Our Senior Leadership Team

Director General

Mark Neale

Mark Neale has had a long career of public service. From 2010, he led the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) for nine years, transforming its capability in the wake of the financial crisis to protect consumers in the event of major financial failures and putting many of its services online. Before the FSCS, Mark was a civil servant in both policy and delivery roles. This culminated in Director General roles in both The Home Office where he was responsible for counter-terrorism, organised crime and international work from 2003 to 2005, and in HM Treasury where he was the Managing Director for Budget, Tax and Welfare between 2005 and 2010. Mark has also worked as a civil servant on education, employment and welfare issues.

Declarations of interest:

The Lending Standards Board – Non Executive Director

Froebel Trust –  Chair

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Director of People and Culture

Teresa Haskins

Teresa has strategic HR experience, as well as a background in regulation. Teresa was formerly the Director of HR at the Commonwealth Secretariat. Before that, Teresa spent ten years as the Director of Human Resources with the Health and Care Professions Council, a fellow regulator.  

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Director of Regulatory Enforcement

Saima Hirji

Saima joined the BSB in 2023. She leads the Authorisations and Contact and Assessment Teams in addition to overseeing the organisation’s operational support function.

Saima qualified as a solicitor in 2006 and holds higher rights of audience in both civil and criminal law. She has over ten years’ experience in professional regulation, having previously worked at the Nursing and Midwifery Council in various legal and policy roles. She previously practised in criminal defence and human rights law.

Saima is a Council Member of The Law Society.

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Director of Strategy, Policy and Insights

Ewen MacLeod

Ewen is responsible for ensuring that we properly understand the risks in the market that we regulate and that appropriate outcomes are achieved by our regulatory arrangements to address these risks, drawing on appropriate evidence and stakeholder views to meet the regulatory objectives (particularly in the BSB Handbook and related guidance).

He is also responsible for ensuring that we set appropriate rules to support equality and diversity at the Bar and that we ourselves comply with our equality and diversity reporting duties and assess the impact of new policies on different groups. Ewen joined us in 2011.

Before that, he undertook a variety of regulatory roles at the Scottish Water Commission and the General Dental Council, before working in central Government (Department of Work and Pensions) briefing ministers, developing policy and drafting legislation. He has a degree in Scots Law and a Master of Business Administration.

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Director of Regulatory Standards 

Rupika Madhura

Rupika joined the Bar Standards Board (BSB) in 2020 as Head of Policy and Research and is currently the Director of Regulatory Standards. Rupika’s regulatory and policy experience spans over 18 years, after starting her career as a trainee Economist at the Greater London Authority. Prior to joining the BSB, Rupika worked at the energy regulator Ofgem, the water regulator Ofwat and Office of Road and Rail.

Rupika also sits on the Independent Stakeholder Board of Northern Gas Networks, where she Chairs the sub-committees of the Data and Digitalisation and Workforce Resilience – a role to further the interest of consumers in energy sectors.

Rupika holds an MSc in Regulation from London School of Economics, MSc in Business Economics from City University and a B.A. (Honours) in Economics from Delhi University.

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