Governance

History

History

A strong pedigree

IPSE has been representing the interests of the self-employed since 1999. IPSE was originally formed as the Professional Contractors Group to provide independent contractors and consultants with a representative voice in opposition to the original IR35 proposals. 

Over time IPSE evolved from being a single-issue campaign group to a fully-fledged, not-for-profit professional body, and into the largest association of self employed in the UK.

We've had some notable successes over the years:

  • Protection from IR35: IPSE has successfully helped thousands of members with IR35. Thanks to our expert advice and insurance, freelancers who are IPSE members are half as likely to pay extra tax under IR35 than those who aren’t. 
  • Small Business Commissioner: we were instrumental in establishing this newly created Government post, aimed at naming and shaming companies with a late payment culture.  
  • Modern Employment Review: IPSE called for and directly fed into the Government-commissioned review of solo working published in 2017, and has joined a Ministerial advisory panel on how the review will be implemented.
  • Tax relief for work-related travel and subsistence: in 2015 the Government announced it was planning to curtail the vital tax freelancers rely on for work travel. IPSE’s extensive lobbying and media campaign ensured the plans were shelved. 
  • Intra-company transfers: these rules allow companies to transfer specialist staff between countries to address skills shortages, but are sometimes exploited to reduce contractors’ fees. IPSE successfully brought about a change in the rules to tackle this exploitation.
  • Section 660 win in the House of Lords: IPSE successfully backed two members all the way to the House of Lords in a case involving punitive and retrospective changes to tax law, and the case was consequently thrown out. 

 

For more information on IPSE’s current campaigning work visit the Policy section of the site.

IPSE Board of Directors

IPSE Board of Directors

The Chair and Directors of IPSE are responsible for the organisation's strategic direction. All are non-executive directors and from time-to-time they may appoint executive directors as required. IPSE's executive team look after the day-to-day operations of the organisation. 

Meet the team

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Iain Sturrock

Elected Non-Executive Director, Chair

After a Short Career Commission in the Royal Navy, Iain worked in telecoms for 20 years in increasingly senior management roles. He left corporate life in 2001 and has worked in executive interim roles since, leading major transformation programmes for blue-chip companies and SMEs and providing due diligence and advisory services to private equity. He has previous experience of serving on not-for-profit boards including as Vice-President and Trustee of the IET, Chair of Audit Committee and Member of Senate of the Engineering Council and as a founding director of the Engineering and Technology Board. He has also served as Chair of Governors of Bisham CE School.

He is a Chartered Engineer, holds a post-graduate diploma in accounting and finance and is a graduate of the FT Non-Executive Director Diploma programme. He was awarded an MBE in 2003 for “Services to Business and Engineering”. Iain is married with 4 children and lives in Berkshire.

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Joe Woodhouse

Elected Non-Executive Director

Having been an IPSE member for five years, Joe brings a wealth of IT contracting and board-level experience to the IPSE board. Having initially operated overseas as an IT contractor from 2003, Joe has since freelanced in the UK from 2017. 

For the past three years, Joe has played an important role within the IPSE Policy and Research Committee, sharing his own experiences of self-employment with the group whilst also bringing ideas for policy development.

Working mainly in the banking sector and operating through his own limited company, Joe experienced firsthand the impact of the IR35 reforms. Wanting to share this experience with fellow IPSE members and raise awareness, Joe has even penned a piece on IR35 as part of IPSE’s ‘Secret Contractor’ series. 

Joe hopes that IPSE will be able to draw on his vast array of IT contracting experience and his insight for how IPSE operates behind the scenes to ultimately advance the organisation. 

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Rosie Halfhead

Non-Executive Director

Rosie holds non-executive director and advisory board roles which she combines with her work as a consultant and mentor to independent professionals, small businesses, and start-ups.

She has deep expertise in stakeholder relations; shaping purpose and values-led strategies; reputational risk management; business transformation and change communication.

Rosie believes in shared prosperity and that business has a critical role to play in serving society through inclusive, sustainable and consciously responsible leadership.

Her multi-decade corporate career included top leadership roles in global financial technology, pan-European market research and pan-Asian professional services.

She has founded and run consulting businesses in three countries. Her clients have come from a wide range of industries and sectors including banking, manufacturing, technology services, fintech, property development, data analytics, trade associations, campaigning organisations and executive coaching.

Born and educated in the UK Rosie then moved abroad to live and work in Belgium and Hong Kong where she was an active member of both the British and American Chambers of Commerce. She returned to the UK in 2017. Based in London she regularly visits Belgium where her adult daughters and young grandchildren live.

 

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Hamish Stewart

Elected Non-Executive Director

Hamish Stewart joins the IPSE Board bringing experience from a varied career as a Finance Director, CEO, auditor and consultant – working in the UK, Africa, the USA, Germany and the South Atlantic.

Hamish is a graduate Economist and Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales and has been an IPSE member since 2019.   He trained and qualified with Deloitte in London, and then worked in a series of finance and management roles in East Africa in the private sector before being transferred to Germany in the agro-chemical industry as an international controller and accountant.

