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David Pilling

Head of Lobbying and Policy, Ombudsman Services

David Pilling is the Head of Lobbying and Policy, Ombudsman Services. He studied on the 5 day intensive Regulation programme.

"In three words, the programme was informative, engaging and fun. The mix of people from all over the world, doing different jobs, in different structures and contexts is very interesting"

A broader horizon

In three words, the programme was informative, engaging and fun. The mix of people from all over the world, doing different jobs, in different structures and contexts is very interesting. There were people from New Zealand, Australia, a large contingent from Brazil and the Middle East too.

In my job at the Ombudsman Services, we resolve complaints from the public about their service providers: for instance, their energy company. In Brazil, there’s nothing like this. There’s only the courts, which the wealthy alone can access. There were a lot of good points of the programme but being able to swap stories with people from other countries and ask questions about why things are done in a certain way in their country was definitely one of them. It’s given me a fresh perspective.

Real-world application

The lecturers were another one of the best aspects of the programme. They were very entertaining, incredibly knowledgeable and really brought the subject to life. Each had a different style, but all of them encouraged discussion and made it fun. At the start, you don’t think five days of learning about regulation will be fun, but the pace is quick and there’s a lot of practical application, not just theory. And on the Wednesday, you get to go to the LSE pub!

In my current role as Head of Lobbying and Policy at Ombudsman Services a lot of the people I’m trying to influence are regulators. We need to know and talk their language. That’s why I wanted to take the programme. Discussions on regulation can be very complex but I can now sit round a table with regulators and understand what they’re saying. Since the programme I have been appointed to represent Ombudsman Services on two Working Group advising Ministers on regulation in property and energy.

An investment for life

The programme takes you back to basics, starting with the question ‘Why regulate?’ It then takes you through different ways of regulating and how they work in each of the sectors. It also brings in more sophisticated things like costing and how you as a regulator need to remain relevant. I now know that no system is perfect!

It’s given me an awareness of the need to constantly improve on what’s gone before. I’ve worked for two regulators, and they both acted in very different ways. I already knew a lot about the powers and abilities of regulators, but what this did was ground all of that in theory, which was helpful.

I chose LSE because it has a great standing in academia and world-class teaching staff. I didn’t want to do a year-long programme, I just wanted something quick, manageable and relevant. It’s given me confidence to know that my company invested in me with this programme, and that investment has paid off. 

See the programme