Judy joined the Royal Air Force in 1985, rising to the rank of Squadron Leader by age 30. At the completion of her Initial Officer Training at RAF College Cranwell she was awarded the Sash of Merit (The then female equivalent of the Sword of Honour award) for ‘outstanding ability and potential for further development’.

While serving in the RAF, Judy was managing up to 130 military and civilian personnel on front-line operational stations such as RAF Marham & RAF Coningsby. Her duties included responsibility for specialist contracted commercial services on UK and overseas bases and she played an inaugural role in the creation of MOD policy concerning third party management, inspection, quality control and the development of the methodologies used to bring oversight to commercial bid evaluation.
 
In 1996 Judy was offered a management position within Universal Sodexo’s Remote Site Division, which she accepted, moving to Aberdeen in Scotland. Here she was quickly promoted into positions at corporate, regional and field level, often to resolve critical strategic issues. With the resultant extensive exposure to proposal and contract management scenarios in countries as diverse as Norway, The Netherlands, Kazakhstan, Angola and Gabon, she gained a well‐developed level of commercial, procurement and international business insight.
 
Her final challenge with Sodexo took place in 2003, with an appointment to the corporate HQ in Paris as Head of Communications, where she spent almost 3 years reporting directly to the CEO. An ability to quickly grasp the full dimensions of critical business issues meant that Judy acted as the division lead in implementing Sarbanes-Oxley financial reforms, a task which brought her considerable exposure to financial governance mechanisms and the practicalities of implementing and operating within such regulatory frameworks.
 
Leaving France for an opportunity to work in the Nuclear Power Industry, 2006 to 2015 saw Judy living and working on Anglesey, where she became profoundly concerned at the plight of North West Wales which was facing impending job losses that nuclear decommissioning was to inflict, in particular, on the Isle of Anglesey and Snowdonia. After working in a roving strategic HR position within the Nuclear Power Station of Wylfa, Judy created a successful bid for European Social Funding, securing Local, Regional and National partners with whom to develop a highly successful £4m project she christened, ‘Shaping the Future’. Her vision was to create a fresh career ‘road map’ for the 1,200 nuclear professionals facing redundancy in this economically depressed region of Wales, and to place personal development and re-skilling at the heart of North West Wales’ regional economic regeneration and success. This work led her to being a finalist in the Leading Wales Awards 2012 celebrating individuals who, through their leadership, contribute to the prosperity of Wales.
 
Since 2008, Judy has expanded her portfolio of NED appointments with a series of organisations such as the NHS, the Chartered Management, the Institute of Consulting  Corporate Governance Committee of The Welsh Government and, most recently, with the The Law Society of England And Wales. Judy has amassed an extensive knowledge of regulatory practices, including governance & compliance experience in a range of regulators, such as Ofqual and The Legal Services Board, to augment her sound business skills.
 
After graduating, Judy briefly worked for British Airways in 1984, purchasing equipment for Concorde and the Boeing 747 & 737 fleets. Judy completed her first degree at Sheffield Hallam University in 1984 when she gained a BSc (Hons). This was followed in 1999 by the academic achievement of an MBA from the Open University. Passionate about continuous personal development, she has since gained a Post Graduate Certificate in Career & Talent Management gained in 2009 and a Post Graduate Certificate in Strategic ICT Leadership in 2014.