Six serving Postmasters contesting the first-ever election to become a Non-Executive Director on the Post Office Board have been announced.
Voting opens at 9.30am on 22 March and runs until the same time on 12 April. The electorate, made up of around 8,000 serving Postmasters as well as multiple partners, will be able to select up to two candidates. The election process is being overseen independently by Civica Elections Services.
The appointments are part of the PO’s fence-mending in the wake of the Horizon IT scandal, as it bids to put Postmasters at the front and centre of the business.
Contesting the election for two seats on the Board are:
- Lee Dearn, Postmaster for Sydenham, Belfast
- Mukhtar Goraya, operates two Post Offices in London and Kent
- Saf Ismail, operates six Post Offices in the north-east of England
- Elliot Jacobs, operates seven Post Offices in London and Hertfordshire
- Jasbir Parmar, Postmaster for Kempston, Bedfordshire
- Sarabjeet Soar, Postmaster for Styvechale, Warwickshire.
Independent recruitment specialists Green Park whittled the initial applications down to a list of 12 candidates. These were interviewed by a panel comprising ACS boss James Lowman, Co-op CFO Shirine Khoury-Haq and Jean Church from the Institute of Directors. The panel then shortlisted the final six.
Nick Read, Chief Executive of the Post Office, said: “Having two serving Postmasters on our Board sends the clearest signal yet of our determination to ensure Postmasters really are at the heart of our business. I am encouraged by the calibre of the six highly qualified candidates and look forward to an open and robust campaign over the three-week election period.
“To sit on the Board of any company carries great responsibility, a responsibility I know our Postmasters will be well placed to fulfil. I have been encouraged by the interest from Postmasters in applying and look forward to working with our two new Non-Executive Directors.”
