year career, with high profile roles in the corporate, public, regulatory and charity sectors. Her executive career has largely been in financial services and includes 10 years advising UK and global financial services organisations, followed by 10 years in senior roles at the UK’s financial regulator, including as Chief of Staff and Principal Private Secretary to the Chair during the global financial crisis.

After leading the establishment of the Financial Conduct Authority, since 2015 Nina has focused on a non-executive career. She is a board member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales (ICAEW) and of a London mental and community health NHS Foundation Trust and has previously been a board member of the Charity Commission for England & Wales and of the National Residential Landlords’ Association.

2024-25 Remuneration: 
£15,000 – £20,000

David Woodward

Independent Non-executive Director

David was appointed as a Non-Executive Director for a three-year term from January 2023.

David commenced his non-executive career in 2008. He has over 10 years of financial services experience and over five years working with community and hospital NHS Trusts. He is an experienced audit committee chair and a former Non-Executive Director of the Hinckley and Rugby Building Society.

David is also a non-executive director of Aspire Housing Limited, a Trustee of the charity the Consumers’ Association (the parent charity of Which? Limited) and a governor and trustee of Trent College.

2024-25 Remuneration:
£15,000 - £20,000