Linda Ford is an experienced CEO and non-executive director specialising in professional education and standards, regulation and governance. Her career has spanned professional services, criminal justice, education and public health with a focus on enabling public trust and confidence through professional registers and high standards of competence and conduct. Linda is an advocate for social mobility with expertise in tackling barriers arising from social and economic disadvantage.
Linda is currently CEO of the Chartered Governance Institute, a global body offering qualifications, training and CPD to a community of chartered governance professionals in 80 countries worldwide. Promoting governance as a strategic-enabler and stabilising force she supports business leaders to navigate the challenges and opportunities of AI, cyber resilience, geo-political and economic instability and ESG.
Previously at the Cyber Security Council, she led a governance review and created a professional standards framework that provides those working in cyber security a progressive career pathway to Chartered status and professional registration.
During her nine year tenure as CEO of the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives she championed the first non-university vocational training-based route into the law and established the CILEX Judicial Academy providing opportunity for lawyers from non-traditional backgrounds to pursue judicial appointment. She secured legislative and policy reforms removing out-dated and discriminatory restrictions to equality of opportunity, and established a new profession of Chartered Paralegal.
In her non-executive roles Linda has advised on governance reforms, business and system transformation programmes and the development of models of independent regulation, continuing professional development and technical competency frameworks. She holds NED roles with AAT, RCVS, NAFD and is Chair of the Alliance Schools Multi Academy Trust.
