Cifas, the UK’s fraud prevention service, is pleased to announce the appointment of Lady Barbara Judge as the organisation’s new Chairman.  Lady Barbara will officially take-up the role in September 2016, when she succeeds the outgoing Chairman, Ken Cherrett, who is standing down after 25 years’ service.

Lady Barbara, a trained commercial lawyer with both British and American citizenship, has had a successful international career as a senior executive, chairman and non-executive director in both the private and public sectors, and across various industries including energy, infrastructure, manufacturing, retailing and the financial services industry.

Lady Barbara is currently national Chairman of the UK Institute of Directors and completing her second term as Chairman of the UK Pension Protection Fund.  She is also a UK Business Ambassador.

Previously she was a Commissioner of the US Securities and Exchange Commission and subsequently Deputy Chairman of the UK Financial Reporting Council.  She has also been a Public Member of the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants.

Cifas Chief Executive, Simon Dukes said:  “I am delighted that Lady Barbara will be joining Cifas as our new Chairman.  She is a well-respected figure across public and private sector industries and has had a formidable career leading multiple high profile organisations.

“Cifas helped its members save over £1 billion in fraud losses in 2015 and over the years we have grown from a small not-for-profit credit industry-focused fraud prevention system into the UK’s fraud prevention service, working with more than 360 organisations spanning the public, private and charity sectors.

“Our vision for the future is an ambitious one, to prevent even more fraud and financial crime in the UK.  Lady Barbara has an impressive combination of skills and industry knowledge to help lead and support Cifas as we continue to grow and develop our offering and I looking forward to working with her to carry on the outstanding work and innovation achieved under Ken’s chairmanship.”

Lady Barbara Judge said:  “I am very excited about the opportunity to join Cifas as its Chairman.  I have been a real admirer of Cifas’ accomplishments over the years and I look forward to working with the Executive to expand the membership and to help raise awareness of fraud and fraud prevention in the UK.”