Ailsa Beaton OBE took up her post on 16 September. An experienced executive and non-executive director, Ailsa has held senior leadership positions in the Metropolitan Police Service, ICL, PA Consulting Group and General Electric (USA) among others. Her areas of responsibility included finance, sales and marketing and information technology, as well as procurement, commercial, estate and Human Resources.

In her most recent role she was a member of Scotland Yard's Management Board and Chief Constables' Council, chairing their Information Management Group. Ailsa has also been a non-executive director on a number of boards, including non-departmental public bodies such as the Police IT Organisation and the CIO Board of e-skills, the Sector Skills Council for Business and Information Technology.

Michael Chambers, managing director of Bacs, said: "We are pleased to welcome Ailsa to the Bacs board and I have no doubt that her wealth of experience, across a range of sectors, will prove invaluable to the organisation as we move forward."

Ailsa said: "I am delighted to be joining Bacs, an integral part of the UK's financial infrastructure. With the organisation having experienced its busiest processing year in 2012 and the 100 billionth transaction milestone reached this summer, I'm looking forward to contributing to the future success of Bacs."