Steve Freer – Chairman
Steve’s career has taken in senior roles in three large local authorities, a period in management consultancy with Coopers and Lybrand, and a lengthy tenure (2000-2013) as the Chief Executive of the Chartered Institute of Public Finance & Accountancy.
He has a particular interest in public financial management and has served on or advised a number of prominent inquiries focusing on local government finance. He was a member of the Balance of Funding Steering Group, chaired by Nick Raynsford MP, which reported in 2004, and an adviser to Sir Michael Lyons’ Inquiry into the future role, function and funding of local government, ‘Place-shaping: a shared ambition for the future of local government’, which reported in March 2007. He was also a member of the London Finance Commission, chaired by Prof Tony Travers, which published its report ‘Raising the Capital’ in May 2013. Over the years Steve has also held a number of non-executive/advisory roles. Of particular relevance to his position as Chairman of PSAA are his role as Non-Executive Director of the National Audit Office (2005-09), his trusteeship of the Centre for Public Scrutiny (2004-13), and his membership of HM Treasury Whole of Government Accounts Assurance Committee (2010-13).
Marta Phillips OBE CA – Board member
Marta joined the PSAA Board in April 2021 and became Chair of PSAA’s Audit Committee in April 2022.
Marta is a Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland. She has over 40 years of finance experience and significant experience of the public sector, having been a civil servant since 1993, and a senior civil servant from 2000 until 2013. Her last appointment was as the Chief Executive of the Pensions Advisory Service (2010 – 2013) having previously held the positions of Director of Compliance, and Director of Compliance and Resources at the National Lottery Commission from 1999 to 2010. Prior to this she was Head of Finance, European Social Fund at the Department for Education and Skills from 1993 to 1999.
Over recent years Marta has developed a portfolio career and brings non-executive board experience to a number of organisations, including the Nursing and Midwifery Council, the Restoration and Renewal of the Palace of Westminster, the London Fire Brigade and MOPAC / Metropolitan Police Service.
More recently she chairs the London Fire Brigade’s Audit Committee and that of the Non-Ministerial Department for the State of Jersey. She is also a Council Member for the University of Newcastle upon Tyne and a Court Member of Heriot Watt University and has several other commitments in the higher education sector.
Marta read BA (Hons) Economics and Accounting and MSc Computing Science at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne. She was awarded an OBE in the 2006 New Year’s Honours List.
Councillor Keith House – Board member
Keith joined the PSAA Board in December 2017.
Keith was first elected to Eastleigh Borough Council in 1991 and has been Council Leader since 1994.
Keith is also a county councillor, having been elected to Hampshire County Council in 2005, and is a member of Hedge End Town Council and Bursledon Parish Council.
He served three terms on the board of Homes England, is a director of the Housing and Finance Institute Ltd (not for profit), is an Honorary Member of the Royal Town Planning Institute and is Deputy Chair of the Local Government Association’s Resources Board.
Fraser McKinlay – Board member
Fraser joined the PSAA Board in March 2022.
Fraser is the Chief Executive Officer of The Promise Scotland and sits on the Board of Directors.
He spent 16 years working for Audit Scotland, including ten years as Controller of Audit and Director of Performance Audit and Best Value (PABV).
As Controller of Audit (CoA), Fraser reported to the Accounts Commission on all matters relating to the audit of local authorities in Scotland. In his ten years as CoA, he produced over 60 Best Value audit reports across all local authorities, alongside many other statutory reports.
As Director of PABV, Fraser was responsible for performance audit across all sectors of public services in Scotland. This work focused on governance, financial sustainability, outcomes and value for money.
Before joining Audit Scotland, Fraser was a public services consultant with Eglinton in Edinburgh and KPMG in London. He specialised in leadership, change management, facilitation and process improvement.
From October 2021 to January 2023, Fraser was a member of the Independent Oversight and Assurance Group for Mental Health Services in Tayside.
Fraser holds a Postgraduate Diploma (with Distinction) in Strategic Leadership from Warwick Business School, and a degree in Industrial Relations from the University of Strathclyde. He is a member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.
Mike O’Donnell – Board member
Mike joined the PSAA Board in April 2022.
Mike is an experienced Chief Executive Officer, Chief Finance Officer and Non Executive Director (NED) with interests in public finance, housing, pensions and investments.
He is now focused on a portfolio of NED and advisory roles. Alongside his role at PSAA, he is also a Board member of Local Pensions Partnership Administration and a NED and Senior Advisor UK for XTP, a specialist consultant supporting asset owners on transparency, cost and risk.
Mike was previously the Chief Executive Officer and a Board member of London CIV Ltd. which he joined in March 2019. London CIV is the pension pool for the London boroughs and the City of London. Prior to that he spent over 15 years as a local government finance and corporate services director, having spent 13 years at the London Borough of Camden and, more latterly, undertaking interim finance director roles at Birmingham City Council and the London Borough of Newham.
Mike is a former President of the Society of London Treasurers and a former Chair of the London Finance Advisory Committee. He is also a former NED and Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee of the London Pension Fund Authority and was previously an Associate Director for Local Government for the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy.