HRH The Princess Royal
Patron
For more than 30 years, BQF has been at the heart of the UK Excellence movement, championing best practices, fostering innovation, and bringing together a thriving community dedicated to continuous improvement. BQF has played a pivotal role in shaping the landscape of organisational Excellence across industries.
The members’ dedication to Excellence not only strengthens their organisations but also inspires others to raise their own aspirations. By striving for continuous improvement, they contribute to a culture of innovation and best practice throughout.“
Karen Leftley
President
Karen is the founder and MD of @Boomster Consulting which she created in March 2019. She is a business transformation professional with over 30 years of change, project delivery and operational experience. She has an extensive background in leading large change and project teams in a FTSE 100 company delivering sustainable cultural change. She has a deep passion and understanding of what it takes to create a culture of continuous improvement and has built a strong track record in being able to engage, empower and unlock the potential of teams to deliver results.
She has a reputation for injecting energy, creating movement and unlocking the motivation in others to confidently own and realise the change potential using simple tools and methods. She naturally captivates the hearts and minds of many along the way with her infectious style and approach.
Karen is President and non-executive director of the British Quality Foundation an independent and not-for-profit organisation. Karen has led the transformation of the BQF with strong focus on creating a valuable asset for members to leverage and share best practice, improve their performance and achieve sustainable excellence.
Melinda Johnson
Melinda Johnson retired from executive life in the senior civil service in November 2025 to start a portfolio career in 2026.
Most recently Melinda was the Chief Operating Officer at Ofgem since August 2023, and her main priorities were to improve the Corporate Services that enable Ofgem’s day-to-day regulatory and scheme delivery activities and to transform Ofgem into a dynamic, inclusive and high-performing organisation with a strong reputation as an employer of choice. Before joining Ofgem, Melinda Johnson was the Commercial Director at the Department of Health and Social Care. She led the Health Family Commercial function comprising 20 organisations; she was responsible for six companies owned by the DHSC and sponsored the NHS Business Services Authority. Melinda was previously Group Commercial Services Director at the Department for Transport (DfT), which included Property, Digital, Security and Information; before that, she was Deputy Finance and Commercial Director at the Department for Education. Before joining the civil service, Melinda had a 17-year career in commercial roles in the broader public and private sectors.
Melinda is passionate about the Places for Growth agenda, particularly its link to Social Mobility. She championed the DfT Hastings office for five years, created the Government Commercial Northern Hub and was a Head of Place (in the Midlands) for 14 months before moving to Glasgow, where she was part of the leadership team creating and promoting the Cabinet Office 2nd headquarters in Glasgow.
Melinda is a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply (CIPS) and a Chartered Procurement Professional; she holds an MBA and a BSc Hons in Psychology and has a postgraduate qualification in Marketing and Communications. She is a Non-Executive Director of the British Quality Foundation and GS1UK.
Laila Iftikhar-Ali
VP Digital Success Management, The Adecco Group
Laila is a transformation leader with deep experience in professional services, specialising in driving operational excellence at the intersection of people, process, and technology. She has advised executive teams and led global initiatives that delivered measurable business impact — increasing sales by 18%, boosting productivity by 22%, and driving a 24% uplift in digital product adoption across functions and territories. Known for her ability to cut through complexity and deliver results at pace, Laila consistently turns strategic ambition into tangible outcomes.
With a proven track record of digitising operations, enhancing P&L performance, and embedding cultures of continuous improvement, Laila brings strategic vision alongside hands-on execution. She is recognised for her ability to negotiate effectively, strengthen supplier partnerships, and create high-performing teams that thrive in complex, international environments.
Additionally, Laila contributes as a Non-Executive Director for the British Quality Foundation and Birmingham Newman University, and remains an active member of the Change Management Institute, where she continues to shape thinking on transformation and change leadership.
Passionate about sustainable growth and the human side of transformation, Laila helps organisations unlock performance by aligning people, technology, and process to achieve lasting results.
Gary Kildare
Non-Executive Director and Board Advisor
Gary Kildare is an experienced global business leader in the technology, consulting and professional services. A former senior executive at IBM, he held international leadership roles including Chief HR Officer for Europe, Global Head of Labour Relations, and CHRO for Consulting and Technology Services. He was part of IBM’s global leadership group, guiding people strategy and organisational transformation across more than 170 countries.
