Senior Management team

Malcolm Cree CBE, Chief executive officer

Malcolm has been the Chief executive of the Bar Council since 2017.

He retired from the Royal Navy in 2016, in the rank of Rear admiral. He served in all types of ships from minehunters to aircraft carriers and commanded a destroyer, a task group in the Gulf and the navy’s prized operational sea training organisation.  Malcolm deployed operationally all over the world and served in the conflicts in the Gulf (Tanker War) and Adriatic (Bosnia).  

Ashore, he specialised in corporate governance, financial and resource planning, portfolio and programme management, and ended his career leading a major transformation programme on behalf of the Navy Board.  

On retiring from the navy, Malcolm worked for a year at a management consultancy specialising in decision analysis.

Malcolm has a Bachelor’s degree in modern history from Bristol University and a Masters in international relations and security from King’s College London.

He was made a CBE in the 2016 new year’s honours list.

Read our strategic plan Standing for justice

Poli Avramidis, Chief information officer

Poli joined the General Council of the Bar in September 2014 as the Chief information officer (CIO). With a distinguished career spanning over more than three decades, Poli has held pivotal roles in various esteemed organisations. Prior to joining the Bar Council, Poli served as the CIO at the British Medical Association for thirteen years and before that, as the CIO for Gwent Police for over 4 years. Poli holds a BSc in maths, MSc in IT (Cardiff University) and MBA from Cardiff Business School. He is a qualified mediator and a seasoned coach/mentor with over 20 years of successful career.

At the General Council of the Bar, Poli's main areas of responsibility encompass information technology, information management, business intelligence, cyber security, GDPR compliance, programme and project management, IT training, facilities management, health and safety, main switchboard operations, and property management. Services are provided to both the Bar Standards Board and Bar Council.

Harminder Bassi, Head of HR

Harminder joined the Bar Council in 2022 and is the Head of HR. She leads the HR team, driving operational HR, culture and change initiatives. She takes a hands-on approach, wearing multiple hats to support both strategic and operational HR functions. With over 20 years of extensive HR experience, she has worked across diverse industries including local government, education, private sector, charity and not-for-profit organisations.

Throughout her career, Harminder has played a key role in supporting change initiatives, employee relations and strategic work force planning. From hands-on operational HR to Senior HR business partner roles, Harminder brings a wealth of expertise in fostering positive workplace culture and enhancing organisational effectiveness. Harminder’s passion for HR began early, studying human resources and psychology at A-levels before qualifying with a BA (Hons) in business human resources and a master’s in human resource management. Additionally, as a qualified mediator, she is skilled in conflict resolution and fostering constructive workplace relationships. Harminder is deeply passionate about the value people bring to an organisational, believing that a strong and engaged workforce is the fundamental foundation of success.

Sally Burnell, Director of communications

Sally joined the Bar Council in May 2022 from the British Veterinary Association where she was Director of policy, media and strategy for 8 years. Sally has communications and campaigning experience across the membership, charity, and not-for-profit sectors. She previously worked for a criminal justice charity and has worked in national and local politics, after studying politics and parliamentary studies at the University of Leeds. She later completed the NCTJ certificate in newspaper journalism.

At the Bar Council, Sally and her team are responsible for all external and internal communications, including media, marketing, social media, communications with the Bar, and the website. The communications team works across the organisation to promote the work of the policy and public affairs teams, and publicise the services, events, and resources for the Bar.

Read our latest press releases

Richard Cullen, Director of finance

Richard joined the General Council of the Bar in July 2018. He is an accomplished finance executive with 20 years of experience delivering operational excellence and financial leadership across the public sector, regulatory bodies, and technology-driven enterprises. He trained as an auditor and moved to consulting as a transformation specialist for blue chip and not-for-profits before becoming an IT director and then returning to finance directorships.

He has a proven track record in implementing innovative digital strategies, optimising financial performance, and creating sustainable value. Richard excels in leading and developing high-performing teams within complex regulatory and commercial environments.

Piran Dhillon-Starkings, Adviser to the Chair of the Bar

Piran has a background in politics and public affairs and joined the Bar Council as Adviser to the Chair in September 2019. Her work includes providing strategic advice and counsel to the Chair of the Bar and leading on the Bar Council’s activity in Parliament and Whitehall.

Prior to this, she led the public affairs department at the Association of Colleges and focused on government and parliamentary relations and campaigns. Previous roles include working for an MP, MEP and political party. She is a primary school governor, Queen’s anniversary prize award assessor and Advisory board member of Get Further, an organisation that helps students to achieve English and maths GCSE. Piran has a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and American literature and is bi-lingual.

Read about our activities in Parliament

Anna Pinch, Director of services

Anna joined the Bar Council in November 2024. Prior to this, she spent 10 years working for CFA Society UK, a membership body representing 12,000 investment professionals. As Director of customer experience, she led on the strategy, implementation, and management of every stage of the member journey. Prior to working at CFA Society UK, Anna worked at another membership body, ICAEW (the Institute of Chartered Accountants for England and Wales).

Earlier in her career, Anna spent 10 years working as an events manager, delivering commercial business to business event portfolios both in the UK and globally.

At the Bar Council, as the Director of services, she is responsible for the leadership of our Services and Training and Events teams. As a member of our Senior Management team, she contributes to the overall strategic direction and culture of our organisation.

Find out more about our services for the Bar and our training and events programme

Philip Robertson, Director of policy

Phil joined the Bar Council in January 2015. He began his career qualifying as a Scots solicitor after studying Law at the University of Edinburgh. He then worked as a pensions solicitor in London at Slaughter and May and Eversheds LLP. Phil then spent 4 and a half years working in policy for a military charity in Cyprus, working with the chain of command to represent and promote the interests of Army families.

On returning to the UK Phil launched a new arm of the charity, with responsibility for representing all families on overseas postings, some 80 countries. Phil's work at the Bar Council covers policy analysis and development, stakeholder liaison and engagement, project and programme management, leadership and management.

Read about our policy issues

Jamie Shaw, Head of strategy, planning and governance

Jamie joined the Bar Council in 2022 and has a background in corporate and academic governance.

Jamie manages the executive office and oversees arrangements, policy and procedures for effective governance in adherence with the Bar Council’s constitution. Jamie leads the development and implementation of the Bar Council’s strategic business planning process and manages the Bar Council’s systems of internal control, including risk management and regulatory independence.

Previous roles include Head of governance and Executive support and Governance manager at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama and a number of professional services roles in areas such as quality assurance, academic standards and registry services at the University of Westminster.

Jamie is passionate about social justice, equity and inclusion and human rights. He maintains a keen interest in the arts, having completed a degree in fine art in 2015.

Find out more about our governance and how you can get involved