Karen Dunnell,

Karen Dunnell started her career as a health care researcher and lecturer.  She joined
the civil service in 1974 to work on social surveys in OPCS – one of the departments
that merged to form ONS in 1996.  She carried out several bench mark surveys in the
health and demography fields before promotion to manage a large portfolio of
surveys.  This included the GHS, the 1985 series of disability surveys and OPCS’s
programme for the Department of Health.  In 1990 she moved to run health statistics –
which was expanded to include demography when ONS was formed.  In 1999 she
moved to the centre of ONS leading the Division that supported the ONS executive,
prepared and launched National Statistics in 2000 and paved the way for Len Cook
the first National Statistician.  Late in 2000 she was promoted to look after a wide
range of social statistics including health and labour market.  In 2002 she was
appointed to the ONS executive to lead the creation of the new “Sources” directorate
which brought together all the household and business survey work, the infrastructure
register and classification work.  She also started and lead the Statistical
Modernisation Programme in ONS.  In September 2005 she was appointed National
Statistician and Registrar General for England and Wales to succeed Len Cook.