General Optical Council

The General Optical Council (GOC) has appointed Josephine Lloyd and Alistair Bridge to its senior management team.

GOC chief executive and registrar Samantha Peters said, “Josephine and Alistair will both bring a wealth of experience to the GOC. It is vital that we have the right leadership in place to continue protecting the public through fair, effective and proportionate regulation; I look forward to working with Josephine and Alistair at this time of regulatory change.”

Josephine Lloyd, Director of Resources

Josephine will be responsible for ensuring that the organisation continues to work effectively and embrace modernisation while using its retention fee income efficiently. She will manage the GOC’s budget and resources.

Josephine said: “It’s vital that the GOC maximises its resources to deliver effective public protection. We must build on the success of projects such as online retention to ensure that the GOC is best-equipped to deliver its mission.”

Josephine has held a number of senior finance and resources roles in both the private and public sectors. She is a qualified accountant and has managed large budgets and staff teams in a wide variety of organisations.

Alistair Bridge, Director of Policy and Communications

Alistair will ensure the GOC stays one step ahead of changing circumstances in optics and regulation. He will lead its work with the Law Commissions to enable it to be best-placed to continue protecting the public. He will manage strategy, communications and stakeholder engagement.

Alistair said: “The regulatory landscape is going through a period of extensive change. We must maximise this opportunity to shape our legal framework to best protect the public.”

Alistair has extensive regulatory experience, having worked in policy, strategy and communications for communications regulator Ofcom and the Communications Consumer Panel, the independent statutory body that champions consumers’ interests. He is also a qualified solicitor.

ENDS

For further information please contact:
Simon Grier
Acting Communications Manager
General Optical Council
t: 020 7307 3478
e: sgrier@optical.org

 

NOTES FOR EDITORS

1. Josephine Lloyd started at the GOC on Thursday 1 November. Alistair Bridge started today, Monday 5 November.

2. You can find Josephine and Alistair’s full biographies at http://www.optical.org/en/about_us/People/senior-management-team.cfm

3 Photographs of Josephine and Alistair are available on request.

About the General Optical Council:
The GOC is the regulator for the optical professions in the UK. Its purpose is to protect the public by promoting high standards of education, conduct and performance amongst opticians. The Council currently registers around 25,000 optometrists, dispensing opticians, student opticians and optical businesses.