Chairman
Neil Johnson
Appointment to the Board
Appointed to the Board in April 2019.
Committee memberships
Nominations Committee (Chair)
Remuneration Committee
Risk & Security Committee
Skills, competence and experience
Neil’s former CEO experience and current roles as a plc Chair and Non-Executive Director brings to the Board relevant knowledge, challenge and leadership. Starting his career at Sandhurst and the army, Neil spent much of his early career in the automotive and engineering industries. He was worldwide Sales and Marketing Director at Jaguar before being seconded to the UK Ministry of Defence to command 4th Battalion The Royal Green Jackets. He returned to the industry with British Aerospace, initially running Land Rover and then all of its European automotive operations. Neil was later CEO of the RAC, and former Director General of the EEF and a Home Office appointed Independent Member of the Metropolitan Police Authority. He was previously Chairman of Motability Operations and Centaur Media plc.
Other appointments
Chairman of Electra Private Equity plc and Senior Independent Non-Exeuctive Director of the Business Growth Fund.
Chief Executive Officer
Steve Wadey
Appointment to the Board
Appointed Chief Executive Officer in April 2015.
Committee memberships
Risk & Security Committee
Skills, competence and experience
Steve’s proven track record of driving growth, and his in-depth experience of defence and technology industries is of essential importance and benefit to the Board. Steve is a Fellow of the Institution of Engineering and Technology, the Royal Aeronautical Society, and the Royal Academy of Engineering. He was previously Co-Chair of the UK Defence Growth Partnership, a member of the Prime Minister’s Business Advisory Group, Co-Chair of the National Defence Industries Council Research and Development Group, and a Non-Executive Director of the UK MOD Research and Development Board. Steve has held various roles with MBDA, including as Managing Director, MBDA UK. Previously he held various roles with Matra BAe Dynamics and British Aerospace.
Other appointments
Chair of the Defence Industry Liaison Board of the UK Department for International Trade, Defence & Security Organisation.
Chief Financial Officer
David Smith
Appointment to the Board
Appointed Chief Financial Officer in March 2017.
Committee memberships
Risk & Security Committee
Skills, competence and experience
David provides significant expertise to the Group from his broad and comprehensive executive experience in blue-chip companies and work in the aerospace and defence, technology, and automotive sectors. David is an Associate of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants and a member of its Advisory Panel. He was previously the CFO of Rolls-Royce Holdings plc, having joined as CFO of its Aerospace Division. Prior to that, David was CFO of Edwards Group and CEO of Jaguar Land Rover, having previously been its CFO. He has also held a variety of roles with the Ford Motor Company.
Other appointments:
N/A
Deputy Chairman and Senior Independent Non-Executive Director
Michael Harper
Appointment to the Board
Appointed to the Board in November 2011.
Committee memberships
Audit Committee
Nominations Committee
Remuneration Committee
Risk & Security Committee
Skills, competence and experience
Michael brings to the Board a wealth of operational and corporate experience from a lengthy career as a business leader and Board member within, amongst others, the engineering and aviation industries. He continues to provide highly valuable advice to the Board and its discussions, in particular in his capacity as the Senior Independent Director. Michael has served as Chairman of Ricardo plc, Vitec Group plc, and BBA Aviation plc, having previously been its CEO. Michael also previously served as Senior Independent Director of Catlin Group Limited, as a Non-Exeucutive Director of Williams plc and the Aerospace Technology Institute, and as CEO of Kidde plc.
Other appointments
N/A
Independent Non-Executive Director
Lynn Brubaker
Appointment to the Board
Appointed to the Board in January 2016.
Committee memberships
Audit Committee
Nominations Committee
Remuneration Committee
Risk & Security Committee
Skills, competence and experience
Lynn’s experience from a number of senior Board positions at various US-based companies, in particular in the aerospace sector, makes her a valuable member of the Board and enables her to provide insightful advice on matters such as strategy and customer stakeholder management. Lynn has held positions as Non-Executive Director of Force Protection, Inc., Seabury Group, Graham Partners, Cordiem, the Nordam Group, the Flight Safety Foundation (as Chair), and as a member of the Management Advisory Council of the Federal Aviation Administration. Lynn was also the Vice President and General Manager of Commercial Aerospace at Honeywell International.
Other appointments
Non-Executive Director of FARO Technologies Inc.
Independent Non-Executive Director
Shonaid Jemmett-Page
Appointment to the Board
Appointed to the Board in May 2020.
Committee memberships
Audit Committee (Chair)
Nominations Committee
Remuneration Committee
Risk & Security Committee
Skills, competence and experience
Shonaid brings to the Board experience from previous roles as an Executive and Non-Executive Director from a breadth of sectors, including industrial and technology based businesses with international operations. This, combined with extensive financial experience, makes her the ideal candidate to take over as Chair of the Audit Committee. Previously Shonaid was the Chief Operating Officer of CDC Group plc, the UK Government’s development finance institution, having joined from Unilever, where she was the Senior Vice-President Finance and Information, Home and Personal Care, originally in Asia and later for the Group as a whole. Her early career was spent at KPMG, latterly as a partner. Her Board level experience includes Non-Executive Chair of Origo Partners plc and MSAmlin plc, and Non-Executive Director roles at GKN plc, Close Brothers Group plc and APR Energy plc.
Other appointments
Non-Executive Chair of Greencoat UK Wind plc and Cordiant Digital Infrastructure Limited, Senior Independent Director of ClearBank Ltd and Non-Executive Director of Caledonia Investments plc.
Independent Non-Executive Director
General Sir Gordon Messenger
Appointment to the Board
Appointed to the Board in October 2020.
Committee memberships
Audit Committee
Nominations Committee
Remuneration Committee
Risk & Security Committee (Chair)
Skills, competence and experience
General Sir Gordon Messenger brings vast experience from the armed forces having served for 37 years as a Royal Marine. Throughout his military career he served in key appointments in various UK and NATO Headquarters, overseeing the planning and execution of UK and Coalition military and humanitarian relief operations worldwide. He most recently served as Vice Chief of the Defence Staff, a position he held for three years until his retirement in 2019.
Other appointments
UK Member of the international Defence Reform Advisory Board for Ukraine.
Independent Non-Executive Director
Susan Searle
Appointment to the Board
Appointed to the Board in March 2014.
Committee memberships
Audit Committee
Nominations Committee
Remuneration Committee (Chair)
Risk & Security Committee
Skills, competence and experience
Susan brings to the Board essential experience of investing in growing technology businesses, acquisitions and exploitation of new technologies. Her experience as a plc Remuneration Committee Chair enables her to efficiently and valuably chair the Remuneration Committee. Susan was a founder of Touchstone Innovations plc, and formerly its CEO. She has served on a variety of private company boards in engineering, healthcare and advanced materials, and held a variety of commercial and business development roles with Shell Chemicals, the Bank of Nova Scotia, Montech (Australia), and Signet Group plc. Previously Susan was the Senior Independent Director and Remuneration Committee Chair of Horizon Discovery Group plc and Chair of Mercia Asset Management plc.
Other appointments
Senior Independent Non-Executive Director and Chair of the Remuneration Committee of Benchmark Holdings plc and Chair of Schroder UK Public Private Trust plc.
Company Secretary and Group General Counsel
Jon Messent
Appointment to the Board
Appointed to the Board in January 2011.
Skills, competence and experience
Jon joined QinetiQ from Chloride Group plc where he held a similar role. He has a background in legal private practice as well as General Counsel and Company Secretarial experience in other FTSE 250 companies.