Ian Watmore
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Ian Charles Watmore (born 5 July 1958) is a British management consultant and former senior
civil servant The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...
under three prime ministers, serving from October 2016 as the
First Civil Service Commissioner The First Civil Service Commissioner heads the Civil Service Commission, a statutory body which ensures that appointments to the Civil Service in the United Kingdom are made openly and on merit, and hears appeals from civil servants under the Civi ...
.


Early life and business career

Born in
Croydon Croydon is a large town in south London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a local government district of Greater London. It is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater London, with an extensi ...
, Surrey, he was educated at the
Trinity School of John Whitgift The Trinity School of John Whitgift, usually referred to as Trinity School, is a British independent boys' day school with a co-educational Sixth Form, located in Shirley Park, Croydon. Part of the Whitgift Foundation, it was established in 1 ...
and then graduated with a degree in mathematics and management studies from
Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by Henry VIII, King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge ...
. He trained as an management consultant with
Andersen Consulting Accenture plc is an Irish-American professional services company based in Dublin, specializing in information technology (IT) services and consulting. A ''Fortune'' Global 500 company, it reported revenues of $61.6 billion in 2022. Accentur ...
, and ultimately became
Accenture Accenture plc is an Irish-American professional services company based in Dublin, specializing in information technology (IT) services and consulting. A ''Fortune'' Global 500 company, it reported revenues of $61.6 billion in 2022. Accentur ...
's managing director for the United Kingdom from 2000 to 2004. This career involved IT and consulting in the private sector, and involved him joining the board of
e-skills UK The Tech Partnership (formerly e-skills UK) is the United Kingdom (UK)'s sector skills council for the information technology (IT) industry, also known as "Business and Information Technology" or "IT & Telecoms." It is based in central London. ...
, the Sector Skills Council for IT, from 2000 until 2006, and serving as the president of the ''Management Consultants Association'' from 2003 to 2004.


Government career

Watmore joined the civil service of the United Kingdom as the first Government Chief Information Officer (GCIO), taking over as head of the
e-Government Unit The e-Government Unit (eGU) was a unit of the Cabinet Office of the government of the United Kingdom responsible for helping various government departments use information technology to increase efficiency and improve electronic access to governm ...
, the direct successor to the
Office of the e-Envoy The Office of the e-Envoy was set up by the British government of Prime Minister Tony Blair in 1999 and was replaced by the E-Government Unit in September 2004. The first e-Envoy was Alex Allan. He was succeeded by Andrew Pinder in October 20 ...
in September 2004. Fifteen months later, at the end of 2005, the Cabinet Office announced that Watmore was that next month to succeed his boss Sir Michael Barber, as the second ever head of the Prime Minister's Delivery Unit, reporting directly to the Prime Minister and the Cabinet Secretary. Formally the "Chief Advisor to Prime Minister on Delivery", Watmore appointed John Suffolk, the Director General of Criminal Justice IT as his replacement GCIO in May, and Andrew Stott as his deputy on the GCTO side. In June 2007, following the reshuffle when
Gordon Brown James Gordon Brown (born 20 February 1951) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 to 2010. He previously served as Chance ...
became Prime Minister, Watmore was appointed as the inaugural
Permanent Secretary A permanent secretary (also known as a principal secretary) is the most senior Civil Service (United Kingdom), civil servant of a department or Ministry (government department), ministry charged with running the department or ministry's day-to-day ...
of the new
Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills The Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS) was a UK government department created on 28 June 2007 to take over some of the functions of the Department of Education and Skills and of the Department of Trade and Industry. Its h ...
, working for the Secretary of State
John Denham John Denham may refer to: * John Denham (died 1556 or later), English MP for Shaftesbury * John Denham (judge), (1559–1639), father of the poet below, and one of the Ship Money judges * John Denham (poet) (1615–1669), English poet * John Denham ...
. Eighteen months later, it was announced that Watmore would leave the Civil Service to be the new Chief Executive of
The Football Association The Football Association (also known as The FA) is the Sports governing body, governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Bailiwick of Guernsey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the ...
, succeeding
Brian Barwick Brian Robert Barwick (born 21 June 1954) has enjoyed a long and distinguished career in major sports broadcasting and administration. He was awarded an OBE in the 2021 Queen's Birthday Honours List for services to sport and broadcasting. Br ...
starting the job in June 2009. He resigned from this post nine months later, on 19 March 2010, and was replaced by Alex Horne, initially in an acting capacity and later as General Secretary. Three months later, following the General Election, Watmore returned to government as the Chief Operating Officer of the Cabinet Office, heading up the newly formed
Efficiency and Reform Group The Efficiency and Reform Group (ERG), established in 2010, was part of the Cabinet Office which worked in partnership with HM Treasury to form the corporate centre for UK Government. Its objectives were to reform the way government works and ...
. Sixteen months after that, on 11 October 2011 it was announced that Watmore would become
Permanent Secretary A permanent secretary (also known as a principal secretary) is the most senior Civil Service (United Kingdom), civil servant of a department or Ministry (government department), ministry charged with running the department or ministry's day-to-day ...
to the
Cabinet Office The Cabinet Office is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for supporting the prime minister and Cabinet. It is composed of various units that support Cabinet committees and which co-ordinate the delivery of government objecti ...
, replacing Sir (now Lord) Gus O'Donnell, whose three roles were split after his retirement at the end of 2011. However, he only held this role for six months, announcing in May 2012 that he was resigning to spend more time with his family. He was replaced by
Richard Heaton Sir Richard Nicholas Heaton, KCB (born 5 October 1965) is a barrister and former senior British civil servant who was the Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Justice and Clerk of the Crown in Chancery from September 2015 until resigning in ...
. In September 2016, it was announced that Watmore would succeed Sir David Normington as the independent
First Civil Service Commissioner The First Civil Service Commissioner heads the Civil Service Commission, a statutory body which ensures that appointments to the Civil Service in the United Kingdom are made openly and on merit, and hears appeals from civil servants under the Civi ...
regulator of the
Civil Service The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...
from 1 October 2016. for a non renewable five year term.


