The Independent Challenge Group

Caroline Warner holds a well-established portfolio of Chair and Non-Executive Director roles in public service sectors. She has multi-sector professional experience at Board level, including in the NHS and utilities, and offers a specialist understanding of consumer advocacy, citizen insight, strategy & transformation planning. 

Cat is a Water Company Account Manager at the Environment Agency. Her role is to provide an overview of environmental performance and planning for water companies in the South East and challenge companies to improve environmental performance and achieve better environmental outcomes.

Areas of particular interest include the Water Industry National Environment Programme (WINEP), Water Resources Planning, water company Environmental Performance Assessment, water efficiency and the Price Review process. Cat is also a member of the South East Water Challenge Group.

Prior to the Environment Agency, Cat worked as an internal water company auditor and led an environmental projects team for a private consultancy firm specialising in environmental due diligence for the finance and construction sector.

Dr. David Holden has worked in customer research and engagement for over 25 years, with a specialism in 'willingness-to-pay' studies, holding a PhD. in that area.

He has a strong appreciation of stakeholder research in regulated markets and previously sat on the Heathrow Consumer Challenge Board and Ofcom's Consumer Communication Panel. He currently sits on Electricity North West's Customer Engagement Group.

Areas of particular interest include customer journey, complaints handling and resolution, vulnerable customers, balancing competing stakeholder priorities, competition and economic regulation.

Unette is Vice President, Customer Solutions for UK&I Division at Mastercard and plays a critical role in ensuring customers receive curated and relevant solutions to drive market differentiation, market share and revenue.

Unette is a specialist in customer insight and loyalty consulting with over twenty five years’ experience gained at CACI, dunnhumby and Mastercard and has worked with international retailers in a territory spanning Europe, South America, and South Africa. She combines her retail, FMCG and loyalty expertise to drive solutions within the commercial value chain of Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) & Retail industries leveraging the latest developments in FinTech, data insights and retail technologies. Unette has provided customer strategy expertise and consultancy, directly to the C-suite and senior management: sharing best customer centric practices across the business to drive loyalty and customer engagement through data led decision making.

Bob Winnington has 30 years' experience in the Banking Sector, including a diverse range of positions within Lending Control, Relationship Management, Area/Regional Management and Senior Service Management. He combines this with many years' experience as a Customer Service Strategy Consultant working across a range of sectors including over six years at the Institute of Customer Service as a National Account Director.

Bob joined the Money Advice Liaison Group in 2016 since which time he has led a transition of the not-for-profit membership organisation to develop an engaging, inclusive and diverse business with a strong focus on working together to support the lives of people in problem debt”. MALG is an agile organisation passionate about meeting and developing the needs of its members in a rapidly changing world. This has led to the establishment of a strong virtual presence alongside the provision of national and regional face to face events and meetings.

Bob is proud to be a member of the Affinity Water ICG and is keen to work with all those involved in the money advice and personal debt arena to collaborate on 'game changing' solutions that don't just meet the immediate needs of consumers today. This includes the increasing challenge of supporting vulnerable customers and addressing the long term eradication of problem debt through the proactive and meaningful use of inclusive technology.

In a variety of local, regional and national roles Todd has spent 30 years helping companies and decision makers adopt innovative low carbon, energy efficient policies and solutions which have strong economic benefits. Working at CEO and Board level combined with his relevant academic background has given him a broad and deep understanding of the key social, political, scientific, and practical issues relating to the zero carbon agenda. Working in complex partnerships has developed strong interpersonal and communication skills, having worked in the private, third and most recently the public sector and regulated utilities, he is an accomplished public speaker with the ability to inspire and lead others.

Louise is a Policy Manager at CCW

CCW are the independent voice for water consumers in England and Wales. They help consumers resolve complaints against their water company or retailer, while providing free advice and support. Their work is informed by extensive research, which they use to champion the interests of consumers and influence water companies, governments and regulators. Louise carries out liaison duties with Affinity Water and contributes to CCW's national work on social policy.

Professor of Practice in Financial Inclusion and Consumer Policy, CHASM, University of Birmingham

Martin uses research and advocacy to create change for consumers. He’s held a range of positions, all with the common objective of placing low income and vulnerable consumers at the heart of policy-making within essential services.

Whilst at the Financial Conduct Authority, he created its model for engaging with consumer groups as well as its consumer vulnerability programme, leading to nationwide changes for consumers. At the Big Lottery Fund he led the creation of its £31.7 million financial capability and inclusion programme.

Martin’s work as Director of Fair By Design centred on eliminating the poverty premium – the extra costs poorer people pay for essential services like insurance, credit, payments and energy. His work has led to tangible changes in policy and practice to tackle the poverty premium and increase financial inclusion in the UK.

Martin is a member of the government’s Financial Inclusion Committee, the Link Consumer Council, and Pay.UK’s End User Advisory Council. He is also a trustee of Young Scot and an adviser to the Money and Mental Health Policy Institute. He has been a Financial Inclusion Commissioner, a member of the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada’s Consumer Protection Advisory Committee, a board member of the Association of Charitable Foundations, the Nationwide Foundation, the Institute of Consumer Affairs, as well as a Commissioner for Scope’s Commission on Extra Costs for Disabled People. He is regularly consulted by regulators, government departments, MPs, political advisers, businesses, and civil society organisations.