Philippa has 30 years of business experience, having begun her career at Citibank. Following 9 years at Bowater, leaving as group treasurer, she became group finance director at DG Gardner Group, a training organisation, then joined Thorn EMI in 1993 as group treasurer until 2000. She was appointed Director of the IBE in 2001.

In connection with her IBE role she served on the Woolf Committee 2007/8 looking at ethical business practice in BAE Systems plc; and has been appointed to the Advisory Board of the Centre for Corporate Reputation at the Said Business School at Oxford University and consequently as a Visiting Fellow of the University.

She sits on the Boards of the Institute of Directors and of the Norfolk and Norwich University Foundation Trust Hospital, where she chairs the Audit Committee. She is also Chairman of the UK Antarctic Heritage Trust.

Philippa was awarded an OBE in the New Year Honours 2006 for services to the Ministry of Defence where she was a NED and chaired the Defence Audit Committee from 2002-2007. In July 2008 she was awarded the Marks & Spencer Sieff Award.