Natalie Anna Ceeney (born 22 August 1971) is a British civil servant and businessperson who has filled several senior roles in both the

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociology, sociological concept of the ''Öf ...

and

private sector The private sector is the part of the economy, sometimes referred to as the citizen sector, which is owned by private groups, usually as a means of establishment for profit or non profit, rather than being owned by the government. Employment The ...

s in the United Kingdom. She was chief executive of

The National Archives National archives are central archives maintained by countries. This article contains a list of national archives. Among its more important tasks are to ensure the accessibility and preservation of the information produced by governments, both ...

from 2005 to 2010; chief executive and chief ombudsman of the

Financial Ombudsman Service The Financial Ombudsman Service is an ombudsman in the United Kingdom. It was established in 2000, and given statutory powers in 2001 by the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, to help settle disputes between consumers and UK-based b ...

from 2010 to 2013; head of customer standards at

HSBC bank HSBC Bank may refer to any one of the following principal local banks or divisions of the HSBC Group: Asia-Pacific * HSBC (Hong Kong) ** PayMe, its local payment service * HSBC Bank (China) * HSBC Bank Australia * HSBC Bank India * HSBC Bank Mala ...

from February to December 2014; and chief executive of

Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service His Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) is an executive agency of the Ministry of Justice. It was created on 1 April 2011 (as Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service) by the merger of Her Majesty's Courts Service and the Tribunals ...

from 2015 to 2016.

Early life

Natalie Ceeney was born in

Epping Forest Epping Forest is a area of ancient woodland, and other established habitats, which straddles the border between Greater London and Essex. The main body of the forest stretches from Epping in the north, to Chingford on the edge of the London ...

, Essex. She attended the independent

Forest School Forest School or Forrest School may refer to: Educational philosophy * Forest school (learning style), a learner centred outdoor learning approach. Religious philosophy * Thai Forest Tradition, a Theravada school of Buddhism in Thailand. * Sri Lan ...

Walthamstow Walthamstow ( or ) is a large town in east London, England, within the ceremonial county of Greater London and the ancient county of Essex. Situated northeast of Charing Cross, the town borders Chingford to the north, Snaresbrook and Sout ...

. She took her

A-levels The A-Level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational a ...

when she was 16, then went to the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

in 1988, one year early. She attended

Newnham College, Cambridge Newnham College is a women's constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1871 by a group organising Lectures for Ladies, members of which included philosopher Henry Sidgwick and suffragist campaigner Millic ...

, initially studying Mathematics, where she gained a first class degree. From 1990 to 1991 she was the President of

Cambridge University Students' Union Cambridge Students' Union, known as Cambridge SU, is the university-wide representative body for students at the University of Cambridge, England. Its predecessor union was known as Cambridge University Students' Union or CUSU until its dissolu ...

Career

Ceeney began her career at the

National Health Service The National Health Service (NHS) is the umbrella term for the publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom (UK). Since 1948, they have been funded out of general taxation. There are three systems which are referred to using the " ...

in 1991, becoming a manager from 1992 to 1994 at

Northwick Park Hospital Northwick Park Hospital (NWPH) is a major National Health Service hospital situated near the town of Harrow, North West London, managed by the London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust. It is located off Watford Road in the London Borou ...

, later working from 1992 to 1994 at Hertfordshire Health Agency (in

Welwyn Garden City Welwyn Garden City ( ) is a town in Hertfordshire, England, north of London. It was the second garden city in England (founded 1920) and one of the first new towns (designated 1948). It is unique in being both a garden city and a new town and ...

), and from to 1996 to 1998 at

Great Ormond Street Hospital Great Ormond Street Hospital (informally GOSH or Great Ormond Street, formerly the Hospital for Sick Children) is a children's hospital located in the Bloomsbury area of the London Borough of Camden, and a part of Great Ormond Street Hospita ...

. She led strategic consultancy projects across a range of industries at

McKinsey & Company McKinsey & Company is a global management consulting firm founded in 1926 by University of Chicago professor James O. McKinsey, that offers professional services to corporations, governments, and other organizations. McKinsey is the oldest and ...

. She worked at the

British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the Briti ...

from 2001 to 2005 as chief operating officer.

The National Archives

From 2005 to 2010 Ceeney was chief executive (styled Keeper of Public Records and Historic Manuscripts Commissioner) at

. Her appointment was announced in August 2005, and she took up the post in October of the same year.

Financial Ombudsman Service

She became chief ombudsman of the

in March 2010. Her appointment was announced on 11 January 2010. She left the Financial Ombudsman Service in November 2013.

HSBC

In February 2014 she became head of customer standards at

HSBC HSBC Holdings plc is a British multinational universal bank and financial services holding company. It is the largest bank in Europe by total assets ahead of BNP Paribas, with US$2.953 trillion as of December 2021. In 2021, HSBC had $10.8 tr ...

Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunal Service

Ceeney was chief executive of

(HMCTS) from 5 January 2015 until 30 May 2016.

Innovate Finance

In May 2017 it was announced that Ceeney would be joining the Board of Innovate Finance as non-executive chair.

Access to Cash Review

In August 2018, Ceeney was appointed as the independent chair of the Access to Cash Review. Working with several experts from across the consumer affairs, charitable, banking and payment sector, the review assessed whether the UK was ready to go cashless and what recommendations would be required to support vulnerable customers and manage the costs of the cash infrastructure. The final report was published in March 2019.

Today

Ceeney remains Chair of Innovate Finance. She is a non-executive director of Countrywide PLC, a property services group in the UK. She is also a non-executive director of Ford Credit Europe,

Anglian Water Anglian Water is a water company that operates in the East of England. It was formed in 1989 under the partial privatisation of the water industry. It provides water supply, sewerage and sewage treatment to the area formerly the responsibility ...

and

Sport England Sport England is a non-departmental public body under the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. Its role is to build the foundations of a community sport system by working with national governing bodies of sport, and other funded p ...

. She heads a strategy consulting boutique practice.

Personal life

Ceeney married Dr Simon Chaplin, a medical historian, in 2007. She was appointed a

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

in the

2010 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 2010 were announced on 31 December 2009 in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Cook Islands, Barbados, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Saint Lucia, Belize, Antigua and Barbuda, Saint Christopher and NevisSaint Christ ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ceeney, Natalie 1971 births Living people Alumni of Newnham College, Cambridge Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Employees of the British Library HSBC people McKinsey & Company people Ombudsmen in the United Kingdom People associated with The National Archives (United Kingdom) People educated at Forest School, Walthamstow People from Epping Forest District