Our governance

As a non-departmental public body we are governed by our board and team of directors.


The Environment Agency is a non-departmental public body. The board is directly responsible to government ministers for all aspects of our organisation and performance. We are accountable to Parliament through ministers.

Board members

Our board has 10 non-executive members:

  • Alan Lovell (Chair)
  • Judith Batchelar (Deputy Chair)
  • John Lelliott
  • Robert Gould
  • Dame Caroline Mason
  • Lilli Matson
  • Dr Stewart Davies
  • Ines Faden da Silva
  • Mark Suthern
  • Sarah Mukherjee

All are appointed by the Secretary for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. The board meets 4 times a year. It delegates day-to-day management to the Chief Executive and staff.

Our executive directors’ team

  • Philip Duffy, Chief Executive
  • Sarah Chare, Executive Director of Local Operations
  • Nicola Lawton, Chief Operating Officer
  • John Leyland, Executive Director of Environment and Business
  • Caroline Douglass, Executive Director of Flood and Coastal Risk Management
  • Laura Milton, Director of Legal and Audit Services
  • Pat Bolster, (Defra) Director of Finance
  • Anna Burns, Deputy Director for Governance and Engagement
  • Ilana Conn, (Defra) Head of Environment Agency (EA) Communications
  • Lindsay Eade Davis, (Defra) Deputy Director of Human Resources
  • Jatinder Singh Mehmi, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Coordinator

Working with partners

We invite partners and organisations with an interest in what we do to meet our board so that they can have their say on our decisions.

You can also read our board agendas and papers on this page.

Board meetings

Board agendas and papers:

For details of previous board meetings visit the National Archives.

Board minutes

Board minutes:

For details of previous board minutes visit the National Archives.