Nat Wei appointed as Big Society adviser
18 May 2010
Nat Wei has been appointed as the new Government adviser on Big Society and will take up a seat in the House of Lords.
Working alongside Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General Francis Maude, Mr Wei will advise the Government on all aspects of taking forward the Big Society and driving implementation across government.
During the initial phase, Mr Wei will be working on designing the approach to building the Big Society and engaging with civil society groups, alongside Nick Hurd, Minister for Civil Society.
The announcement was made at the launch of the new Government policies on Big Society. Alongside Mr Wei, the Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister and Cabinet Office Ministers Francis Maude and Nick Hurd launched the policies to a group of community leaders.
At the event, the PM announced that Mr Wei will also be appointed to the House of Lords.
New Government Adviser on Big Society Mr Wei said:
I am excited to be working with this government on building the Big Society and impressed about their level of commitment to this vision of change. While it is a great honour to be able to serve in this way, I am determined to remain anchored in the daily reality of life as a citizen, standing with other citizens to build a stronger society from the bottom up.
Mr Maude said:
We are delighted to welcome Nat Wei as the Government’s advisor on Big Society. His direct experience of working to build a Big Society, and his passion for Civil Society, will be a major asset to the Office for Civil Society and the Government as a whole.
"I am looking forward to working alongside Nick Hurd and Nat to drive forward the Big Society agenda across Government and to make a real difference to communities across the country."
Based in the Office for Civil Society in the Cabinet Office, Mr Wei will not be paid for his role as Government adviser.
Notes to editors
- Nat Wei's biography
Nat Wei is a former McKinsey consultant with experience in both venture philanthropy and venture capital. He was a meber of Teach First's founding staff team. Teach First was founded in 2002 by Brett Wigdortz to recruit exceptional graduates into challenging schools. He was also a founder of Future Leaders, an accelerated development programme for potential head teachers of inner city schools.
He has extensive experience working in education, healthcare, recruitment, policy development, and has worked in Asia, the US, and Africa for a range of public, private, and voluntary clients.
Nat shares his time between being the lead Partner at the Shaftesbury Partnership, a professional services network designed to assure social impact, and being the head of New Programme Development (Ventures) for Absolute Return for Kids, a children's foundation backed by the hedge fund industry. - For Cabinet Office press office contact details, visit the press office page.
