Saf Ismail and Elliot Jacobs become first serving postmasters on Post Office Board

For the first time in its 360-year history, Post Office has appointed two serving postmasters to its board as non-executive directors.

Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng has approved the appointment of Saf Ismail and Elliot Jacobs who received the most votes in a historic election which saw six serving postmasters in contention.

Saf Ismail operates six post offices (five in Lancashire and the other in Farnworth, Greater Manchester) and Elliot Jacobs, seven post offices (five in London and two in Hertfordshire). They will formally join the Post Office board following an induction and training programme.

“Postmasters are at the very heart of the Post Office and should rightly have a strong voice at the very highest level in the organisation,” Postal Affairs Minister Paul Scully said.

“Saf Ismail and Elliot Jacobs will bring a wealth of knowledge and experience as postmasters to the Post Office board, and their insight will be invaluable as the Post Office seeks to reset its relationship with postmasters.”

The appointment is part of the measures the firm has adopted to ‘reset the relationship’ with postmasters following the settlement of long-running Horizon case in December 2019.

“Having two serving Postmasters on our Board will help ensure our strategic direction is rooted in the reality of their experience and needs. It sends the clearest signal yet of our determination to ensure postmasters are at the heart of our business,” Tim Parker, chairman of the Post Office, said.

Nick Read, chief executive of Post Office, added: “I want to thank all six candidates for putting themselves forward for election and for a great campaign. Each had clear views about the challenges of running a Post Office and what needs to change to enable them to operate successfully, which is encouraging as we develop new ways of engaging with Postmasters.”

The other four serving Postmasters that contested the election were Lee Dearn, Mukhtar Goraya, Jasbir Parmar and Sarabjeet Soar.