Difference between revisions of "Barbara Thomas Judge"

From Powerbase
Jump to: navigation, search
m
 
(53 intermediate revisions by 6 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
−
'''Barbara Thomas Judge''' has been on the Board of [[UKAEA]] since September 2002 and was appointed Chairman in July 2004. She is also Executive Chairman of [[Private Equity Investor]] plc, Deputy Chairman of [[Friends Provident]] plc and the [[Financial Reporting Council]], and a Non-Executive Director of the [[DTI]]'s [[Energy Group Board]]. She is the former executive director of Murdoch's [[News International]] and has served on the US Securities & Exchange Commission. She was a former director at merchant bank [[Samuel Montagu]] and a former adviser to Express newspaper boss [[Richard Desmond]].
+
[[File:Judge Barbara gps.jpg|thumb|right|Barbara Thomas Judge]]{{Template:NuclearSpin}}'''Barbara Thomas, Lady Judge''', (born 1946) CBE, is an American-English lawyer, businesswoman, lobbyist and nuclear expert. She has been described as one of Britain's 100 most powerful and best connected women. <ref name= "Woman's"> [http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b007qlvb/features/power-list-100  Woman's Hour Power list], BBC Radio 4, February 2013</ref>
 +
 
 +
Lady Judge was awarded a CBE in 2010 for her services to the nuclear and financial industries.
 +
 
 +
==Current roles==
 +
Lady Judge is Chairman Emeritus of the [[United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority|UK Atomic Energy Authority]] (UKAEA), chairman of the [[Pension Protection Fund]], and UK Business Ambassador on behalf of [[UK Trade and Investment]].<ref>[http://www.dwp.gov.uk/previous-administration-news/press-releases/2010/april-2010/dwp066-10-070410.shtml Lady Judge appointed Chair of Pension Protection fund]. DWP. Retrieved on 2011-04-13.</ref><ref>[http://www.number10.gov.uk/news/press-notices/2010/11/pm-announces-new-business-ambassadors-56764 PM announces new Business Ambassadors]. Number10.gov.uk (2010-11-09). Retrieved on 2011-04-13.</ref><ref name=chairukaea>[http://www.niauk.org/news/latest-nuclear-news/judge-to-chair-ukaea.html NIA – The Nuclear Industry Association – Judge to chair UKAEA]. Niauk.org (2004-07-30). Retrieved on 2011-04-13.</ref> She is also on the board of [[Statoil]].
 +
 
 +
In September 2012 she was appointed deputy chairman of [[Tokyo Electric Power Company|TEPCO]]'s Nuclear Reform Monitoring Committee.<ref>[http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/press/corp-com/release/2012/1221806_1870.html Document Related to the First Nuclear Reform Monitoring Committee Meeting] TEPCO News >Press Releases>Press Release (Oct 12,2012) and [http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/press/corp-com/release/2012/1219543_1870.html Framework for the Nuclear Reform], TEPCO News, Press Release, 11 Sep 2012)</ref> The group's task is to 'strictly observe and supervise nuclear reform activities of Tepco, the operator of the Fukushima Daiichi plant that was at the centre of Japan's worst nuclear plant accident, triggered by an earthquake and tsunami in 2011.
 +
 
 +
=='Japan's nuclear saviour'==
 +
 
 +
Lady Judge has been hired by TEPCO as a 'safety czar'. In a July 2013 interview with the ''Telegraph'' (at which bottled water from Fukushima was served at the table), she explained that:
 +
 
 +
:Our goal is to make Tepco the safest nuclear operator in the world. But I don't see my role as just helping Tepco, it's about helping the industry and helping the country. Whatever we do for Tepco is going to get mirrored elsewhere."
 +
 
 +
:...Referring to Tepco's handling of the 2011 crisis, she added: "I think there have to be clear lines of authority in a crisis. And clear plans of how to handle a crisis before it ever happens. It wasn't as well prepared as it should have been. There's no question that there were no clear lines of authority – that's why there was confusion and it had to go up to the prime minister who didn't know very much about nuclear. <ref> Danielle Demetriou in Tokyo, [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/japan/10163087/British-woman-trying-to-save-Japans-nuclear-power-industry-says-Radiation-is-scary.html British woman trying to save Japan's nuclear power industry says: 'Radiation is scary'], ''The Telegraph'', 05 Jul 2013 6:30PM BST, acc Oct 2013 </ref>
 +
 
 +
=='Very low risks' from nuclear power radiation - less than day-to-day activities==
 +
 
 +
Lady Judge told the Telegraph 'that she is also convinced that the public can be persuaded that the need for nuclear energy outweighs what she insists are very low risks - partly by explaining that radiation from nuclear power is less than from other day-to-day activities'.
 +
 
 +
:'All of us have MRIs and other X-rays and there are far more traffic deaths every year than anything relating to power plants," she said. 'Radiation is just something that we don't understand and are therefore afraid of it.'
 +
 
