Speaker Bio

The Rt Hon Lord Maude of Horsham
Francis Maude has nearly four decades of high-level international
experience in business and government.
Between his two periods of political and public service, Francis Maude was
Global Head of Privatisation at Morgan Stanley. In his early ministerial
career, he served as Margaret Thatcher’s Minister for Europe and Hong
Kong/China, Minister for Corporate Affairs, and Financial Secretary to the
Treasury until he left Parliament in 1992. After re-election in 1997, he
served as Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer, Shadow Foreign Secretary
and Chairman of the Conservative Party.
Success in the 2010 election saw Francis appointed Minister for the Cabinet
Office and Paymaster General. Under his leadership, the British Government
became world leader for digital government, creating the Government
Digital Service (GDS) now replicated by governments across the globe. He
drove the government’s cost-cutting programme, structural and cultural
reforms to the Civil Service and reformed the commercial function of
government, renegotiating contracts and cutting costs. This programme
delivered over £52 billion of savings.
Francis also led the Government’s programmes on open data and
transparency, cyber security, and social investment. He guided the UK to be
the top-ranked country for open government; chaired the newly-formed
Open Government Partnership (OGP), now joined by over seventy
governments, and created a “modern privatisation” programme, spinning
out over 100 public services into staff-led private and social enterprises. He
was also responsible for the creation of the world’s first social investment
bank, Big Society Capital.
Most recently, as Minister for Trade and Investment, he led international
trade negotiations and initiated substantial reform of Britain’s export
promotion agency. Francis was responsible for the UK’s inward investment
programme, which was the most successful in Europe.
Since leaving government in 2016, Francis has chaired FMA, a
practitioner-led venture that supports governments to implement reform;
to save money, improve public services and build lasting capability.