Stephen Penneck

Stephen Penneck joined the Office for National Statistics (ONS) in 1997 and became Director General in 2009. He has wide experience as a government statistician, initially in economic statistics, and more lately heading the Surveys and Administrative Sources Directorate.

Prior to becoming Director General, Stephen had responsibility for methodological advice to the ONS and the Government Statistical Service (GSS), including advice to the National Statistician on quality, standards, best practice, surveys, administrative sources, analysis and the Census.

As Director of Surveys and Administrative Sources, he had responsibility for all ONS surveys and for their outputs, including the Consumer Price Index, the Labour Force Survey, and business surveys feeding the National Accounts. Previously, Stephen provided policy advice to the former National Statistician, Len Cook and, in 2002, he completed a five-month secondment to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

Earlier jobs include heading the National Accounts division in ONS, and Chief Adviser on Statistics at the Department of Trade and Industry. Stephen has also worked on statistical research and at the Office of Fair Trading.

Stephen studied for his BSc in Economics and Statistics at Southampton University and has an MSocSc in Econometrics from Birmingham University. He is a Fellow of the Royal Statistical Society and a Chartered Statistician. Stephen is currently President Elect of the International Association of Official Statistics, and has published articles in Economic Trends and Statistical News.