 +
:..We all grew up with the Simpsons, a cartoon that said for 20 years that the owner of the power plant was the evil person," she said. "It's in our psyche to be worried about nuclear.
 +
 
 +
:Nuclear sells news, it's an emotional issue. And radiation is scary. It's like magic - it's mystical, invisible. You can't see it. You don't know how to hide from it.
 +
 
 +
:But frankly you get less radiation walking through a nuclear power plant than around an aeroplane.'<ref> Danielle Demetriou in Tokyo, [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/japan/10163087/British-woman-trying-to-save-Japans-nuclear-power-industry-says-Radiation-is-scary.html British woman trying to save Japan's nuclear power industry says: 'Radiation is scary'], ''The Telegraph'', 05 Jul 2013 6:30PM BST, acc Oct 2013 </ref>
 +
 
 +
==Career==
 +
Lady Judge started out as a corporate lawyer for [[Kaye Scholer, Fierman, Hays & Handler]] in 1973, becoming a partner in the organisation in 1978. She went on to hold a number of senior roles in the banking industry.<ref name="Woman's"/>
 +
 
 +
Judge is a former executive director of [[Rupert Murdoch]]'s [[News International]] and has served on the US [[Securities & Exchange Commission]]. She was a former director at merchant bank [[Samuel Montagu]] and a former adviser to Express newspaper boss [[Richard Desmond]]. <ref>Andrew Davidson, [http://business.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,10709-1668898,00.html UK Nuclear Power Boss Radiates Boundless Energy], ''The Sunday Times'', June 26, 2005</ref><ref>Financial Reporting Council, [http://www.frc.org.uk/about/board.cfm Barbara Thomas Judge Biography]</ref><ref>London Capital Club, [http://www.londoncapitalclub.com/about_us/42.cntns Advisory Board]</ref>,<ref>[http://www.wharton.upenn.edu/whartonfacts/advisory_boards/bdeurope.cfm Wharton Business School]</ref>
 +
 
 +
===Directorships===
 +
Judge has held numerous non-executive directorships. According to her official biographies and records from Companies House, these include:
 +
 
 +
*Appointed to the board of [[UKAEA]] in September 2002, became Chairman in July 2004. <ref>UKAEA, [http://www.ukaea.org.uk/about/ukaea_directors.htm# Board of Directors]</ref>
 +
* Director of [[BT Consulting Inc Ltd]].
 +
* Director of [[Dynamic Solutions Group Venture Capital Ltd.]]
 +
* Non-Executive Director of [[Hardy Underwriting Group plc]].
 +
* Non-Executive Director of [[Private Equity Investor]] plc.
 +
* Non-Executive Director of [[Private Equity International Limited]].
 +
* Non-Executive Director of [[PA Holdings Limited]].
 +
* Non-Executive Director of [[Portmeirion Group plc]].
 +
* Non-Executive Director of Quintain Estates & Development plc.
 +
* Non-Executive Director of [[Quintain Services]] limited.
 +
* Non-Executive Director of Victory Corporation plc.
 +
* Non-Executive Director of [[Planet Group]].
 +
 
 +
* Chairman of the [[School of Oriental & African Studies]].
 +
* Former deputy Chairman of the [[Financial Reporting Council]]. 
 +
* Deputy Chairman for the [[Friends’ Provident plc]].
 +
 
 +
* Non-Executive Member of the [[Department of Constitutional Affairs]].
 +
* Independent Member of the [[Department of Trade & Industry Performance Monitoring Committee]].
 +
* Member of the Advisory Board at [[Hill & Associates]].
 +
* Advisory Board of [[Millennium Associates]].
 +
* Adviser to Cross Border Enterprises.
 +
* Trustee of the Wallace Collection.
 +
* Member of the International Board of Overseers of Turkey’s Sabanic University.
 +
* Member of the Board of Governors of the [[Lauder Business School]] in the US.
 +
* Member of the [[Second London American Trust]].
 +
* Trustee of the [[Royal Academy of Arts]].
 +
* Chairman of the Professional Standards Advisory Board of the [[Institute of Directors]].
 +
* Advisory Board of the [[London Capital Club]].
 +
* Wharton Business School Executive Board for Europe, Africa and Middle East.
 +
 
 +
==Affiliations==
 +
*Consultant for [[Global Political Strategies]], an 'executive service' offshoot of [[APCO Worldwide]]
 +
*[[Nuclear Industry Council]] - attendee at July 2013 meeting
 +
 
 +
==Personal life==
 +
She is married to Sir [[Paul Judge]] and has a son from her second marriage to [[Allen L. Thomas]], an American lawyer.
 +
 
 +
==References==
 +
<references/>
 +
 
 +
[[Category: Nuclear Spin|Thomas Judge, Barbara]]
 +
[[Category:Individuals linked to the push for nuclear|Thomas Judge, Barbara]]

Latest revision as of 08:01, 22 November 2013

Barbara Thomas Judge
Nuclear spin.png This article is part of the Nuclear Spin project of Spinwatch.

