Colette Bowe, who chaired Ofcom's Consumer Panel from its
inception in 2003 to December 2007, is to replace David Currie as
chairman of Ofcom.
Her appointment, which must be ratified by parliament, caps a
long career in Whitehall and the banking sector. She was
the source of a leaked memorandum that ultimately led to
the resignation of two of Margaret Thatcher's cabinet ministers,
Leo Brittan and Michael Heseltine, over the Westland helicopter
scandal in the mid-1980s.
Earlier, Bowe
called for internet service providers (ISPs) to be clearer about
the speeds their customers sign up for. She said ISPs should
refer to actual speeds achieved rather than headline speeds.
She was the founding chairman of the Telecoms Ombudsman Council
and previously worked at the Department of Trade and Industry, the
Independent Broadcasting Authority, the Securities and Investment
Board, and was chief executive of the Personal Investment Authority
and executive chairman of Fleming Funds Management.
She is on the board of Axa Framlington, Morgan Stanley Bank
International, Electra Private Equity plc and London and
Continental Railways, Queen Mary College, London, and the National
Institute for Economic and Social Research. She has been a member
of the Ofcom Board since January 2008 and is a member of the Ofcom
audit committee.