We’re pleased to announce that Sharon White will be taking on the role of Chair at Frontier Economics from January 2025.
Gus O’Donnell has held the role of Chair for the last 11 years and will remain at Frontier as an Ambassador.
Sharon studied at Cambridge University and University College London and she was recently Chair of the John Lewis Partnership, the first woman appointed to that position. Prior roles include Chief Executive for Ofcom (UK communications regulator), Second Permanent Secretary at the Treasury, Director General at the Ministry of Justice and the Department for International Development, as well as an advisory role at the Prime Minister’s Policy Unit.
During her time living in the US, Sharon worked first for the Foreign Office and then in Washington DC as a senior economist at the World Bank. She was awarded a Damehood in the Queen’s New Year’s Honours 2020 for her work at Ofcom and she was named as the UK’s most influential black person in the 2023 Powerlist, which aims to provide professional role models for young people of African and African Caribbean heritage.
Dame Sharon White comments on her appointment:
“I am absolutely thrilled to be succeeding Gus as the next Chair of Frontier Economics. I have long been an admirer of Frontier - the strength and integrity of its economic analysis is unparalleled. I have seen at first hand the impact it has had both on public policy and on the commercial strategies of some of the biggest businesses in the UK, Europe and globally. Frontier is genuinely at the Frontier of some of the most important issues confronting businesses and governments - AI adoption, the green transition, competition and regulation. I am so looking forward to working with the team as Frontier goes from strength to strength.”
Lord Gus O’Donnell comments on his successor and time at Frontier:
“I have loved being chairman of Frontier Economics for the last 11 years, but now is the time to move on. It is not often that such a well qualified candidate as Sharon White becomes available, and I am delighted she will be taking over to become our third ever chair - the first being Sarah Hogg. I hope, like Sarah has done for me, to assist Frontier in any way they wish in my new role as their Ambassador. Frontier is an amazing success story, and it has been a privilege working with so many talented people and with such great clients."
Read more about Gus and Sharon in an article in The Sunday Times. Click here to access the article.
(Please note, this article is behind a paywall.)