A former marketing executive has been put forward as the new leader of the legal complaints service. The Legal Services Board today announced Wanda Goldwag (pictured) as its preferred candidate to chair the Office for Legal Complaints, which runs the ombudsman service. 

Goldwag, whose selection has been approved by lord chancellor Liz Truss, will appear before the house of commons justice select committee on 22 March for pre-appointment scrutiny. She would succeed Steve Green when his term of office ends on 31 March.

The OLC chair is a lay role which commands an annual salary of £52,500.

Goldwag had a 25-year career in marketing and her last corporate role was managing director of British Airways-owned Air Miles.

Since then she has had a series of non-executive and regulatory roles, including at the Performing Right Society, as a Postcomm Commissioner and until this month as a Civil Service Commissioner.

She is currently an adviser to Smedvig Venture Capital, chair and Independent Standards Commissioner of the Senet Group, the body set up to self-regulate the gambling industry, non-executive chair of True North Human Capital and a lay member of the QC appointments panel. Her LinkedIn profile describes her as ‘a very experienced chair specialising in human resources and business start-ups’.

Sir Michael Pitt, chairman of the LSB, said: ‘The Legal Ombudsman makes a real difference for consumers of legal services in England and Wales. It plays a vital part in the regulatory system and helps maintain the necessary standards of service we expect of legal services providers.

‘Wanda will bring essential skills and extensive experience to the OLC and subject to the report of the justice select committee, be in a position to contribute immediately and significantly to the work of the Legal Ombudsman.’

Green has spent three years in the role and has had to steer the OLC through an expenses crisis and consistently missed targets.