BSI Board

John Hirst was appointed to the Board in October 2018 as Non-Executive Director and became Chairman in January 2019. An accomplished business leader, John has a wealth of experience leading and transforming complex organizations.  His early career was with ICI, beginning in finance before progressing into various leadership roles and serving on the group executive team as Chief Executive of the Speciality Chemicals Division. From there he became Group Chief Executive of Premier Farnell, a FTSE 250 electronics distribution company and in 2007, he joined the UK’s Met Office as Chief Executive until 2014.  He is currently a Senior Independent Director of Anglian Water Services and a Non-Executive Director of Ultra Electronics Holdings plc and Marsh Limited.

Howard Kerr was appointed to the Board in November 2008 and assumed the position of Chief Executive in January 2009. After a period at Associated British Ports, his early career was spent in business development roles in the fields of shipping, logistics and B2B marketing with Inchcape PLC in the UK, Japan, China and the Middle East. Subsequently he joined SHV Holdings NV, where he held general management positions in the energy division, including Chief Executive of Calor Group Ltd, UK, and Senior Vice-President on the International Management Board of SHV Gas in the Netherlands.

Craig Smith joined the Board as Group Finance Director in August 2011. A Chartered Certified Accountant, he began his career in 1985 with Coats Viyella PLC, undertaking finance roles in Australia, Spain, the UK, Morocco, Hungary and Finland. Following his return to the UK in 1997 he worked as European Finance Director for two large American corporations and, immediately prior to joining BSI, he was Group Finance Director of two UK-listed companies, Huntleigh Technology PLC from 2003 to 2007 and Management Consulting Group PLC from 2007 onwards.

Scott Steedman joined the Group in January 2012 and was appointed to the Board in October 2012. An engineer by background, he started his career at the University of Cambridge before moving to industry where he spent over 20 years as a consultant working in the Built Environment sector. He was a Non-Executive Board Member of the Port of London Authority from 2009 to 2015 and served as Vice-President (Policy) for the European Committee for Standardization (CEN) from 2013 to 2017. He is currently Vice-President (Policy) of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).

Lucinda Riches was appointed advisor to the Board in May 2011, Non-Executive Director in May 2012 and Senior Non-Executive Director in October 2015. She was an investment banker for over 20 years at SG Warburg and its successor firms, ultimately as Global Head of Equity Capital Markets and a Board Member at UBS Investment Bank. She is Non-Executive Director of UK Financial Investments Limited, which manages the UK Government’s investments in financial institutions. She is also Non-Executive Director of the Diverse Income Trust PLC, Ashtead Group PLC, CRH PLC and ICG Enterprise Trust PLC.

Douglas Hurt joined the Board in November 2015 as Non-Executive Director. Douglas started his career at PricewaterhouseCoopers, where he qualified as a Chartered Accountant. From there he joined the GlaxoSmithKline Group, where he held many senior roles including Managing Director, Glaxo Wellcome UK. In 2006 he joined IMI PLC and was Group Finance Director until February 2015. He is currently Senior Independent Director and Chairman of the Audit Committee of Tate & Lyle PLC, Vesuvius PLC and Countryside Properties PLC.

Stephen Page joined the Board in September 2015 as Non-Executive Director. Stephen has a wealth of experience in the risks and opportunities of the digital age, as well as corporate risks such as cyber security and counter-terrorism. At Accenture he held European and global leadership roles including worldwide Managing Director, Strategic IT Effectiveness. For the past eleven years he has held a portfolio of Board and senior advisory positions. He is currently a Non-Executive Director of TSB Banking Group PLC, Nominet UK and the British Library.

Alison Wood joined the Board in September 2014 as Non-Executive Director. She spent nearly 20 years at BAE Systems PLC in a number of strategy and leadership roles, including that of Group Strategic Director, and was the Global Director of Strategy and Corporate Development at National Grid PLC from 2008 to 2013. She has held Non-Executive Director positions with BTG PLC, Thus Group PLC and e2v PLC. She is currently Non-Executive Director and Chair of the Remuneration Committee at Cobham PLC, Costain PLC and TT Electronics PLC.

Grainne Brankin joined the Group in June 2017 as General Counsel and Company Secretary. Grainne qualified at Clifford Chance and has experience of a wide range of international corporate and commercial transactions, in particular in technology and media. She has held General Counsel and executive committee positions at Yahoo!, CBS Outdoor, Exterion Media and Centaur Media PLC.