Other roles

Watmore was a member of the advisory board of
Westminster Business School Westminster Business School is the business school of the University of Westminster. Located at its Marylebone campus in central London, it is one of the capital's leading centres for business education and has a large and diverse staff base wit ...
from 2010 to 2013, and has been a board member of the
Information Commissioner's Office The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) is a non-departmental public body which reports directly to the Parliament of the United Kingdom and is sponsored by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). It is the independe ...
since 2012. He has been a trustee of the
Migraine Trust The Migraine Trust is a British registered charity (no. 1081300), whose aim is to "empower, inform, and support those affected by migraine Migraine (, ) is a common neurological disorder characterized by recurrent headaches. Typically, the as ...
since 2008, serving as its Chair since 2010. Watmore has been a
Church Commissioner The Church Commissioners is a body which administers the property assets of the Church of England. It was established in 1948 and combined the assets of Queen Anne's Bounty, a fund dating from 1704 for the relief of poor clergy, and of the Eccle ...
since 2014, and his wife is a priest in the
Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...
in the
Diocese of Chester The Diocese of Chester is a Church of England diocese in the Province of York covering the pre-1974 county of Cheshire and therefore including the Wirral and parts of Stockport, Trafford and Tameside. History Ancient diocese Before the si ...
. Watmore is a lifelong supporter of
Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...
, and has had several sport related appointments. He has been a board member of the
English Institute of Sport The English Institute of Sport (EIS), established in May 2002, is an organisation which provides sport science and medical support services to elite athletes through a nationwide network of expertise and facilities, working with Olympic and Para ...
since 2002, and in March 2012, he joined the England Rugby 2015 board. He is the non executive chair of Quantum Sport, a sports agency which represents his son, Duncan, who is a professional footballer. He had been chair of the
England and Wales Cricket Board The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) is the Sports governing body, national governing body of cricket in England and Wales. It was formed on 1 January 1997 as a single governing body to combine the roles formerly fulfilled by the Test and ...
since 1 September 2020. On 7 October 2021, he stepped down as ECB Chairman with immediate effect, after serving only 13 months of his five-year term.


References


Offices held

{{DEFAULTSORT:Watmore, Ian 1958 births Living people People educated at Trinity School of John Whitgift Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge People from Croydon Permanent Under-Secretaries of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills Civil servants in the Cabinet Office Chief executives of the Football Association Internet in the United Kingdom Chief operating officers