Executive Team
Vicky Fox
Chief Executive
Vicky joined the court as Chief Executive of The Supreme Court and the JCPC in September 2020.
The role involves responsibility for all the non-judicial functions of the Court and overseeing the administration of a team of approximately 50 staff and contractors supporting the work of the Justices. The Chief Executive is an Accounting Officer in their own right.
Vicky was previously the Director of Regulation and Insight at the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority. She was called to the Bar in 1995 and has 15 years' experience as a Government lawyer, including work at the Department for Work and Pensions and the Department of Health. She was Head of Guidance, Party and Election Finance at the Electoral Commission before moving to work at the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority as Director of MP Support Services and then in 2018 as Director of Regulation and Insight.
Vicky succeeded Mark Ormerod, The Supreme Court's second Chief Executive, who retired in 2020.
Sam Clark
Director of Corporate Services and Change
Sam became Director of Corporate Services of the Supreme Court and the JCPC in January 2019
Sam was previously Deputy Director of Governance and Assurance for HM Courts and Tribunals Service where she led the creation of a joined up, transparent and consistent governance and assurance function supporting delivery of the work of the courts, tribunals and offices, as well as enhancing the strategic assurance for the Agency as a whole. Prior to that Sam was Board Secretary and Head of the Chief Executive's Office, again within HM Courts and Tribunals Service (2013 - 2016).
Over her career, Sam has held a variety of roles, most of them within justice administration with a focus of courts and supporting operational delivery. These include Head of Security and Safety for HM Courts Service and then HM Courts and Tribunals Service; Deputy Departmental Security Officer for the then Department for Constitutional Affairs, now the Ministry of Justice and a variety of roles working with and supporting the work of magistrates' courts.
Laura Angus
Registrar
Laura was appointed Registrar of the UK Supreme Court in September 2022.
Her overall responsibilities are exercising the judicial and administrative functions under the Rules and Practice Directions for the UK Supreme Court (UKSC) and the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (JCPC). She is also responsible for the active management of all internal processes relating to appeals, costs and judgments for the UKSC and JCPC.
Laura trained as a solicitor at Allen & Overy LLP, in the London and Paris offices. She qualified as an associate in the Corporate department and left in 2009, joining the Civil Appeals Office later that year. At the Civil Appeals Office Laura was a case lawyer, working on a range of applications and appeals. She developed expertise in managing permission to appeal applications, grouping appeals and spotting trends in litigation. She advised her supervising Lord and Lady Justices in all aspects of active case management and listing.
From 2017 she was the Court of Appeal’s jurisdiction lawyer, using powers delegated to her by the Master of the Rolls to give directions on matters of jurisdiction. During this time she also acted as an RCJ Anti–Bullying and Harassment advisor. In early 2022 she undertook a secondment to the Registry of the Supreme Court as Deputy Interim Registrar, and she was appointed as Registrar of the Supreme Court in September 2022.
Celia Cave
Registrar
Celia was appointed Registrar of the UK Supreme Court in April 2023. She job‐shares the role with Laura Angus.
Her overall responsibilities are exercising the judicial and administrative functions under the Rules and Practice Directions for the UK Supreme Court (UKSC) and the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (JCPC). She is also responsible for the active management of all internal processes relating to appeals, costs and judgments for the UKSC and JCPC.
Celia trained as a solicitor in Cambridge and moved to London firm Goodman Ray LLP upon qualification, where she practised family law for 7 years and became an accredited Children Panel specialist. She subsequently worked as a solicitor advocate for a joint Local Authority Children's Services legal team before joining the Civil Appeals Office in 2015 as a case lawyer. At the Court of Appeal Celia worked closely with supervising Lord and Lady Justices to manage permission to appeal applications and appeals, with a particular focus on family law and immigration. In 2018 Celia became a Senior Legal Manager in the Administrative Court, responsible for supervising a team of lawyers who assist High Court Judges to case manage Judicial Review applications, exercise powers delegated by the President of the King's Bench Division and monitor trends in litigation. Celia was appointed Registrar of the Supreme Court in April 2023, a role that she job-shares with Laura Angus.
