The Parole Board is delighted to announce the appointment of
Cecilia French as its Chief Executive Officer from 1 October
2024. Cecilia has an impressive background in central government
with over 25 years of experience in a range of policy and
operational delivery roles. She will bring a wealth of knowledge
and experience to the Parole Board.
The Parole Board would like to put on record our deepest thanks
to Faith Geary for stepping up as Interim Chief Executive since
March 2024. Faith will remain as interim Chief Executive until
Cecilia joins next month. Under Faith's leadership, the Parole
Board has halved the number of people awaiting a paper and oral
hearing assessment and has set a strong foundation for the new
Chief Executive.
Cecilia French comes to the Parole Board following her most
recent role as Secretary to the Undercover Policing Inquiry, a
judicially chaired independent statutory inquiry. She started her
career as a policy adviser in the Home Office and following a few
years working as private Secretary to Ministers, she became Head
of Sentencing Reform in the Criminal Justice Group for a number
of years.
Cecilia spent eight years working in a number of senior
operational delivery roles in the then Office for Security &
Counter-Terrorism and in 2012, was appointed Secretary to the
Al-Sweady Public Inquiry, investigating reports of the torture
and the murder of Iraqi civilians by the British Armed Forces.
She then headed up the Police Integrity Unit in the Home Office
before becoming Director of Public Protection, responsible for
delivery of the Government's counter-extremism and Violence
Against Women & Girls Strategies.
With Cecilia's strong leadership skills and wide-ranging
experience she will continue to develop the Parole Board as it
prepares to implement the changes in the Victims and Prisoners
Act. Her leadership experience will be invaluable as the Parole
Board continues to protect the public and deliver fair decisions
efficiently.
Caroline Corby, Chair of the Parole Board, welcomed Cecilia and
said, “I am very much looking forward to working with Cecilia.
With an impressive CV and a track record of delivery in senior
positions, I am confident that Cecilia will provide excellent
leadership to the important work of the Parole Board.”
