Which? Council

The Council is the governing body of the Consumers’ Association, setting strategy and policy and providing oversight of the organisation.

You can read more about the current Which? Council of Trustees below and find out more about the trustee appointment process here.

Which? Council

Sam Younger CBE (Chair)

Sam has extensive regulatory and governance experience. He is chair of the Advertising Advisory Committee of the Advertising Standards Authority, independent chair of the Regulatory Board of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries, and a member of the Remuneration Committee of New College, Oxford. His previous chair roles include the independent advisory group for Marston Holdings Limited, VSO, CILEx Regulation, and inaugural chair of the Electoral Commission. Sam was also a member of the Council of the Advertising Standards Authority. Among his earlier high-profile roles, Sam was chief executive of the Charity Commission, interim chief executive for the Electoral Reform Society, Shelter and Bell Education Trust, director general of the British Red Cross and managing director at the BBC World Service, where he also spent his early career. Sam joined the Council in January 2020.

Caroline Baker

Until December 2019 Caroline was group head of human resources at KBL European Private Bankers, responsible for a group of private banks in eight European countries. With more than 30 years’ experience in HR, she has held roles at ABN AMRO, ING and Hermes Investment Management. Her responsibilities have included the HR aspects of mergers and acquisitions, regulatory interpretation and application, and developing cultural change to ensure compliance in the financial sector. Caroline joined the Council in September 2017.

Christine Forde

Christine is a solicitor with commercial expertise and experience of professional regulation including legal services, health, and education for over 25 years. She also has experience of transforming a broad range of services including ensuring that digital technologies are harnessed to provide improved customer service. Christine is chief executive officer of Solihull Action through Advocacy, a member of the Advertising Advisory Committee of the Advertising Standards Authority and a member of the National Serious Case Panel of the Football Association. Her previous roles include associate director for Public Facing Services Transformation at the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation (Ofqual) with responsibility for service improvement, adjudicator at the Solicitors Regulation Authority, member of the Academy for Healthcare Science Regulation Council and legal chair of the Investigating Committee at the General Chiropractic Council. Christine joined the Council in November 2018.

Sharon Grant OBE

Sharon's career has focused on health and social care and consumer representation, and more recently on issues of ageing. She is chair of Haringey Circle, and trustee of the Bernie Grant Trust. Her previous roles include independent chair of Public Voice, chair of Healthwatch Haringey, the Haringey Citizens Advice Bureau and London Travelwatch. Sharon has been a member of a range of advisory and steering groups, including the Independent Advisory Group of the Metropolitan Policy Haringey, and the Food Hygiene Ratings Steering Group of the Food Standards Agency. Sharon was awarded an OBE in 2014 for services to the community and arts, and an honorary doctorate in 2023 for her work as a champion of health and consumer rights. Sharon joined the Council in February 2018.

Mélanie Griffiths

Mélanie is a director of a leading wealth management organisation, and until recently held a leadership role at an international private equity owned group, where she was also the environmental, social and governance lead and chair of the digital asset working group. Mélanie has built a career in financial services over 20 years. After starting as a graduate with Deloitte, she joined JPMorgan where she spent most of her career and where her roles included executive director advising clients on investments, credit and estate planning. Mélanie holds a number of professional investment qualifications. She joined the Council in November 2019. 

Cindy Rampersaud

Cindy is a non-executive director at Sage Homes and on the Advisory Board of the UK Health and Security Agency, where she is also deputy chair and chair of the Audit and Risk Committee. Cindy was previously on the boards of the London Film School and Hipgnosis Songs Fund, and was interim managing director of Education and Learning at Capita. A qualified chartered accountant, throughout her career Cindy has held a number of senior finance roles with companies across the entertainment media sector, including Virgin, Warner Brothers and EMI, and roles in further education establishments and the Department for Education. Among her charitable roles, Cindy has served as a trustee at Victim Support, The Children’s Society and most recently Speakers Trust. She was recently appointed a visiting professor at the University of Suffolk (Business Strategy). Cindy joined the Council in October 2022 and was appointed a director of the Which? Limited board in March 2024.

Adam Shutkever (Deputy Chair)

Adam is a highly experienced executive who has gained operational, financial and strategic expertise from a career that has encompassed senior roles in both early-stage and mature businesses. He has wide-ranging non-executive director experience in both listed and unlisted companies. Adam pursued a career in investment banking in London and New York before becoming chief financial officer of Accord plc, a public-sector outsourcing business. Following its sale, he founded a law firm, Riverview Law, which was sold to EY in 2018. Adam is currently a trustee of The For Baby’s Sake Trust, influencing and informing policy and practice that protects babies from domestic abuse. He was previously a trustee of Humankind (formerly Blenheim CDP), which works to address health and social inequalities. Adam joined the Council in October 2022.

Richard Sibbick

Richard is a chartered mechanical engineer, and senior category leader at Dow Silicones UK Limited. He is also a fellow of the Institute of Mechanical Engineers and chairs their Investigation Panel. Throughout his career within the Dow group he has held a range of leadership roles with global responsibility in manufacturing, research and development, supply chain, sales and purchasing. Richard was previously an elected member of two solar cooperative schemes and has contributed to several patent applications in solar panel manufacturing and fabric coating systems.  Richard has held trustee, council, audit and risk committee and investigation panel positions. Richard joined the Council in November 2019.

Charles Wander

Charles is an experienced corporate lawyer. He retired from Fladgate LLP in 2018 after seven years as their chair and subsequently spent five years working with them in a consultancy capacity, supporting client relationships and performing an ambassadorial role. During his career, Charles has acted for major public companies and institutions, including several in the insurance sector, as well as private companies and professional partnerships. He has been a specialist in corporate matters, including corporate governance, consumer and regulatory issues, since training with one of Fladgate’s predecessor firms in 1977 and has developed a wide-ranging practice over more than 40 years. Charles joined the Council in April 2019.

David Woodward

David is a chartered management accountant with more than 30 year's experience. He is a non-executive director on the National Savings & Investments (NS&I) Board and of Aspire Housing Limited. He is also a trustee of Trent College and a governor on its Board. David was previously a non-executive director of the Hinckley & Rugby Building Society and was vice chair, senior independent director and chair of its Audit and Compliance Committee. Other non-executive roles have included the Market Harborough Building Society, and interim non-executive director of the United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust, a short-term appointment to support the Trust and chair its Finance, Performance and Estates Committee as it moved forward through the recovery phase following the impact of Covid-19. In his earlier career, David held finance director roles at Express Dairies and National Express. David joined the Council in December 2018.

Christopher Woolard CBE

Christopher is a partner at EY, chair of their Global Financial Services Regulatory Network, and a member of the EY UK LLP Board. Before EY, Christopher spent 25 years in public service, including at the Financial Conduct Authority, where he was a member of the Board and interim CEO, and at Ofcom, the BBC and Civil Service. He led the FCA’s work on consumer issues, including support for mortgage payers during the pandemic, new rules on high-cost credit, payday lending and the Business Interruption Insurance court case. Christopher has worked extensively on innovation and technology projects and, more recently, chaired the Woolard Review of Unsecured Consumer Credit. He joined the Council in April 2021.