Board of Directors
Allan Cook CBE
Chairman
Allan Cook was appointed a non-executive director in September 2009, taking up the post of chairman on 1 February 2010. He is a chartered engineer with more than 30 years’ international experience in the automotive, aerospace and defence industries. He was chief executive of Cobham PLC until the end of December 2009. Prior to this he held senior roles at GEC-Marconi, BAE Systems and Hughes Aircraft. He is a non-executive director of Marshall of Cambridge (Holdings) Limited and a member of the operating executive board of J.F. Lehman & Company. He is also chairman of the Sector Skills Council for Science, Engineering and Manufacturing Technologies (SEMTA), past president of the Aerospace and Defence Industries Association of Europe (ASD), past president of the Society of British Aerospace and Defence Companies (SBAC), director of the Industry Forum, director of the Apprentice Ambassador Network and a committee member of the UK Ministerial Advisory Group for Manufacturing. He was awarded a CBE in the Queen’s New Year’s Honours list in 2008.
Keith Clarke
Chief executive
Keith Clarke was appointed a director in October 2003. He is a chartered architect. He joined the Group from Skanska AB where he was executive vice president responsible for the company’s activities in the UK, Poland, Czech Republic, India and China. He has over 30 years’ experience in construction and engineering, having previously worked for the City of New York, Olympia & York, Trafalgar House and Kvaerner. He is an advisory board member of the Built Environment Innovation Centre at Imperial College, London, Patron of the Environmental Industries Commission and an honorary fellow of the Institution of Structural Engineers. He is currently deputy chairman of the UK Construction Industry Council (CIC), having served as chairman from 2008 to 2010 and previously chairing its Health and Safety Committee. He is a member of the Nomination Committee.
Heath Drewett
Group finance director
Heath Drewett was appointed a director with effect from 15 June 2009, and took over as Group finance director on 19 June 2009. A graduate in mathematics from Peterhouse, Cambridge, he started his career at PricewaterhouseCoopers where he qualified as a chartered accountant. Prior to joining the Group he held a variety of senior finance and corporate development roles at British Airways plc and The Morgan Crucible Company plc.
Alun Griffiths
Group HR director
Alun Griffiths was appointed a director in March 2007. He has a background in management consultancy and has led a wide range of projects in the areas of restructuring, organisational development and privatisation in the UK and internationally. He is an economics graduate and a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. He was appointed Group HR director in February 2003. Alun chairs the Industry Board of the UK Resource Centre for Women in Science, Engineering and Technology (UKRC), an organisation charged with progressing the UK government’s strategy for increasing the participation of women in science and engineering.
Admiral the Lord Boyce
Non-executive director
Lord Boyce was appointed a non-executive director in May 2004. He had a distinguished career in the Royal Navy and the Ministry of Defence (MoD) that culminated in his becoming First Sea Lord, professional head of the Royal Navy, in 1998 and then Chief of Defence Staff, professional head of the Armed Forces, from 2001 to 2003. He was elevated to the peerage in 2003 and was appointed Lord Warden and Admiral of the Cinque Ports and Constable of Dover Castle in 2004. He is a non-executive director of VT Group plc. He is senior independent director and a member of the Remuneration and Nomination Committees.
Fiona Clutterbuck
Non-executive director
Fiona Clutterbuck was appointed a non-executive director in March 2007. She has substantial experience in all areas of corporate finance, including a particular focus on the financial institutions’ sector, gained during 15 years at Hill Samuel and HSBC and latterly seven years at ABN AMRO. She has advised on a wide range of transactions in many countries, including mergers and takeovers, public company acquisitions and fundraisings, and public and private company sales and flotations. She has an LLB (Hons) from the University of London and qualified as a barrister in 1980. She is a director within the corporate office at Phoenix Group Holdings. She is a member of the Audit, Nomination and Remuneration Committees.
Joanne Curin
Non-executive director
Joanne Curin was appointed a non-executive director in February 2009. She is a chartered accountant and has a broad range of international experience gained during her career as a senior finance executive for large-scale organisations in the property and construction, oil and gas, pulp and paper, shipping and logistics sectors. She has worked in the UK, New Zealand and Australia and more recently held finance director roles for both Lend Lease Corporation and P&O. She is currently a director of Intelligent Engineering Holdings, which has developed and is commercialising a composite material technology for use in heavy engineering structures. She is chairman of the Audit Committee and a member of the Nomination Committee.
Dr Raj Rajagopal
Non-executive director
Raj Rajagopal was appointed a non-executive director in June 2008. He held several positions at BOC Edwards before being appointed chief executive, a position he held until November 2006. He was an executive director of the BOC Group plc until November 2006 and is a non-executive director of Bodycote plc and Spirax-Sarco Engineering plc. He is also chairman of HHV Pumps Private Ltd and non-executive chairman of The University of Manchester Intellectual Property Limited. He is a fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, a fellow of the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), a fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Management and a fellow of the Institute of Directors. He is also an Audit Commissioner and a member of the Advisory Board of the Centre for Business Research of Cambridge University. He was awarded an honorary doctor of science degree by Cranfield University in 2004 and the IET’s IEE Eric Mensforth International Gold Medal for outstanding contribution to manufacturing technology and management in 2003. He is a member of the Remuneration and Nomination Committees.
Sir Peter Williams
Non-executive director
Sir Peter Williams was appointed a non-executive director in May 2004. He graduated from Cambridge University with an MA and PhD in physics and initially pursued an academic career at Cambridge and subsequently at Imperial College, London. After a period with VG Instruments Limited he joined Oxford Instruments plc in 1982. He became its chief executive in 1985 and was chairman from 1991 until his retirement in 1999. He is chairman of the National Physical Laboratory and was elected as fifth chancellor of the University of Leicester on 21 October 2005. He is chairman of the Remuneration Committee and a member of the Audit and Nomination Committees.