Woolf Committee BiographiesPhilippa Foster Back OBE
Since taking a degree in Geography at University College London, Philippa has gained over 25 years of business experience. She began her career at Citibank NA before joining Bowater in their Corporate Treasury Department in 1979, leaving in 1988 as Group Treasurer. She was Group Finance Director at DG Gardner Group, a training organisation, prior to joining Thorn EMI in 1993 as Group Treasurer until 2000. In 2001 she was appointed Director of the "Institute of Business Ethics".
She has a number of external appointments, including at the Ministry of Defence where she sits on the Defence Management Board and chairs the Defence Audit Committee. She will step down from these positions in July before starting work on the BAE panel. She was due to relinquish her MoD positions before being asked to participate in the panel.
She also sits on the Board of the Institute of Directors and the Professional Accreditation Committee; and the Association of Corporate Treasurers, where she was President from 1999 to 2000. In 2002 she was appointed a Commissioner of the Public Works Loan Board.
Her outside interests include the history and exploration of the Polar Regions; she is Chairman of the UK Antarctic Heritage Trust.
She was awarded an OBE in the 2006 New Year's Honours List.
