Student Loans Company sacks CEO

The Student Loans Company issued a damning statement today (November 8), stating that its shareholders “expect the highest standards of management and leadership and these were not upheld by Mr Lamey during his time in this role.”

The sacking follows a suspension of Lamey as CEO and an investigation into his conduct. The change also follows criticisms of bureaucracy within the company’s leadership, poor customer service and complaints from students about retrospective charges.

Lamey has been chief executive since June 2016, having previously worked in senior roles at HMRC, including chief operations officer and chief executive of its tax credits and child benefits division.

Peter Lauener, the current chief executive of the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) and Institute for Apprenticeships (IfA), has been parachuted in as interim CEO, starting on November 27. Lauener will remain in post at the SLC until a permanent appointment is made.

The Student Loans Company issued a statement saying: “DfE and the SLC board would like to put on record our thanks to David Wallace for his excellent work as acting CEO during Steve Lamey’s suspension.”

Wallace will continue in this role until Lauener starts on November 27. Wallace will then revert as planned to his former position as SLC’s deputy CEO and chief customer officer.