Professor Wendy Thomson CBE was appointed Chair of Trustees at the Social Market Foundation in early-2021. She is the Vice-Chancellor of the University of London. She also serves on the Board of London Higher, is Vice-Chair of the Association of Commonwealth Universities, and chairs the London Anchor Institution’s Network.
Born in Montreal Canada, Professor Thomson has a distinguished career in public service and social policy research in Canada and the United Kingdom. Her experience has combined senior roles in academia and government. Professor Thomson led the Office of Public Service Reform during the 2001 Blair government and was subsequently awarded a CBE for her work on public services. She has served as Chief Executive of the London Borough of Newham and Norfolk County Council.
In 2005, she was appointed Professor and Director of the McGill School of Social Work in Montreal. She was honoured by the Montreal YWCA’s Women of the Year for her contribution to education. While at McGill, Prof Thomson served as adviser to Governments in Canada, as Commissioner to the Ontario Commission on Child Welfare, and Chair of the Working Group on Patient-based financing of Quebec health care). International work includes advising governments in Nigeria and Ghana, and working with the UNDP and OECD missions in the Middle East.