As a committed climate activist, he supported a series of corporate German green initiatives, attending several COP climate conferences, and being seconded as the CFO of the Climate KIC in Europe.  He then had a stint as CEO of a small island state managing the Ascension Government service and portfolio of public projects, before returning to the UK to join a large public funded malaria project as its finance manager.

In 2019 Hamish moved into the High-End TV and film world as a freelance Production Accountant – realising a long-held ambition to be in the movies and see his name in the credits! Working in film he saw first-hand the needs of a large body of freelance crew not being served – and appreciated the potential for IPSE.

In his spare time Hamish is a Rotarian – looking for ways to help the community and the planet, and is also a “hobby potter” working with clay and glazes to produce ceramic pottery.  Hamish is married to Sue, and they have 3 adult children.

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Derek Cribb

CEO

Derek Cribb joined IPSE in 2020 as CEO, and has over a decade of experience leading award winning membership bodies.

Derek has broad leadership experience in a number of contract and permanent roles across the public, private and not-for- profit sectors. His roles have ranged from Chief Operating Officer at the Pension Protection Fund and CFO of Barclays UK Customers and Products to senior positions in the music, food, logistics, outsourcing and technology sectors.

Derek is also Senior Independent Non-Executive Director at China Taiping Insurance UK, Co-Founder of a technology start-up, a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine. He studied at Imperial College London, graduating with Honours in Chemistry, and undertook PhD research in Mechanical Engineering.

On a personal level, Derek is married to Tessa for 27 years and has two adult children. Derek is a keen golfer, cook and cyclist – somehow managing to overlook that a love of food is not entirely consistent with the physique needed for success on two wheels.

Phil Cowhig
Phil Cowhig

Elected Non-Executive Director

Phil has been a long-standing IPSE member, joining the IPSE community fourteen years ago. In that time, he has worked through both a limited company and an umbrella company so is well-placed to understand the many trial and tribulations of IR35 and its impact on IPSE members.

Phil’s career in self-employment spans an impressive thirty-five years, several industries and both start-ups and corporates.

Having also volunteered as the Chair of the Board of Trustees for a Citizens Advice charity, he also brings a wealth of board-level skills and experience to the IPSE board.

Phil hopes that IPSE will be able to draw on his knowledge of the IPSE community and aims to further equip members with skills and tools to stay ahead in an ever-changing digital landscape whilst keeping IPSE at the forefront of the sector.

 

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IPSE Senior Leadership Team

IPSE Senior Leadership Team

Meet the team

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Derek Cribb

CEO

Derek Cribb joined IPSE in 2020 as CEO, and has over a decade of experience leading award winning membership bodies.

Derek has broad leadership experience in a number of contract and permanent roles across the public, private and not-for- profit sectors. His roles have ranged from Chief Operating Officer at the Pension Protection Fund and CFO of Barclays UK Customers and Products to senior positions in the music, food, logistics, outsourcing and technology sectors.

Derek is also Senior Independent Non-Executive Director at China Taiping Insurance UK, Co-Founder of a technology start-up, a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine. He studied at Imperial College London, graduating with Honours in Chemistry, and undertook PhD research in Mechanical Engineering.

On a personal level, Derek is married to Tessa for 27 years and has two adult children. Derek is a keen golfer, cook and cyclist – somehow managing to overlook that a love of food is not entirely consistent with the physique needed for success on two wheels.

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Andy Chamberlain

Director of Policy

Andy is responsible for IPSE’s tax policy and has a special interest in labour market changes, employment status, IR35 and Making Tax Digital. In 2015 he led IPSE’s campaign against proposals to restrict travel and subsistence tax relief for incorporated entities. Andy worked with EY to develop IPSE’s concept for a new corporate form – the Freelancer Limited Company – which would deliver clarity of legal and tax status for the smallest businesses, while also protecting revenue for the Exchequer. He has a long-standining interest in IR35 and has been highlighting the damaging impact of IR35 reforms in the public and private sector on the self-employed.

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Vicks Rodwell

Director of Membership

Vicks joined IPSE at the end of 2019 as Head of Partnerships and is now our Director of Membership.

She’s had an eclectic career spent helping entrepreneurs and senior leaders grow their businesses. She’s passionate about understanding people’s pain points and providing solutions to help them succeed. With a member first approach she’s grown multiple highly engaged communities as well as developed training programmes such as IPSE’s Incubator to provide people with practical advice they can implement. With IPSE she’s proud to champion the extraordinary levels of talent the self-employed bring to the UK economy.

Outside of work Vicks enjoys spending time with her family and their cockapoo. She’s a massive foodie, having studied at Leiths, and is a passionate champion of British wine.

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Ankita Patel

Finance Director

A fully qualified accountant (ACCA) with over 10 years of Financial Controller experience in small and medium sized organisations. Ankita joined IPSE in 2023 as Finance Director.

