Neil Johnson
Group Chair
Board of Directors
Neil Johnson
Group Chair
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 Group 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
Chair of Unbound Group plc and Senior Independent Non-Executive Director of the Business Growth Fund.
Steve Wadey
Chief Executive Officer
Steve Wadey
Chief Executive Officer
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. He has held various roles with MBDA, including as Managing Director, MBDA UK. Previously he held various roles with Matra BAe Dynamics and British Aerospace. He was also Chair of the Defence Industry Liaison Board of the UK Department for International Trade, Defence and Security Exports.
Other appointments
Co-Chair of UK Defence Growth Partnership and Climate Change and Sustainability steering group with UK MOD
Carol Borg
Chief Financial Officer
Carol Borg
Chief Financial Officer
Appointment to the Board
Appointed Chief Financial Officer Designate in October 2021, and Chief Financial Officer in December 2021.
Committee memberships
Risk & Security Committee
Skills, competence and experience
Carol brings a wealth of global financial expertise and Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) leadership to the role. Leading key interventions in working capital management, new market entry and establishment, risk management, insurance and business continuity, finance process maturation and shared service centre implementation, she has a deep international knowledge of operational execution, performance management, financial reporting, risk management, strategy and governance; all of which makes her a true strategic finance and commercial business partner.
Carol has held various senior roles in international businesses, most recently in a founder led renewable business as the Chief Financial Officer of Lightsource bp, a global solar developer. Prior to that she held various positions at Vestas, a global wind turbine manufacturer, the most recent being the position as Regional Chief Financial Officer of Vestas' Southern Europe, Middle East and North Africa (MENA) & Latin America operations (spanning manufacturing, sales, construction and after sales service).
Other appointments:
N/A
Michael Harper
Deputy Chairman and Senior Independent Non-Executive Director
Michael Harper
Deputy Chairman and Senior Independent Non-Executive Director
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, among 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 previously served as Senior Independent Director of Catlin Group Limited, as a Non-Executive Director of Williams plc and the Aerospace Technology Institute, and as CEO of Kidde plc.
Other appointments
N/A
Shonaid Jemmett-Page
Independent Non-Executive Director
Shonaid Jemmett-Page
Independent Non-Executive Director
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 a wealth of 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 her extensive financial experience, enables her to successfully chair 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 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 Aviva plc.
General Sir Gordon Messenger
Independent Non-Executive Director
General Sir Gordon Messenger
Independent Non-Executive Director
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
Gordon 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.
His unique experience enables him to provide invaluable insight in his role as the Chair of the Risk & Security Committee.
Other appointments
UK Member of the international Defence Reform Advisory Board for Ukraine, Board Member of the UK Health Security Agency, a member of the advisory board of C3.ai, Inc. and His Majesty’s Constable of the Tower of London (designate).
Lawrence (Larry) Prior III
Independent Non-Executive Director
Lawrence (Larry) Prior III
Independent Non-Executive Director
Appointment to the Board
Appointed to the board in August 2021.
Committee memberships
Audit Committee
Nominations Committee
Remuneration Committee
Risk & Security Committee
Skills, competence and experience
Larry brings a wealth of experience as an experienced executive and non-executive from a breadth of sectors including aerospace, defence and government services, IT, and cyber & security. This, combined with his global and US focus, make him ideal to support QinetiQ’s progress in becoming an integrated global defence and security company.
Larry is currently an Operating Executive for the Carlyle Group. His most recent executive experience was as President and Chief Executive Officer of CSRA, Inc. where he led a spinout from CSC, a merger with SRA and an IPO on the NYSE in 2015. The company was acquired by General Dynamics in 2018. Previously, he was Executive Vice President and General Manager of CSC’s North American Public Sector (NPS) business, providing next-generation technology solutions and mission services to the U.S. Department of Defense, Intelligence Community and FedCiv sectors.
Other appointments
Operating Executive for the Carlyle Group, Non-Executive Director and Chair of the Audit Committee of KLDiscovery Inc, and Chairman of Two Six Technologies and independent Director of Shift5.
Susan Searle
Independent Non-Executive Director
Susan Searle
Independent Non-Executive Director
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 and Schroder UK Public Private Trust plc.
Other appointments
Senior Independent Non-Executive Director and Chair of the Remuneration Committee of Benchmark Holdings plc, Non-Executive Director of Gooch & Housego PLC and Chair of Greenback Recycling Technologies Limited.
Steve Mogford
Independent Non-Executive Director
Steve Mogford
Independent Non-Executive Director
Steve Mogford
Appointment to the Board
Appointed to the Board in August 2022.
Committee memberships
Audit Committee
Nominations Committee
Remuneration Committee
Risk & Security Committee
Skills, competence and experience
Steve has vast experience in both executive and non-executive roles across a range of sectors. In particular, his long and comprehensive international defence and security sector experience equip him to further develop the skill sets of our Board while supporting our global development ambitions. Steve has a first class honours degree in astrophysics, maths and physics from London University.
Formerly the Chief Executive Officer of United Utilities Group PLC, Steve started his career at British Aerospace at its North West based military aircraft business. During his long career with the company he held a number of senior positions before being appointed Chief Operating Officer and a member of the BAE Systems plc Board. Steve then joined Finmeccanica, Italy's principal defence and security company as Chief Executive of SELEX Galileo. He also served on the board of G4S plc as senior independent director up to its acquisition in 2021.
Other appointments
N/A
James Field
Group Director Legal & Company Secretary
James Field
Group Director Legal & Company Secretary
Appointment to the Board
Appointed as Company Secretary in July 2022.
Skills, competence and experience
James joined QinetiQ as an in-house lawyer in 2004, progressing through various roles to head up the Group Legal & Intellectual Property team, before becoming Group Director Legal & Company Secretary. Prior to QinetiQ, James worked as in-house corporate legal counsel at Transport for London, and has a background in London-based private legal practice.