Who we are

Julie Lennard is the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the Crown Prosecution Service, taking up post in November 2024.

She is responsible for overseeing transformation and improvement within the Crown Prosecution Service, working closely with our partners to direct significant change across the criminal justice system. Julie also sets the overall strategy for our corporate functions – including finance, people, and digital.

Julie joined the CPS from the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA), where she was the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) from March 2018. During her time as CEO, Julie led the digital and business transformation of one of the UK’s biggest multi-channel service organisations, with more than 52 million customers, more than 6,000 employees, and almost £8 billion in revenue collected for His Majesty’s Government per year.

Julie initially joined the DVLA in 2014 as Director of Strategy, Policy and Communications, where she was responsible for delivering the organisation’s business strategy and policy development.

Before the DVLA, Julie worked in several roles at The National Archives, and prior to that she worked for Which?, the largest consumer organisation in Europe.

Grace Ononiwu was appointed to the new post of Director General Legal Delivery (DG LD) on 9 June 2025.

Prior to her current role, Grace was appointed as Director of Legal Services within the Crown Prosecution Service in April 2021, with responsibility for providing assurance to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) on the quality of the legal decision-making and casework progression across a number of CPS Areas. She also has thematic responsibility for Legal Guidance and Development, and Head of Profession support.

Grace qualified as a solicitor in 1991 and joined a private firm of solicitors practising criminal law. She joined the CPS as a Crown Prosecutor and held a number of positions, which led to her appointment as Northamptonshire Chief Crown Prosecutor (CCP) in April 2005, the first African Caribbean to be appointed as a CCP in the history of the CPS.

In 2009, Grace was appointed to CPS London as Deputy Chief Crown Prosecutor (DCCP) with responsibility for the London Districts. In 2012, she was appointed CCP for the East of England Region, and in 2014, CCP of the West Midlands Region, making her the first woman and first Black person to hold both posts.

Grace has made a significant contribution to the CPS Equality and Diversity agenda and was previously the Chair of the National Black Crown Prosecution Association (NBCPA).

Grace was awarded the OBE in 2008 in recognition for her work with the CPS and received an Honorary Doctorate of Laws from the University of Hertfordshire in 2017, in recognition for her contribution to justice and the legal system, including her ongoing work to promote legal education. In November 2021, the University of Hertfordshire’s Law Court Building was renamed the Grace Ononiwu Law Court Building in her honour. Grace is now a Visiting Professor of the University and Patron of their Law Clinic which promotes practical legal experience to students. In 2022 Grace received the honorary award of Doctor of the University from Birmingham City University in recognition of exceptional service to law and order in the West Midlands.

In the 2019 Queen’s Birthday Honours, Grace was awarded the Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for services to Law and Order and was included in the 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020 Power List, which features 100 of the UK’s most influential men and women of African, African Caribbean and African American heritage.

In 2021, Grace was the recipient of the Black Solicitor’s Network, (UK Diversity Legal Awards) Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of her career to date and for championing diversity in the legal profession.

In September 2024, Grace was elected onto the Executive Committee of the International Association of Prosectors (IAP).

Lisa leads the Communications Directorate which is responsible for delivering the communications strategy in support of the CPS’s mission and strategic aims.

Prior to joining the CPS, Lisa has held communications leadership roles in a range of international private and regional public sector organisations. This includes six years working in policing, most recently leading the communications team at West Midlands Police, England’s second biggest police service.

She brings experience of leading communication strategies to support cultural change programmes, employee engagement activity and business transformation programmes, as well as crisis management.

Lisa is a Member of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations.

As the Director of Transformation and Change, Tristan has responsibility for the performance and continuous improvement of operations across the CPS. He leads our Operations Directorate which has the responsibility for operational change, court business, performance management, operational compliance and assurance, legal and operational training, continuous improvement and operational effectiveness.

He is also the CPS Head of Profession for Operational Delivery and leads the Business Delivery Group.

Tristan has worked for the CPS for most of his career in a range of roles across Operational Units, CPS national headquarters, as part of a CJS multi-agency project team, as a Senior Business Manager in CPS London, as the Area Business Manager for CPS West Midlands, and Deputy Director of Operational Delivery.

