Senior Management Team (SMT)

Cristina Nicolotti Squires is Group Director for Broadcast and Media, leading Ofcom's work to support a healthy and vibrant broadcasting sector which serves all UK TV, radio and video on demand services in an ever changing and fast-moving landscape.

Cristina joined Ofcom after 35 years as a journalist with a deep background in the commercial sector. She came to Ofcom from Sky where she was Director of Content at Sky News and responsible for the output across TV, online, radio/podcasts and documentaries. Before that she was at ITN for 22 years in a number of roles including stints as a field producer on locations around the world, programme editor of ITV’s News At Ten flagship programme and Editor of 5 News on Channel 5. Her proudest career moment was winning the RTS Award for News Programme of the Year in 2010, not just for the award – but for the judges’ citation which declared it the programme that “got Britain”. That deep connection with audiences is what has led her to Ofcom where she is passionate about ensuring we safeguard all audiences across the whole of the UK.

David Willis is Group Director for Spectrum, responsible for leading Ofcom's work managing the UK's airwaves.

David has 30 years of technology and telecoms experience in government and industry. Before joining Ofcom, he was President of the Communications Research Centre, the Government of Canada's research centre for advanced wireless telecommunications, spectrum management and helping to improve broadband services for Canadians.

Before this, David led the Spectrum Engineering and Planning team at Innovation Science and Economic Development Canada. Here his work included international spectrum standards; wireless spectrum engineering and planning; satellite spectrum policy, licensing and coordination; and leading the Canadian delegation at the 2019 World Radiocommunication Conference.

David has also held leadership roles in product management, operations and engineering at BlackBerry and Nortel Networks.

Gill Whitehead was appointed Ofcom’s Group Director for Online Safety at the end of 2022, formally taking on her role in April 2023 when the new Online Safety Group was formed. She oversees Ofcom’s new duties as the UK regulator for online safety.

Before this, Gill was the inaugural Chief Executive of the UK’s Digital Regulation Cooperation Forum (DRCF) where she established the DRCF as a world-leading approach to implementing digital regulation.

Gill spent four years as Google UK’s Senior Director of Client Solutions & Analytics, leading teams in data analysis, measurement, user experience, consumer segmentation, having previously led their Market Insights across EMEA. Gill previously worked at Channel Four and BBC Worldwide in a variety of strategy leadership and technology-driven roles, beginning her career at the Bank of England and Deloitte Consulting.

Gill holds a Master’s degree at the University of Oxford’s Internet Institute and spent two years conducting academic research in her interest areas of data markets and data access.

Gill is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants. She is a Non-Executive Director and Audit Committee Chair of Informa plc, the British Olympic Association, and Chair of the Board for The Rugby World Cup 2025.

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Jessica Hill joined Ofcom in 2022 and has been People and Culture Director since February 2024. She has over 20 years’ experience delivering strategic HR in global professional services. She is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.

Jessica is a trustee for a small charity that supports people struggling with a variety of personal and economical challenges in one of the poorest parts of the UK.

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Kate Davies joined Ofcom in 2016 and has been Public Policy Director since 2021, supporting Ofcom’s work across communications, media and online sectors, and engaging with policy makers across the UK. Kate also oversees Ofcom’s work in the Digital Regulation Cooperation Forum. Previously Kate was Director of Strategy at Ofcom for three years.

Before joining Ofcom, Kate worked in a range of roles in HM Treasury, the Department for Work and Pensions and the third sector. Kate was Head of Spending Strategy at HM Treasury, responsible for the delivery of the 2015 Spending Review.

Kate has an MSc in Development and Population from LSE, and an MA Joint Hons in History and English from the University of Edinburgh.

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Lindsey Fussell joined in Ofcom in 2016 and is Group Director for Networks and Communications, leading Ofcom’s work in the telecoms, post and network sectors, where we aim to protect consumers’ interests and promote competition. She was appointed to the Ofcom Board in December 2020.

