Board of Directors

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.

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. 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 Exports.

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

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

Independent Non-Executive Director

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), the Hexcel Corporation 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

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.

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, and Her Majesty’s Constable of the Tower of London (designate).

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.

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.

Company Secretary and Group General Counsel

Appointment to the Board

Appointed as Company Secretary and Group General Counsel 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.