Alwen Lyons, former Company Secretary at the Post Office, to receive royal recognition for her contribution to the Post Office

It was announced in the New Year’s Honours List that Alwen Lyons, former Company Secretary at the Post Office, is to receive the OBE in recognition of her commitment and contribution throughout a remarkable career spanning 33 years. 

Alwen has held a number of key roles during her many years with the Post Office, culminating in her becoming the inaugural Company Secretary for Post Office Limited following the separation from Royal Mail in 2012 as part of the Postal Services Act.

As Company Secretary Alwen developed new governance and legal processes that enabled the independent Post Office to fulfil its role as provider of essential services and social value through its 11600 branches which sit at the heart of communities throughout the UK.

Chief Executive of the Post Office Group, Paula Vennells, said - “I am delighted for Alwen and on behalf of everyone at the Post Office, I send my warmest congratulations to her on this much deserved honour – in recognition of the many years of service Alwen provided to the Post Office, most especially in her leadership of equality and diversity for our organisation.”

On learning of her award Alwen said “It has been an absolute honour to serve the Post Office for so many years. I have been very lucky to work in some fantastic teams and with wonderful colleagues: this recognition is also for them and all their hard work. I am particularly proud of the stunning progress we made with our work on equality and diversity. I have always been a great believer that a business should reflect the diversity of its customers, postmasters and staff. The Post Office set a high bar for inclusion and I’m pleased I was able to lead and help achieve that ambition.”

Alwen started her career back in 1984 as part of the Royal Mail Group graduate scheme and went on to hold several key roles in the Post Office including Finance Director for the South East Region, Eastern Territory General Manager, Head of Industrial Relations, Head of Engagement and Internal Communications, Head of Mails and Retail and Company Secretary of the independent Post Office.

Alwen’s honour is also in recognition of her work on equality and diversity: setting up the Senior Women’s Action Network to give women in the Post Office more confidence to become future leaders, followed by the development of the Women in Leadership programme and wider inclusivity work across Bame, gender, accessibility and LGBTQ+. The Post Office has twice won a Times' 'Top 50 employers for Women' award, in 2015 and 2017. It gained the Employers Network for Equality 'Representative Workplace Award in 2014, and in 2017 was recognised by the UK Government as a Disability Confident Leader.