Chief Executive
Heather Laing
Biography
Heather Laing was appointed Chief Executive of the Immigration Advice Authority (IAA) on 1 April 2025, following a period as Interim Chief Executive after the organisations rebrand on 16 January 2025.
Prior to joining the IAA, Heather held a number of high-profile leadership roles within the Home Office. Heather’s career spans the public, private, and not-for-profit sectors, with a strong focus on fraud prevention and immigration reform.
Career highlights include:
- leading the establishment of the Professional Enablers Taskforce
- delivery and transformation of immigration casework and the digital transformation of passport services
- fraud and financial crime prevention and detection across multiple sectors
- serving as a Non-Executive Director and Chair of the Advisory Board at Cifas, the UK’s leading fraud prevention agency
Chief Executive
As Chief Executive of the IAA, Heather is responsible for:
- providing visible and dynamic leadership, setting strategic direction and inspiring ambition across the organisation
- driving performance to deliver on the IAA’s strategic priorities and enhanced agenda
- working closely with the Immigration Services Commissioner to represent the IAA to partners, government stakeholders, regulatory bodies, and the public