The former president of CIOT, Patrick Stevens, has been appointed tax policy director by CIOT and the Association of Taxation Technicians (ATT).

Stevens' varied career as a tax specialist includes 16 years at Ernst & Young (EY), where he was a client-serving partner and spent a number of years as a managing partner of the growth markets part of the business. Prior to that he worked with mid-tier firms and small local practices.

As CIOT's president in 2012-13, Stevens worked closely with his predecessor as tax policy director, John Whiting, to raise the profile of the institute and ensure a practitioner perspective is heard in the debates around tax. He will be the CIOT and ATT lead spokesperson to both media and political audiences.

CIOT and ATT tax policy director Patrick Stevens said: 'I am delighted to become Tax Policy Director at a challenging but fascinating time in tax. The need for the profession to make its voice heard in the frequently cacophonous tax debate has never been greater. The great strength of our organisations is the technical excellence of our members. That is why we are listened to and why real weight is attached to our views and our recommendations.'