Our Team

Nick Jones was appointed Chief Executive and Registrar of the General Chiropractic Council in February 2019 and is thrilled to lead the team working across the chiropractic system.

Nick started his working career in social housing and was drawn to a career in regulation; working first for the housing regulator and then within system healthcare regulation ending up at the Care Quality Commission in 2010. From then until joining the GCC he was a Director at the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, the government regulator responsible for making sure fertility clinics and research centres comply with the law.

He believes that regulation undertaken well incentivises improvement and high-quality care for patients, its fundamental purpose. He lives in north London with his partner and three sons.

Penny Bance joined the GCC in February 2013 as Director of Education, Registration and Standards.

Penny has over 25 years of experience in the field of standards, qualifications and apprenticeships, working for several trade associations and membership organisations in fields such as printing, film and television, lifelong learning and financial services. 

She is passionate about engaging with current and future registrants, ensuring they continue to learn and develop as professionals. She has been a college governor for several years and lives in southeast London with her husband and daughter.

Niru Uddin is the Director of Fitness to Practise. Medical Law has always been of great interest to Niru, having first stumbled on the area as a module in her undergraduate degree at the University of Liverpool. 

Niru started her early career at a Magic Circle International law firm working on Structured Finance deals. Still, her interests in medical law soon led her back to healthcare regulation at the General Optical Council, where she qualified as a Solicitor. 

Niru joined the GCC in October 2015 and has over 13 years of experience in professional regulation from several healthcare regulators and membership organisations. 

Niru is passionate about professional regulation, which she often refers to as "posh crime" to those unfamiliar with the area. Since joining the GCC, Niru has brought her experience from other regulators and sought to make changes to ensure best practices and adherence to PSA's standards of good regulation.

Joe’s professional background is in finance, audit and business management. Joe started off his career in audit in the private sector for four years before he moved to the non-profit (NP) sector over 25 years ago. Since joining the NP sector, Joe has worked with various senior leadership teams in professional membership and social enterprise organisations with lead responsibility for corporate resources management. Joe’s functional areas of oversight over the years include financial strategy development and delivery; business planning; financial management and reporting; corporate governance; people management; risk and information management; HR; and facilities.

Joe is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA), member of the Chartered Governance Institute and Chartered Accountants Worldwide.

Joe cherishes the opportunity to contribute to policy development which strengthens operational and strategic business practices, and outcomes for the benefit of the GCC’s stakeholders. Joe is results-driven and is energised by the varied demands of his role. Joe says he is truly in sympathy with the GCC’s values; so, he likes to live the values so everyone can hopefully feel that the GCC is a ‘great place to work’.

Outside of work, Joe enjoys spending time with his family. Joe is also actively involved in local charitable endeavours.