My friend and colleague David Harker, who has died aged 64 of cancer, improved the lives of many people. After a varied early career, he joined the disability charity Sense in 1989 and helped transform it into the leading organisation in its field in the world. He went on to become chief executive of Citizens Advice between 1997 and 2010, substantially strengthening the network of local citizens advice bureaux and their ability to influence government to tackle problems at source. David sat on many ministerial and strategy groups, including the NHS Modernisation Board and the Cabinet Office’s delivery council.
After leaving Citizens Advice, he took his knowledge into bodies that improve vital services. At his death, he was chair of the Pensions Advisory Service and a non-executive director of the board of Ofgem, the gas and electricity regulator, and the Financial Conduct Authority, which regulates banks. He also helped set up a thinktank, Civil Exchange, to improve the way the government and the voluntary sector work together to improve services. He was appointed OBE in 2003 and CBE in 2011.
David’s passion for helping people started in childhood. His love for his brother Derek, who was born with Down’s syndrome, was a formative influence. He was born and raised in Darlington, son of Stanley, who worked in the railway pensions office and Mary, who ran a hairdressing business. He gained a degree in social studies from the University of East Anglia in 1972 and an MA in sociology at the University of Essex in 1973, supplemented in 1986 with an MBA from the London Business School. From Essex he moved to London, where in 1980 he met and married the journalist Diane Summers.
David’s work changed lives. He was unassuming, kind and energetic. A much-loved husband and father, with many good friends, he read widely, loved company and the outdoors. In recent years he trekked across mountains in the Himalayas, took skiing holidays with his son and often went on walking holidays with friends. He would regularly cycle, canoe and swim in the sea in Suffolk, where he and his wife had a house. He was, as one former colleague put it, “a delight,” with a talent for enjoying life that few of us have, and a professional dedication that led him to shine in everything he did.
He is survived by Diane, by their son, Alex, and by his sister Joan. Derek predeceased him.