 

IPSE Documents

IPSE Documents

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Contains:

  • AGM minutes
  • Financial statements
  • Other reports

 

IPSE Members Forum

IPSE Members Forum

The Members’ Forum will bring IPSE and members even closer together making IPSE more democratic and giving us all the opportunity to develop a dynamic and positive dialogue to truly represent and be the voice of the wider membership. Here are your Forum Leaders:

Meet the members

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Andrew Comley

Consultant Naval Architect

Andrew Comley is a Consultant Naval Architect, who runs A Comley Limited a company that provides “Asset Integrity through Neurodiversity”. He became a freelancer in 2008 when offered the opportunity to freelance for one of his previous employers and has been providing an ever-increasing range of services since. These days that encompasses both theoretical and practical engineering, ranging from writing scopes of work for the underwater inspection of offshore floating production units through to designing and building bespoke camera mounts for the quarrying industry. He is a dad, Aspergerian, and suffers chronic pain, so running a micro-business allows him to fit his work around his private life. As a result, he advocates freelancing for the disabled as a way to empower and live independently.

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Faye Dicker

Voiceover artist and founder of Freelance Mum

Faye Dicker; a voiceover artist and founder of Freelance Mum – the award-winning child- friendly networking group. Freelance Mum was born of my own need, being a freelance voiceover artist, trying to juggle motherhood around business. There wasn’t a group that catered for mums like me, so I set one up! They’re brilliantly bonkers. 

When I’m not busy running FM, I’m recording voiceover sessions, from my home studio in Bristol. I can be heard on Leapfrog TV adverts, national campaigns for Matalan and Hurrah for Gin.

I won Freelance Ambassador of the year award in 2018 and Top 100 Inspirational Woman in the West in 2018 and 2019, for my work with Freelance Mum. I love cycling my children to school in my cargo bike and can be found in my ‘free time’ swimming in the local Lido! I’m passionate about supporting mums in business and love chatting about ‘freelance life’.

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Frances Varley

Project consultancy and business analysis

I have been freelancing for over 6 years. I provide project consultancy and business analysis services to other businesses, both large and small.

I live with my husband who is also a freelancer in the cycling industry, and we have three (sort of) grown up children all of whom are actually self-employed too! Helping them carve their own niche has helped me get other perspectives on self-employment for young people.

Working on the IPSE forum gives me the opportunity to work with and for other members to ensure the issues we care about are addressed. I am particularly interested in ways in which freelancers can grow their businesses and create new revenue streams. 

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Gemma Church

Science and technology journalist

Gemma Church is "the freelance writer who gets tech". Based in Cambridgeshire, she's a specialist science and technology journalist, blogger and copywriter, with degrees in physics and astrophysics. Gemma is also a former software developer and began her writing career 15 years ago with Bluesci, Cambridge University’s science and technology magazine. 

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Gianni Frankis

Teacher and former GB International athlete

Gianni Frankis is a former GB International in the 110m hurdles having won medals at World and European levels and breaking age group records along the way. Currently, he is a speaker and workshop facilitator in schools while also running a coaching company with his former coach Tony Jarrett called "110% Beyond Your Limits".

Gianni, with his experience in teaching and professional sport, joins the members forum to give the education sector and athletes and coaches a voice within the self-employed landscape where he feels they are severely underrepresented.

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Katy Carlisle

Owner of The Wheel Exists

Katy Carlisle has been freelance since 2013 and runs The Wheel Exists, a Squarespace web design and training business. In 2015 she set up Freelance Folk, a community focused on bringing freelancers together through popup coworking events. She's also co-host of the 99 Problems (but a boss ain't one) podcast. Katy recently moved to Anglesey, achieving a lifelong dream of living by the sea, and now takes advantage of freelancing to go surfing more regularly. She was a finalist in the 2016 IPSE Freelancer of the Year awards and winner of the IPSE Ambassador of the Year award in 2017.

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Melissa Holloway

Freelance medical copywriter

Melissa Holloway is a freelance medical copywriter for healthcare specialist advertising agencies. She is also a marketing and strategy consultant to companies with an interest in diabetes care. A member of IPSE since 2014, Melissa was a Runner-Up in the 2017 Freelancer of the Year Awards. She has supported IPSE’s educational outreach programmes, policy initiatives and press activities. Melissa is also involved with JDRF, the type 1 diabetes charity, as well as local organisations in Pimlico, central London, where she lives with her husband and two young children.

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Sue Carter

Technology and digital product professional

Sue is an experienced technology and digital product professional, having held senior positions in public, private and not-for-profit organisations. She has provided consultation for leaders in a variety of sectors, including media, public service, health, SaaS and government. She is customer and audience driven, with a constant focus on identifying areas for improving her clients’ businesses and developing their people. With a strong background in publishing and journalism, Sue also advises on communications, story-telling and content sharing. Sue is Co-Chair of Byte Night Wales, which raises money to prevent youth homelessness, and is also a trustee for Early Years Wales.

 

To contact the Members' Forum, please email [email protected]

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