Before joining Ofcom, Lindsey held a range of senior leadership roles in the Civil Service. She was Public Services Director at HM Treasury, where she led on devolution, education and culture, defence and criminal justice, and was responsible for delivering key aspects of the 2013 and 2015 Spending Reviews. Lindsey is also a lay member of York University’s governing Council.

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Luisa Affuso is our Chief Economist and Economics Group Director, leading our economists who help to ensure our decisions are underpinned by expert economic analysis.

Luisa has over twenty years’ experience in the application of competition, regulatory, and industrial economics. She specialises in applying economic and econometric analysis to complex competition and regulatory questions.

Luisa joined Ofcom in October 2018 from PwC, where she headed the Competition Economics advisory practice.

Before becoming an economic consultant, Luisa was Director of Studies and Fellow in Economics at Robinson College, Cambridge; and a Research Fellow at Cambridge and then the London Business School. She is currently a Senior Member of Robinson College.

Luisa was educated at the University of Warwick, where she obtained an MSc and PhD in Economics. She holds a BSc and Doctorate in Economics from the University of Naples (Federico II), Italy.

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Martin Ballantyne is Ofcom’s General Counsel and Legal Group Director. He has been a Legal Director in Ofcom’s Legal Group since 2011, and provides advice for all policy areas within Ofcom, as well as overseeing litigation when our decisions are challenged in the courts.

Before joining Ofcom, Martin worked as a competition lawyer at the city firm, Macfarlanes. He studied law at the Universities of Exeter, and Tübingen, Germany.

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Dame Melanie Dawes joined Ofcom as an Executive Board Member and Chief Executive on 2 March 2020.

Prior to joining Ofcom, Melanie was Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (2015-2020). She has held senior roles across the Civil Service, working in partnership across the public and private sectors. She became the overall Champion for Diversity and Inclusion in the Civil Service in 2019.

She started her career as an economist and spent 15 years at the Treasury, including as Europe Director. She was Director General of the Economic and Domestic Affairs Secretariat at the Cabinet Office between 2011 and 2015, and prior to that she served on the Board of HMRC as Head of Business Tax. She was Director General for Business Tax from November 2007, which involved responsibility for all the business taxes and duties as well as leadership of the department’s relationships with big business. From 2009, she also led the development of HMRC’s overall strategy as a department.

She has held non-executive roles including with the consumer body Which? and is a trustee of the Patchwork Foundation, which promotes the participation of under-represented young people in democracy.

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Melissa Tatton is Ofcom’s Chief Operating Officer and Corporate Group Director, overseeing our internal corporate functions, such as our Finance and People teams, Consumer Contact Centre and external relations teams.

Before joining Ofcom in September 2020, Melissa held a range of senior leadership roles at public bodies, most recently as CEO of the Valuation Office Agency and Tax Assurance Commissioner for HMRC. Melissa was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in June 2016.

Melissa is Vice Chair at Queen Mary University of London.

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Simon is Ofcom's Communications Director. He's worked for some of the world’s biggest media, consumer and tech organisations, developing and delivering their communication and political engagement strategies.

Before joining Ofcom he ran European Public Affairs for Google. He also led comms for Salesforce EMEA, and built the corporate affairs function for Starbucks in Europe.

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Yih-Choung Teh is our Group Director for Strategy and Research.

Yih-Choung was previously a Director in Ofcom’s Competition Group, where he has worked on issues including Ofcom’s strategy to encourage investment in telecoms infrastructure such as full-fibre networks.

Before joining Ofcom, Yih-Choung worked for a strategy consultancy in the telecoms sector, providing policy and strategy advice to public and private sector clients globally.

Yih-Choung has held an academic research post in the University of Oxford, having completed a DPhil in Mathematics, researching mathematical models of communication networks. He also has an MA in Mathematics and a Diploma in Mathematical Statistics, both from the University of Cambridge.

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