Steve is the Chief Finance Officer (CFO) of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) taking up post in May 2021.

He is a member of the CPS Executive Group (EG) and Chair of the CPS Investment Committee (IC) and is also an independent member of the Royal Navy (RN) Audit Committee.

Steve has held senior financial and commercial posts across government at DWP, The Child Maintenance & Enforcement Commission and Jobcentre Plus.

Steve began his career working for the BT Group Plc where he qualified as a Chartered Global Management Accountant.

Suzanne started as a CPS legal trainee in 1991 in the West Midlands Area. She has practised extensively throughout the criminal courts as a Prosecutor and Crown Advocate.

Suzanne has undertaken numerous leadership roles within the CPS, being appointed to Deputy Chief Crown Prosecutor for West Midlands before being appointed as substantive Chief Crown Prosecutor for CPS Wessex in 2021. In August 2023, Suzanne additionally took command of CPS Direct, the CPS's national out-of-hours service. In June 2024 Suzanne was appointed Chief Crown Prosecutor for CPS North West before becoming Interim Director of Legal Services in July 2025.

Throughout her career, Suzanne has led significant organisational change programmes, including Transforming Criminal Justice, Better Case Management, the COVID Recovery response, bringing prosecutions for all British Transport Police investigations into CPS West Midlands region and the roll out of the national new charging model. Suzanne is a passionate advocate for the CPS Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy.

Suzanne’s journey into the legal profession has driven her to ensure that candidates see a career in Law as being inclusive, diverse and an attainable career of choice for all. Suzanne was awarded an Honorary Fellowship by The University of Wolverhampton in 2020 in recognition of her work in this area.

Steve O'Connor is the Chief Digital and Information Officer (CDIO) at the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), taking up his post in April 2025.

As a member of the CPS Executive Group, he oversees the delivery of digital and technology services, as well as security and information governance for the organisation.

Steve brings extensive experience from senior digital leadership positions within the public sector, including roles at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), Parliament, and local government, with a consistent emphasis on digital transformation and technology modernisation.

Nick started his career as a Barrister prosecuting and defending criminal cases. He spent three years working for the Criminal Cases Review Commission, and subsequently joined the CPS in 2002. After management positions in CPS Hampshire, Staffordshire and West Midlands, Nick was appointed as temporary Chief Crown Prosecutor of CPS North Wales in 2011.

In 2012 Nick became Deputy Chief Crown Prosecutor of CPS West Midlands where he was responsible for the Crown Court division of the Area. In 2014, Nick was appointed Chief Crown Prosecutor of the Proceeds of Crime Division, subsequently transferring to become Chief Crown Prosecutor of the International Justice and Organised Crime Division in 2018. Nick transferred to head up the Special Crime and Counter Terrorism Division in May 2021 and became Interim Director of Legal Services in May 2024.

Helen has spent her career working in public sector HR in a number of roles, starting in Learning and Development, moving to Business Partnering and then into Strategic HR. In her current permanent role she is Deputy Director of People Development and Inclusion for the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).

She leads on the strategic approach to Organisational Development with thematic responsibility for HR strategy, Diversity and Inclusion, Learning and Development, Employee Experience, Wellbeing, People Change, Talent management and Senior Staffing.

She has been a Chartered Fellow of CIPD since 2005 and has a master’s in strategic HR Management and Development from the University of Salford.

Helen is passionate about improving organisational culture and making the world of work a place where people feel included for who they are and supported to give their best contribution, she enjoys working across the people function and with organisational leaders, staff networks and trade unions to achieve that. She was appointed as Interim Chief People Officer in June 2024. 

Baljit Ubhey joined the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) as a legal trainee in 1992 later qualifying as a prosecutor in London. Baljit has since held many roles including Chief Crown Prosecutor of CPS London.

In January 2017, Baljit was appointed as the Director of Prosecution Policy & Inclusion, leading a policy team within the CPS’ operations directorate whilst leading on equality and inclusion across the service. In September 2019 Baljit became the Director of the Strategy and Policy Directorate.

In addition to her career with the CPS, Baljit has held a number of external roles such as non-executive director for BARTS and the Royal London Hospital and has worked with a number of charities.