46th COPOLCO plenary and workshops

Julie is an independent consultant who has worked exclusively in consumer policy, research and advocacy for 25 years. During this time, she has collaborated with charities, regulators, standards bodies, government departments and inter-governmental agencies - in the UK and abroad - to empower and protect consumers.

Julie has delivered successful projects, training and events on topics such as: AI, vulnerability and inclusion, digital finance, e-commerce, fraud, sustainability, customer service, complaints and redress.

Since 2009, Julie has worked closely with BSI, ANEC and ISO COPOLCO to represent consumer stakeholder interests in the development of standards. She is the current Chair of the Consumer & Public Interest Network (CPIN) – an independent organisation representing the consumer voice in British Standards – and is the UK representative on the ANEC General Assembly.

Nikki Stopford has 25 years of experience advocating and raising industry standards for consumers.  

She co-founded Consumer Voice – a UK consumer rights website and community dedicated to promoting awareness of and engagement with group legal actions. Nikki is also the class representative in the £7 billion Google Search collective action.

She is a prominent media spokesperson and resident expert on BBC One’s flagship consumer affairs programme Rip Off Britain.

As the Chair of the British Standards Institute (BSI) Consumer Forum, she brings together consumer advocacy organizations, government departments, regulators and enforcement agencies to strengthen the UK consumer voice in standards.

She has held executive leadership roles running content-led businesses that have engaged and advocated for millions of consumers. For over 10 years, she was Group Director of Research and Publishing at Which? – the UK's largest consumer organization. 

She is a research professional with wider expertise in consumer engagement, advocacy, and publishing. 

At BSI, Sadie leads consumer policy and is responsible for building and sustaining strong consumer stakeholder input to British Standards at the governance, policy, and technical levels. In line with BSI’s ambitions, she has built a strong and independent voice for consumer interests through the BSI Consumer Forum, its council and the Consumer and Public Interest Network (CPIN) to ensure robust and credible British Standards. Engagement with the UK government, regulators, consumer protection agencies and consumer organisations to provide awareness of the value and use of standards to fulfil their policy objectives is also an important part of the role.

Sadie has actively participated in COPOLCO since 1997. She has played an instrumental role in developing and delivering ‘consumers and standards training’ to ISO and CI members from emerging and developing countries.  Sadie was COPOLCO Chair 2022-23 and Vice Chair 2019-21.

Before joining BSI, she worked in the consumer movement for more than thirty years at Consumers International and at the test laboratories of the UK’s Consumers Association.

Saral James Maniam is the Secretary-General of the Malaysian Association of Standards Users and has worked in quality assurance, auditing, and consumer advocacy for over 20 years. During this time, she has collaborated with industry, regulators, government bodies, and international organizations to promote quality standards and protect consumer interests.

Saral has led initiatives in complaints handling, supplier evaluation, inspection methods, and capacity building. Her work spans areas such as consumer safety, anti-bribery management, e-commerce, and public services.

She has contributed actively to standards development through ISO, holding roles such as Convenor, Co-Convenor, Project Manager, and Mentor. She currently serves as Vice Chair of ISO COPOLCO and Convenor of WG23 on Capacity Building and Training. She was also the former Co-Convenor of WG5 on the Global Marketplace, representing the consumer voice in international standardization