Executive Team
Chief Executive, Jenny Rowe
Jenny has been Chief Executive of The Supreme Court since May 2008.
Following the transfer of the administration of The JCPC to The Supreme Court from 1 April 2010, Jenny has also been Chief Executive of The JCPC.
Immediately before her Supreme Court appointment, Jenny was Director of Policy and Administration at the Attorney General’s Office from February 2004 to April 2008. Her responsibilities there included criminal justice policy and the Fraud Review.
Prior to joining the AGO, Jenny was Secretary to the Butterfield Review of HM Customs & Excise, and led separate reviews of HMCPS Inspectorate and of the Legal Secretariat to the Law Officers.
She was Director, Corporate Services in the Lord Chancellor’s Department (LCD) from December 1999 to January 2003, and Principal Private Secretary to the Lord Chancellor (Lord Irvine) from October 1997 to October 1999.
Jenny’s previous posts also include Principal Establishment and Finance Officer at the Serious Fraud Office, and Head of Criminal Policy Division in LCD. She was Principal Private Secretary to Lord Mackay, Lord Chancellor from 1990 to 1992.
Director Corporate Services, William Arnold
William has been Director of Corporate Services for The Supreme Court since March 2009.
Following the transfer of the administration of The JCPC to The Supreme Court from 1 April 2010, William has also been Director of Corporate Services for The JCPC.
Immediately before his Supreme Court appointment, William was Chief Executive of the Law Commission, the Government’s independent law reform body, from January 2008 to February 2009.
Prior to joining the Law Commission, William was Head of the Court Broadcasting Unit in HM Courts Service. He worked on loan in the Prime Minister’s Department in Canberra, Australia from January 1993 to August 1994, and was Director of Corporate Services for The National Archives from April 1991 to December 1992.
William’s other previous appointments have included Chief Executive to the Family Justice Council (2006), Secretary to the Commissioners for Judicial Appointments (2004 – 2006), Head of the Criminal Justice System Confidence Unit (2003) and Head of Sponsorship of Regional Development Agencies (1999 – 2003).
He was in charge of Family Law in the Lord Chancellor’s Department for five years from 1994 to 1999, and of Legal Aid and Legal Services from 1987 to 1991. He was also Private Secretary to two Lord Chancellors (Lord Elwyn-Jones and then Lord Hailsham) from 1977 to 1979.
Registrar, Louise di Mambro
Louise is Registrar of The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom and Registrar of the Privy Council.
As Registrar, she exercises judicial and administrative functions under the two sets of Rules and Practice Directions which provide the procedure for these Courts.
From June 2008 until August 2009, Louise was Deputy Head of the Judicial Office of the House of Lords, supporting the Law Lords in their judicial functions. Before that, Louise was a deputy master in the Court of Appeal, Civil Division, working in the Royal Courts of Justice from December 1997 to May 2008.
From September 1977 to December 1997, Louise held various posts as a member of the Government Legal Service in the Treasury Solicitor’s Department and the Lord Chancellor’s Department. Louise was called to the Bar in July 1976.
Director of Finance, Olufemi Oguntunde
Femi was appointed Director of Finance of The Supreme Court in April 2009.
He provides financial leadership for The Supreme Court, and is responsible for ensuring a continuing culture of sound governance and risk management, as well as efficiency and value for money.
Immediately prior to joining The Supreme Court, he spent over five years with the Food Standards Agency where he worked as Systems Implementation Project Manager, Group Financial Accountant, Financial Controller and the Head of Financial Management and Reporting.
Having started his career with KPMG in 1991, Femi joined the Civil Service in 2004 after more than 10 years’ post qualification experience in various sectors, including public practice, banking and consultancy.
He is a Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (FCCA) and holds a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) from Manchester Business School.
Head of Accommodation and Health and Safety Manager, Martin Thompson
Martin has been Head of Accommodation and Health and Safety Manager for The Supreme Court since September 2008.
Immediately before this he was a Principal Inspector of Offshore Oil and Gas Safety at the Health and Safety Executive.
A Chartered Civil Engineer, Martin has been a project manager for most of his career. Having trained in the private sector, he joined the Civil Service in 1985 and has undertaken projects for the Foreign Office, Ministry of Defence, Prison Service and the Houses of Parliament.
Head of Communications, Ben Wilson
Ben Wilson was appointed Head of Communications for the Supreme Court in April 2012.
Ben is responsible for stakeholder communications at The Supreme Court, including media relations, educational outreach, visitor services and online and offline publications.
He was the Supreme Court's Deputy Head of Communications from September 2010. Before that he worked for the Archbishops’ Council of the Church of England, as part of the team handling media relations for the organisation which co-ordinates national initiatives on behalf of the established Church.
Ben has a range of experience in private sector PR and marketing roles and is a full member of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations.
Departmental Records Officer, Paul Brigland
Paul joined the Supreme Court team as Departmental Records Officer in June 2011.
He is responsible for records management including information assurance and compliance with freedom of information, data protection and public records legislation, and is secretary to the Management Board.
Immediately before this, he spent three years in the Ministry of Justice Data Access & Compliance Unit advising on Freedom of Information and Data Protection issues.
Previously he worked at the Lord Chancellor's Department as Diary Manager to the Lord Chancellor (Lord Irvine) and as a Training Course Manager (Civil & Family Judiciary) at the Judicial Studies Board.
Head of Human Resources, Chris Maile
Chris joined the Supreme Court in August 2011.
He started his career initially as a barrister's clerk in the Temple, before moving into Human Resources and studying for his CIPD qualification.
He advised Headteachers and School Governors in the education sector for over 8 years, and then joined the Lord Chancellor's Department in 2003 working in the HR casework team.
From 2008 he led a team of HR Advisors in supporting and guiding managers on a wide range of HR issues across the Ministry of Justice.
Librarian, Christine Younger
Christine joined the Supreme Court team as Librarian in June 2009.
She is responsible for running The Supreme Court’s library service for the Justices, Judicial Assistants and other legal staff.
For several years before this, Christine was Librarian of the Ministry of Justice’s HQ library. She also served as Deputy Librarian at the Royal Courts of Justice.
During the early part of her library career she worked at the Hispanic & Luso-Brazilian Council at Canning House, followed by the British Library, and then the British Council.
Events Manager and International Judicial Exchange co-ordinator, Ayo Onatade
Ayo is responsible for managing all events that are held at the Supreme Court and co-ordinating official visits, functions including those involving international judicial legal exchanges.
Ayo was Head of Judicial Support to the Justices (previously the Law Lords) from February 2008 until September 2010.
Immediately before this, Ayo was Clerk to the President of the Family Division. From January 2004 to May 2005, she was Clerk to Lord Justice Wall and Clerk to Lady Justice Hale DBE (now Lady Hale) from 1999 to 2004. She was Assistant Private Secretary to the Master of the Rolls (then Lord Woolf) from October 1998 to November 1999.
Ayo has also held posts in the Magistrates Courts and Magistrates Appointment Divisions, the Judicial Appointments Project Team, the Official Solicitors Office and the Public Trust (now Public Guardianship) Office.