Sir Chris Powell is chair of ASBOF (the Advertising Standards Board of Finance).He was a founder of the advertising agency BMP DDB and went on to become its chief executive and then chairman. He was knighted in 2009 for his services to the advertising industry.

In the public sphere, his experience includes chairing NESTA (the National Endowment for Science Technology and the Arts), Ealing, Hammersmith and Hounslow Health Authority, and the British Council's Creative Industries Advisory Panel and (as vice chair) the Public Diplomacy Board. He is chair of Riverside Studios.

In the commercial world, Chris chairs Dr Foster LLP and Parcel Poke (a web start-up) and is a member of the Advisory Board of PWC. He was a non-executive director of UBM.

Chris Powell served as Chair of IPPR Trustees from 2001 to 2008.