The latest addition to the panel charged with assessing candidates for chair at Ofcom is Michael Simmonds. Michael, 57 (International School of London, University of Leeds) started out as a researcher at the Adam Smith Institute in 1986. He became Special Adviser to Nicholas Ridley at the DTI in 1989, and worked at the BBC Political Research Unit from '92 to '94. Then back to politics as SpAd to Brian Mawhinney, before becoming Conservative Party Director of Membership and Marketing.
In 2000 he moved to consultancy and polling with Live Strategy, before it became Populus in 2003, with Andrew Cooper; the pair were described by Iain Dale as 'Tory modernisers'. He's still a director, though they're now called Yonder Consulting.
Michael is married to Nick Gibb, former Conservative education minister and brother of BBC non-executive director Sir Robbie Gibb. There is no obvious record of Michael serving on a public appointments panel before this gig.
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