Barbara Thomas, Lady Judge, (born 1946) CBE, is an American-English lawyer, businesswoman, lobbyist and nuclear expert. She has been described as one of Britain's 100 most powerful and best connected women. [1]

Lady Judge was awarded a CBE in 2010 for her services to the nuclear and financial industries.

Current roles

Lady Judge is Chairman Emeritus of the UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA), chairman of the Pension Protection Fund, and UK Business Ambassador on behalf of UK Trade and Investment.[2][3][4] She is also on the board of Statoil.

In September 2012 she was appointed deputy chairman of TEPCO's Nuclear Reform Monitoring Committee.[5] The group's task is to 'strictly observe and supervise nuclear reform activities of Tepco, the operator of the Fukushima Daiichi plant that was at the centre of Japan's worst nuclear plant accident, triggered by an earthquake and tsunami in 2011.

'Japan's nuclear saviour'

Lady Judge has been hired by TEPCO as a 'safety czar'. In a July 2013 interview with the Telegraph (at which bottled water from Fukushima was served at the table), she explained that:

Our goal is to make Tepco the safest nuclear operator in the world. But I don't see my role as just helping Tepco, it's about helping the industry and helping the country. Whatever we do for Tepco is going to get mirrored elsewhere."
...Referring to Tepco's handling of the 2011 crisis, she added: "I think there have to be clear lines of authority in a crisis. And clear plans of how to handle a crisis before it ever happens. It wasn't as well prepared as it should have been. There's no question that there were no clear lines of authority – that's why there was confusion and it had to go up to the prime minister who didn't know very much about nuclear. [6]

'Very low risks' from nuclear power radiation - less than day-to-day activities

Lady Judge told the Telegraph 'that she is also convinced that the public can be persuaded that the need for nuclear energy outweighs what she insists are very low risks - partly by explaining that radiation from nuclear power is less than from other day-to-day activities'.

'All of us have MRIs and other X-rays and there are far more traffic deaths every year than anything relating to power plants," she said. 'Radiation is just something that we don't understand and are therefore afraid of it.'
..We all grew up with the Simpsons, a cartoon that said for 20 years that the owner of the power plant was the evil person," she said. "It's in our psyche to be worried about nuclear.
Nuclear sells news, it's an emotional issue. And radiation is scary. It's like magic - it's mystical, invisible. You can't see it. You don't know how to hide from it.
But frankly you get less radiation walking through a nuclear power plant than around an aeroplane.'[7]

Career

Lady Judge started out as a corporate lawyer for Kaye Scholer, Fierman, Hays & Handler in 1973, becoming a partner in the organisation in 1978. She went on to hold a number of senior roles in the banking industry.[1]

Judge is a former executive director of Rupert Murdoch's News International and has served on the US Securities & Exchange Commission. She was a former director at merchant bank Samuel Montagu and a former adviser to Express newspaper boss Richard Desmond. [8][9][10],[11]

Directorships

Judge has held numerous non-executive directorships. According to her official biographies and records from Companies House, these include:

Affiliations

Personal life

She is married to Sir Paul Judge and has a son from her second marriage to Allen L. Thomas, an American lawyer.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Woman's Hour Power list, BBC Radio 4, February 2013
  2. ↑ Lady Judge appointed Chair of Pension Protection fund. DWP. Retrieved on 2011-04-13.
  3. ↑ PM announces new Business Ambassadors. Number10.gov.uk (2010-11-09). Retrieved on 2011-04-13.
  4. ↑ NIA – The Nuclear Industry Association – Judge to chair UKAEA. Niauk.org (2004-07-30). Retrieved on 2011-04-13.
  5. ↑ Document Related to the First Nuclear Reform Monitoring Committee Meeting TEPCO News >Press Releases>Press Release (Oct 12,2012) and Framework for the Nuclear Reform, TEPCO News, Press Release, 11 Sep 2012)
  6. ↑ Danielle Demetriou in Tokyo, British woman trying to save Japan's nuclear power industry says: 'Radiation is scary', The Telegraph, 05 Jul 2013 6:30PM BST, acc Oct 2013
  7. ↑ Danielle Demetriou in Tokyo, British woman trying to save Japan's nuclear power industry says: 'Radiation is scary', The Telegraph, 05 Jul 2013 6:30PM BST, acc Oct 2013
  8. ↑ Andrew Davidson, UK Nuclear Power Boss Radiates Boundless Energy, The Sunday Times, June 26, 2005
  9. ↑ Financial Reporting Council, Barbara Thomas Judge Biography
  10. ↑ London Capital Club, Advisory Board
  11. ↑ Wharton Business School
  12. ↑ UKAEA, Board of Directors
Retrieved from "https://powerbase.info/index.php?title=Barbara_Thomas_Judge&oldid=192012"