Sanj Bhumber
Director of Finance
Sanj was appointed Director of Finance of The Supreme Court in November 2019.
Sanj is a qualified accountant and was previously the Head of In Year financial management and external reporting in HMRC. He led on the financial forecasting for the department exercising effective financial management and control of the budgets. He led the production of the monthly HMRC management accounts setting out the projected spending position for the year making appropriate recommendations on any actions deemed necessary to ensure HMRC lives within its budget whilst maximising performance delivery. Sanj also had other roles in HRMC, including being a Senior Finance Business Partner and Finance Director of different business groups within HMRC.
Sanj has also worked in the Cabinet Office in various finance roles including being the Finance Responsible Officer (FRO) for a major change front line IT enabled Programme changing the face of the electoral registration process in Great Britain, which is fundamental to the democratic process. The Programme was part of the Government's Major Projects Portfolio and Digital service's exemplars and was delivered on time, of the right quality and on budget.
Vicky Challacombe
Assistant Director of Corporate Services
Vicky was appointed Assistant Director of Corporate Services in March 2023.
Vicky is responsible for supporting the Director of Corporate Services and Change deliver Business As Usual Corporate Services throughout the Change Programme at the UK Supreme Court.
Vicky joined the Court after several years spent delivering Corporate Services overseas for the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office. Prior to that she worked as Deputy Head of the Private Office of the President and CEO of the Law Society, as well as undertaking multilateral human rights negotiations at the UN and EU, with a focus on women and children's rights.
Scot Marchbank
Head of Communications
Scot is responsible for promoting public understanding of the UK Supreme Court and its decisions, leading the communications function, and managing all education, outreach and public engagement programmes. Scot has spent the majority of his career in civil service communications, having worked in several government departments. Most recently he ran external communications at Network Rail.
As acting Head of Communications, Scot is covering for Sophia Linehan-Biggs and Janet Coull-Trisic who are currently on leave.
Chris Maile
Head of Human Resources
Chris joined the Supreme Court in August 2011.
He started his career initially as a barrister's clerk in the Temple, before moving into Human Resources and studying for his CIPD qualification.
He advised Headteachers and School Governors in the education sector for over 8 years, and then joined the Lord Chancellor's Department in 2003 working in the HR casework team.
From 2008 he led a team of HR Advisors in supporting and guiding managers on a wide range of HR issues across the Ministry of Justice.
Rebecca Fry
Head Judicial Assistant
Rebecca was appointed Head Judicial Assistant at the UK Supreme Court in January 2020.
Rebecca is responsible for leading and managing the Judicial Assistants, a team of up to 11 lawyers who assist the Justices with their judicial and extra-judicial work. She is also the Judicial Assistant to Lord Reed.
Rebecca studied law at Oxford and Toronto, and is qualified as a solicitor in England and Wales. She began her career at Farrer & Co LLP, where she specialised in advising charities and non-profit organisations. In 2013, she was seconded to the Law Commission where she advised on the law reform project which led to the Charities Act 2022. Before coming to the Court, Rebecca was Head of Legal Policy at the Charity Commission for England and Wales, where she led the team responsible for providing legal advice on key operational projects, new legislation and policy proposals and new and revised guidance for charities.
Pejman Ghasemzadeh
Head of IT and Digital Services
Pejman was appointed Head of IT and Digital Services in April 2023.
Pejman is responsible for overseeing the operation, management and strategic direction of all IT-related activities within the Court, including IT Budget, Governance, Procurement, Infrastructure, Applications, Data, Business Systems, Cyber Security and Risk.
In addition, he is responsible for powering the Supreme Court Justices and colleagues and the digital ecosystem that connects the Supreme Court to people as a world-leading court.
Pejman is a professional IT and Cyber Security specialist with over 20 years' extensive leadership experience in different industries such as Banking, Housing, Software, Higher Education and Telecom.
He joined the Supreme Court in April 2023 from a bank in the City, where he served as the Head of IT and led the bank's digital transformation. Pejman is a certified CISO and holds a bachelor's degree in Computer Engineering and master's degree in Information System Management.