The CIPD’s Council has elected two new members to the CIPD Board:  Dr Andrea Cooper, Service Director for Adult Social Care at Cornwall Council, and Nicholas (Nick) Williams, an established HR and OD&D consultant currently working at EY.  

Andrea brings expertise in digital and human-centred design and a track record in leading award-winning innovation and transformation teams as the founder and head of the Cabinet Office’s Policy Innovation Unit before recently joining Cornwall Council. Nick started his career in policing before successfully transitioning into the HR and OD field five years ago. He has extensive experience working in central and local government departments on high profile people change and HR technology initiatives and is currently studying for a Level 5 CIPD qualification, bringing the voice of a current CIPD student member  to the CIPD board for the first time. 

Commenting on her appointment, Andrea Cooper said: ‘I’m a big believer in using change to create change and harnessing the opportunities presented by an increasingly digital world. CIPD members are making such significant changes in how we work and I’m looking forward to helping to create a more customer-focused, digitally enabled CIPD that meets members’ needs now and in the future.’

Nick Williams added: ‘The people profession is critical to the future of business success and I’m proud to help senior professionals think about their operating models and future of work. I transitioned into HR through a non-traditional route and I’m keen to support others to do the same. It’s absolutely paramount to support current and aspiring HR practitioners and help them follow the new Profession Map.’

Read Andrea and Nick's biographies.

Louise Fisher, Chair of the Board, commented: ‘An external evaluation recently rated our board as ‘strong’, but we were still keen to strengthen our overall capability and deepen our board’s diversity. Our succession plan and skills gap analysis highlighted that we needed to strengthen our expertise in digital and technology transformation, key to the CIPD’s strategy moving forward.  We also wanted to ensure that we broadened the board’s diversity by bringing on   a current CIPD student member and people with backgrounds that included non-HR skills and experiences. An open recruitment process, via LinkedIn, helped us meet these objectives by reaching a wider and more diverse talent pool than we’ve had in the past. I am delighted to welcome Nicholas and Andrea to our board and look forward to working with them in their exciting new roles as we continue to transform the CIPD.’

Board members are appointed as set out in the Charter and Byelaws and are both directors and charity trustees, with the associated legal responsibilities. Both Nick and Andrea will serve on the CIPD board until April 2023.