The Furniture Ombudsman has appointed two new members to its independent Standards Board, effective immediately.
Dr Naomi Creutzfeldt from the University of Westminster and Ed Duggan, CFO at Fishpools, join the existing Standards Board team on a voluntary basis, and will help the Ombudsman preserve its independence and provide an invaluable set of checks and balances on their work.
Dr Naomi Creutzfeldt has worked on various aspects of consumer Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) in Europe for the past seven years, first at the University of Oxford and now at the University of Westminster. Naomi has a wealth of experience in conducting research on ADR bodies and her findings have been widely published. Naomi is currently working on a book about Ombudsman schemes.
Ed Duggan has worked in retail for many years, with experience ranging from the shop floor, IT, supply chain, administration, finance and logistics functions through to the board room. This experience has ranged from high street to out-of-town and online retailing, fast moving food and fashion to big ticket furniture. Ed has worked for listed companies, private and family owned organisations building up an extensive experience of all elements of retail from both a business and consumer perspective. The last 12 years have involved board level roles in national and regional furniture retail in the UK.
Ed says: “I am really pleased to be able to bring some of my experience to what is an already a very strong Standards Board team. The Ombudsman plays a key role is providing a fair and impartial dispute resolution service to customers and retailers alike and in the fast moving world in which we all live and work today it's important that any guidance we can provide keeps the organisation moving forwards for the benefit of all concerned.”
Naomi says: “I am delighted to be joining the Ombudsman’s Standards Board. It is a great opportunity to get a better understanding of how the scheme operates. I am sure that I will learn a lot and am looking forward to being part of the process of continuous improvement of the ADR processes.”
