Philip Cullum appointed as first Chair of Advisory Committee on Consumer Engagement (ACCE)

Terms of reference for ACCE are available on request from the Agency press office (contact details below).

All members of the ACCE committee have been appointed following an open recruitment exercise in line with guidelines on public appointments.

Philip Cullum
Philip is Acting Chief Executive of the National Consumer Council. He is a member of the Government's Risk and Regulation Advisory Council and is the first chair of the Food Standards Agency’s new Advisory Committee on Consumer Engagement. Personal policy interests include customer service, regulation and public services, and his publications include 'The stupid company: how British businesses throw away money by alienating consumers’ and ‘Better regulation: the consumer contribution'.

Before joining the NCC, Philip was Executive Director at Opinion Leader Research, where his clients included Vodafone, the Home Office and the union Community. Prior to that he was an Associate Partner at Accenture, responsible for creating new thinking aimed at top CEOs and policymakers. Philip has also worked at Which?, where he was Head of Policy. He has been a Board Member of a leading housing association and Chair of a not-for-profit organisation providing mental health services, and he currently advises a leading autism education charity on its communications strategy. Philip is a keen walker and enjoys watching ballet and football.

Liz Beckenridge
Liz Breckenridge is a freelance marketing consultant who was previously marketing director at Highland Spring before taking a career break to spend time with her young family. She has held marketing positions at The Glasgow School of Art, British Midland Airways, General Foods and Booker plc. Liz is a Council Member for the Scottish Consumer Council, where she is chair of the Food Committee and is a Panel Member of Waterwatch Scotland.

Geraldine Campbell BSc, MSc
Geraldine Campbell is currently self-employed as a consultant in the voluntary sector. She has previously worked as a Chief Executive of a charity (The HIV Support Centre) and as a Consumer Services Manager for the Northern Health and Social Services Board (NHSSB). In this position she was responsible for the development of policy for involvement of the public in decision-making and for facilitating and advising the NHSSB and other associated organisations on how to effectively involve consumers in the work of an organisation. These roles have given her an opportunity to plan and engage with a diverse range of groups including people from vulnerable and disadvantaged sections of society. Geraldine is also currently a Chair in the HPSS Complaints process and a member of Council of the Northern Ireland Social Care Council (appointed by the minister for Health, Personal Social Services and Public Safety NI), where she Chairs the Service User Development Group. She is also a Trustee of Citizen's Advice Belfast.

Stephen Garrett
Steve Garrett lives and works in South Riverside, a culturally diverse inner-city neighbourhood of Cardiff. As founder and Chair of the Riverside Community Market Association (RCMA) and a Director of RCMA Social Enterprise Ltd, he has steered the Riverside Market through its nine years of growth and development, including various spin-off activities such as: setting up a farmers market in Newport; organising RCMA's schools outreach programme; writing the RCMA Urban Farmers' Market Toolkit; and (currently) establishing the South Cardiff Food and Health Network and the RCMA Market Garden – an intensive horticulture enterprise close to Cardiff. Steve is a Foundation for Social Entrepreneurs award winner, and recently supported a group of local women in setting up the Riverside Community Food Co-op. He was a founder member of Farmers Markets in Wales, sits on the Welsh Assembly's Agrifood Partnership Forum, the Cardiff Food and Health Strategy Group, and is a panel member of the UK Sustainable Development Commission. Steve is a community reporter for BBC Radio Wales and is involved with many cultural activities, including organising the annual Riverside Festival, and playing guitar in a duo with a Japanese koto player.

Sharon Grant
Sharon Grant has chaired the Commission for Patient and Public Involvement in Health since it was established in 2003, setting up its 400 plus local forums across England. Prior to that she was a university lecturer in Social Policy and subsequently worked as an assistant to a Member of Parliament for 13 years. She has also been a local councillor and campaigner on health and civil rights issues. She is a trustee of a number of charities, and has a particular interest in race relations and health in disadvantaged areas.

Timothy Hornsby
Timothy Hornsby is currently the Chair of the Horniman Museum, and Chair of the Harkness Fellows Association. He is a Commissioner (and previous Chair) of the National Lottery Commission, and an independent member of the Consumer Council for Water. He is a Trustee of the Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew, of the International Institute for Environment and Development and of the Charles Darwin Trust. He is a Governor of the Legacy Trust. In his previous career he occupied the Chief Executive posts at the National Lottery Charities Board (now the Big Lottery Fund), the Royal Borough of Kingston, and the Nature Conservancy Council, after a career in academic life and subsequently in the higher Civil Service, mainly in the Department of the Environment and HM Treasury.

Tom Horwood
Tom Horwood is currently Head of Communications and Policy at East Hampshire District Council, a role which covers performance management, customer service, communications and consultation. He has held a variety of positions in the public and voluntary sectors and has experience of working with issues arising from disadvantage and isolation. He has written extensively on public policy, strategic management, child protection and on how faith groups relate to wider society. He is particularly interested in children’s welfare and improving access to public sector information and decision-making.

Claire Nicholson MBA, London Business School
Worked for eight years as a management consultant with PA Consulting Group before joining Sainsbury's Supermarkets where she held a number of senior roles over 10 years, in particular, gaining significant experience of using customer insight and consumer research as Director of Performance and Planning. She is currently on a career break.

Sue Segar BA, MCIM
An experienced marketing and communications professional, Sue gained her corporate consumer marketing experience as a senior Marketing Manager at ICI Dulux. Sue then went on to join the UK business of global office supplies leader Acco Brands as Marketing Director, taking responsibility for UK product and customer marketing. As e-Business Director, Sue pioneered the adoption of the internet as a communication, e-service and trading channel.

Sue has been working as an independent marketing and PR consultant since 2001, working with private sector businesses and not-for-profit organisations to engage more effectively with customers and stakeholders. Sue has particular experience in the natural health and nutritional therapy market. Sue sits on the board of the Thames Valley Probation service and is also a member of its Strategy Board and the chair of service's communications sub-group. Sue is currently training for a professional qualification in person-centred counselling. Sue is a member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing.