Meet the ICAS team

Role & Responsibilities
The Chief Executive is responsible for leading the development and execution of the ICAS Strategy and business plan, as well as ensuring that ICAS fulfils its purpose, vision and values. He or she is appointed by the Office Bearers and reports directly to the ICAS Council.

Experience
Bruce was appointed Chief Executive in March 2018 having initially joined ICAS in May 2017 as Executive Director, Policy Leadership.

As Head of PwC’s Scottish Corporate Restructuring practice from 2001-2016, Bruce led the team on a number of high-profile solvent and insolvent corporate restructures in Scotland and abroad. His final significant assignment was as one of the Global Receivers in the Receivership of OW Bunker, a $17 billion turnover Danish-listed company supplying fuel to the global shipping market.

Bruce qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 1989. Following an initial period in the Assurance practice he spent the vast majority of his professional career in PwC’s restructuring team. Primarily working across the UK, he also worked in Malaysia, Central Europe and Denmark. He was seconded to Royal Bank of Scotland and Carnaud Metal Box during his PwC career. Bruce also spent one year at Ernst & Young.

Bruce is also a former member of Council and chaired the Insolvency Committee, Technical Policy Board and Oversight Committee in relation to Scottish Independence.

Chris was appointed Chief Financial Offer of ICAS in April 2022 joining from Peter Vardy Automotive Group where he was Group Finance Director and was responsible for Financial Control, Financial Planning & Reporting, Tax, Treasury, IT and Compliance.

Prior to joining Peter Vardy, Chris worked at J Sainsbury’s plc in a number of Senior Finance positions. He led the Financial Planning & Transformation team for Sainsbury’s during a period of significant change in the Grocery market, he was  Finance Director for Netto Limited, a joint venture with Salling Group A/S (Denmark’s Largest Retailer) to set up a new discount supermarket chain in the UK and he led the Efficiency Transformation Programme to improve productivity & efficiency at Sainsbury’s Bank.

Chris qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 2004. Starting at Arthur Andersen, he then moved to Deloitte where he worked for 9 years across Audit & Assurance and Corporate Finance. He specialised in Advertising & Media and spent the majority of his time working on a FTSE 100 Multinational Advertising, PR & Communications company headquartered in London.

Role & Responsibilities
The Executive Director of Customer Experience leads the teams in ICAS which are responsible for delivering services to Members and Students. He or she ensures that ICAS meets its commitment to offering the highest possible level of service to all customers. The role also includes executive management of ICAS’ digital and IT functions.

Experience
Carolyn Spencer is Executive Director Customer Experience. The Customer Experience team is a newly formed team focussed on delivering an excellent service to ICAS Members, Students and Firms. The service will continue to be personal, befitting of a Membership organisation, it will enable channels of choice in a sustainable, digital first and secure manner.

Carolyn started her career in the electronics industry, with a particular emphasis on process improvement and quality assurance. This led to the development into the Digital and Change arena, where, prior to joining ICAS she led a Global Digital Operations team. Carolyn joined ICAS in 2014 and led the Digital Transformation activities. In her current role, she will continue to work with the ICAS team on process improvement, technology and innovation.

Role & Responsibilities
The Executive Director of Member Engagement & Communications is responsible for ensuring that ICAS has a strong and supportive relationship with its Members and Students and to raise the profile of ICAS externally. This involves the development and execution of effective engagement and communication strategies, brand and marketing campaigns, the amplification of Thought Leadership as well as continued focus on the content on icas.com and across all our digital channels.

Experience
Sarah Speirs is the Executive Director of Member Engagement and Communications at ICAS and joined the team in April 2019.

Sarah’s focus will be on growing membership engagement, delivering value, developing ICAS’ communications strategy and promoting our external voice and influence with Governments and stakeholders.

She possesses an extensive knowledge of working for a professional body having worked for RICS, both in London and Edinburgh for over 19 years. She brings with her a wealth of experience and a formidable strategy and communications background having led and deployed many high-impact global membership engagement campaigns. She also possesses a strong background in public policy, media relations, brand development, marketing and influencing. Prior to joining RICS, Sarah spent 6 years working in the education sector.

Sarah has also held a number of Non-Executive Director roles having previously been a Director of the Scottish Arbitration Centre; a Council Member of NHBC; a Director of Safe Deposits Scotland and a Director of the Scottish Building Contracts Committee.

Sarah has an MBA from Napier University and is a member of both CIPR and CMI.

Role & Responsibilities
The Executive Director of Regulation is responsible for ensuring that ICAS delivers its regulatory functions and strategy, working closely with ICAS’ Regulation Board. He or she ensures that professional standards are maintained through effective processes for licensing, monitoring, investigation and disciplinary matters.

Experience
Robert Mudge is a qualified solicitor, working in civil litigation before joining ICAS in 2009. From 2011 to 2021, he held the position of Director of Investigations at ICAS, with responsibility for the complaints function. He has been engaged in regulatory policy throughout his time at ICAS, working closely with the authorisation and monitoring teams.

As Executive Director, Robert has responsibility for the various regulatory functions of ICAS, ensuring that ICAS is a leading regulator and that our CA Members, firms and affiliates adhere to the highest professional and technical standards.

Role & Responsibilities

The Executive Director of Learning is responsible for all aspects of the delivery, examination and development of the CA qualification. This involves ensuring we offer an advanced business and accountancy syllabus that is structured to deliver the skills and knowledge to equip future leaders to succeed and meet the challenges of the future. With a focus on continuous improvement, innovative delivery methods and upholding the integrity of the qualification to the highest of standards, the Executive Director of Learning aims to meet the learning and professional development needs of our students, their firms and our Members.

Experience

Gail Boag is the Executive Director of Learning at ICAS and joined the team in February 2022. Previously Dean of The Business School at Edinburgh Napier University, one of the biggest Business Schools in Scotland with a reputation for programmes that are closely connected to industry, Gail held the role of Dean for four years and developed a deep understanding of learning in a higher education environment. However, she does not describe herself an academic. She has spent the majority of her career working with a diverse mix of organisations, from large global corporations and national public-sector bodies, to small, innovative start-ups, through a variety of leadership roles in commercial management, business development, strategic contract delivery and business transformation.

She was Director for BT Scotland until January 2018, responsible for the direction, engagement and strategic management of BT's activity across their client base and a member of the BT Scotland Board.

Gail studied at the University of Stirling, Scotland and Texas A&M University, USA. She is an Associate Fellow of The Higher Education Academy and has a number of Board memberships and Trustee positions.