The Executive Team is responsible for supporting the Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG) in running the NAO.
Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG)
Gareth Davies
Gareth Davies was appointed C&AG in June 2019. Before his appointment as C&AG, he was Head of Public Services at Mazars, a global accountancy firm specialising in audit, tax and advisory services. Prior to this, he was Managing Director of the Audit Commission’s Audit Practice. His experience spans financial and value for money audit, organisational leadership and board governance.
Gareth is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy and a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales. He is a non-executive Board member of the INTOSAI Development Initiative (IDI) which supports Supreme Audit Institutions in developing countries to sustainably enhance their performance and capacity.
Executive Directors
Catherine Hope MacLellan
Catherine is responsible for the NAO’s people function, learning and development, and diversity and inclusion.
With an international financial services and management consulting background, she moved into HR to focus on people. Before joining the NAO in June 2023, Catherine was responsible for the strategy and rollout of national talent initiatives at NHS England. She is a keen traveller and has lived and worked across five continents, including the Middle East, Asia and Africa.
Abdool Kara
Abdool is responsible for the NAO’s work with government departments focused on local services, including housing, communities, education and health. From October 2024 his responsibilities expanded to include policing and fire services, including leading our work on providing valuable and practical insights on how public services can be improved. He provides leadership on all areas of our work that touch on local government.
He has over 35 years of experience working in local government and the wider public sector, including at four different councils, seven years at the Audit Commission, and a period as an advisor to the Cabinet Office.
From 2009 Abdool was chief executive of Swale Borough Council before joining the NAO in 2017. He is a non-executive vice chair of West Kent Housing Association and sits on the Advisory Group to the Welsh Centre for Public Policy.
Laura Lucking
Laura joined the NAO in February 2025 in a job-share with Verity Prime. Laura and Verity are responsible for overseeing our work on areas including infrastructure, transport, major projects, defence, energy and net zero.
Laura and Verity have worked as a job-share since 2020. Together they have worked in a range of roles in government departments and arms-length bodies, leading on issues as diverse as the distribution of National Lottery grants, Covid response and health policy. Before joining the NAO, they were the Directors for Funding Strategy, Communications and Impact at the National Lottery Community Fund.
Before working with Verity, Laura built a range of experience working on policy and operational delivery in HMRC, the Home Office and the Equality and Human Rights Commission. Laura is driven by a passion for supporting public services to be more effective in their delivery for people, and leading teams to deliver outstanding work.
Kate Mathers
Kate joined the Executive Team in 2017 taking on the new role of Executive Director of Financial Audit in January 2024. In this role Kate is the member of the Executive Team responsible for leading on the Financial Audit Service Line and all matters relating to it, including audit quality. Kate is also responsible for the NAO’s work with government departments focused on culture, justice and welfare and the NAO’s work on the BBC.
Kate joined the NAO in 2000. She is a chartered accountant with many years’ experience auditing a wide range of public sector bodies. Kate held senior management positions in finance and operations while working on secondment at the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority. Kate is a member of the Council of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, a previous non-executive member of its Board and former chair of its Education and Training Board. Kate is an independent member of the Finance Committee of The Royal Foundation of The Prince and Princess of Wales and a Director of TRF Trading Ltd.
Verity Prime
Verity joined the NAO in February 2025 in a job-share with Laura Lucking. Verity and Laura are responsible for overseeing our work on areas including infrastructure, transport, major projects, defence, energy and net zero.
Verity and Laura have worked as a job-share team for 5 years. Together they have worked in a range of roles in government departments and arms-length bodies, leading on issues as diverse as the distribution of National Lottery grants, Covid response and health policy. Before joining the NAO, they were the Directors for Funding Strategy, Communications and Impact at the National Lottery Community Fund.
Before working with Laura, Verity has worked across the public sector from delivering services to communities as a public health manager in the NHS, in central government including the Prime Minister’s Delivery Unit and Education. Verity is passionate about improving services for the people and communities who most need them and developing staff in their roles and careers.
Rebecca Sheeran
Rebecca took on the role of chief operating officer (COO) in October 2024. Her responsibilities include strategy, finance and resources, digital services and communications. She is the chief information officer and SIRO. Prior to being appointed as COO, Rebecca was responsible for the NAO’s work with government departments focused on the UK’s infrastructure as well as defence, climate change and environment. She was also responsible for our VFM service line.
Rebecca has worked at the NAO since 2004. Before joining the Executive Team, she led the NAO’s VFM work on the Department for Transport. She is a chartered accountant with many years’ experience in both financial and VFM audit across a range of public bodies.
Rebecca is a Trustee of the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists and chairs its Finance and Resources Committee. She is also an independent member of the Finance Committee of the Cardinal Hume Centre in Westminster.
Max Tse
Max is responsible for the NAO’s work with departments that sit at the centre of government and since October 2024 has led the NAO’s value for money service line. Previously he led our work developing specialist expertise and insights. He joined the NAO in 2011 and has led the NAO’s value for money audit of the Department for Work & Pensions and digital transformation in government.
Before joining the NAO, Max was a consultant with McKinsey & Co., working in the UK and overseas in a range of sectors, including logistics, regulatory strategy, retail, climate finance and health. Max is a chartered accountant, certified IT auditor and PhD economist. He is based in the NAO’s Newcastle office and is a trustee of the North East Law Centre.
See the Executive Team’s areas of responsibility in our organisation chart.
Read more about the governance of the NAO.
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