Now in his non-executive portfolio career, Gary is a Non-Executive Director and Board Advisor across government, education and professional services. He serves on the boards of the Defence Infrastructure Organisation, the UK Insolvency Service, the Legal Services Board, and Crowe LLP, and is Chair of several People, Audit and Risk, and Remuneration Committees. Gary is also a Visiting Professor at Edinburgh Napier University and a member of Court at Heriot-Watt University. He is a Chartered Fellow of the CIPD and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.
Patrick Nolan
Director, Delfina Advisory Ltd
Patrick retired from HSBC in late 2021 after a 34 year career in corporate and investment banking in London, New York and Toronto. Senior executive roles included: Vice Chairman, Global Banking; Global Head of Corporate Banking; CEO Global Banking & Markets, Americas; Global Head of Credit & Lending; Head of European Client Coverage; Head of Investment Banking, Canada.
He currently Chairs the Risk & Investment Committee of the Board Of BQF. He is also the founder of Delfina Advisory Ltd, which provides advisory services to businesses in the financial services industry. Current roles include: member of the Advisory Board, Kyriba Inc, a leading cloud based treasury and risk management platform and member of the Advisory Board, Freston Ventures, a growth equity investor. Prior Board experience includes: Vice Chairman, the UK ASEAN Business Council, London; Board member, The Institute of International Bankers, New York, NY; Board member, Council of the Americas, New York, NY.
Patrick is a graduate of the University of Manchester and an Associate of the London Institute of Banking & Finance.
Alan Williams
Director, Service Brand Global
Alan coaches service sector organisations, internationally and in the UK, to deliver values-driven service for sustained performance. He is a published author and speaker who has worked on projects in more than thirty countries delivering measurable business impact across a balanced scorecard and gaining recognition with industry awards.
With more than 20 years senior leadership experience in customer service-based businesses, Alan has a track record of success in devising holistic SERVICEBRAND strategies and then using deep operational experience to turn the creative thinking into sustainable, practical reality. He is passionate about the importance of employees at the point of service delivery and their role in delivering remarkable customer experience. He thrives on leading the transformation of service, culture and behaviour and is an expert facilitator of experiential learning workshops.
The topic of values is central to Alan’s work and he has been involved in the creation, development and delivery of various initiatives such as World Values Day, the 31Practices approach, the ValuesJam card game, the Global Poetry Showcase and the Art of Values Showcase.
Alan graduated in Hotel & Catering Administration. He is the Founder of the Global Values Alliance, co-founder of The 4th Dimension, Past President of the Meetings Industry Association, a Fellow of the Institute of Hospitality and was a global train the trainer for the Marriott International Spirit to Serve programme.
Carla Thomas
Director, Banking Service Transformation
Carla brings broad experience in leading and transforming large operational teams with a passion to improve customer experience and colleague engagement. Carla also has experience in strategy, transformation ,organisational design and development alongside broad experience in client facing roles. She has developed these skills in global and UK-based roles. Carla started her career in a contact-centre and has a rich understanding of the experience, the ideas and the passion which can be harnessed from the most critical people – those doing the work and engaging directly with customers.
Carla holds an MBA from the University of Chester and has published academic research on employee motivation (Jan 2024)
Carla lives and works in the Midlands and is a trustee of a charity which provides counselling and support for women who have suffered sexual abuse, alongside this Carla is an active VP with the Institute of customer service with a particular focus on the Service with Respect campaign which is working to improve legislation to support service workers facing abuse and assault as part of their working lives.
Daryl Brown MBE DL
CEO, Magpas
Daryl is CEO of Magpas Air Ambulance Charity; he is Deputy Lieutenant to HM The Kings Lord Lieutenant of Cambridgeshire and Honorary Commander in the US Air Force.
Anu Kalia
Anu Kalia joins the BQF Board of Non-Executive Directors bringing over 25 years of cross-sector experience in strategic transformation, operational excellence, and cultural change. As the Global Lead of Process Experience at Tesco, Anu has been instrumental in driving large-scale improvements and embedding a culture of continuous improvement across one of the UK’s largest organisations.
A passionate advocate for excellence and collaboration, Anu’s career spans multiple industries, where he has consistently championed innovation, customer-centricity, and sustainable performance. His leadership style is rooted in empowering teams, fostering inclusive cultures, and delivering measurable impact.
Anu has been a dedicated ambassador for the British Quality Foundation (BQF) for more than a decade. His contributions include promoting the value of BQF membership across industries, mentoring emerging talent, and actively engaging new members. His commitment to sharing best practices and building communities of excellence aligns perfectly with BQF’s mission.
With his deep insight, energy, and strategic vision, Anu is poised to make a significant contribution to the Board, helping guide BQF’s continued growth and influence in the UK and beyond.
Latest news
Get in touch