John Hirst CBE
Chairman
Committees: A N S
Skills and experience
John Hirst was appointed to the Board in October 2018 as Non-Executive Director and became Chairman in January 2019. 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 leadership team as Chief Executive of the speciality chemicals division. 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. John was Chairman of Anglian Water Services from 2015 until early 2024.
Other appointments
SMi Drug Discovery, IMIS Global Limited and the epilepsy charity SUDEP Action. He is a Director of Afon Technology Limited.
Susan Taylor Martin
Chief Executive
Committees: N S
Skills and experience
Susan Taylor Martin joined the Board and was appointed Chief Executive in January 2021. Susan has led a range of information, publishing and software businesses, first at Reuters and then at Thomson Reuters. Most recently, as President of its Global Legal Business based in New York, she led the transformation of its online information service into an AI-enabled suite of digital and SaaS offerings. She has experience of the consumer, leisure and hospitality sector having been a Non-Executive Director of Whitbread PLC. She also possesses a strong network across a wide range of businesses, as former Chair of the London Council of the Confederation of British Industry.
Other appointments
Susan is a Non-Executive Director of the University of Cambridge Press & Assessment Board.
Sara Dickinson CGMA
Chief Financial Officer
Skills and experience
Sara was appointed and joined the Board in January 2022. Sara has over 25 years of financial experience as well as significant knowledge of scaling B2B businesses and digital transformation, most recently as Senior Vice President of Finance responsible for corporate finance functions at Expedia Group Inc, a global travel tech company, and as Chief Finance Officer of Expedia Partner Solutions, the worldwide B2B division within Expedia for four years prior to this. Sara has undertaken numerous finance roles including Commercial Finance & FP&A Director at Costa Coffee, Group Financial Controller for Sage Group PLC and Vice President and European CFO of Orbitz WorldWide Inc.
Other Board appointments
Sara is a Non-executive director and Audit Committee Chair of Aptitude Software Group PLC.
Dr Scott Steedman CBE
Director-General, Standards
Committees: S
Skills and experience
Dr Scott Steedman joined the Group in January 2012 and was appointed to the Board in October 2012. An engineer by profession, he started his career as a Fellow and Lecturer 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 and the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) from 2017 to 2021.
Other appointments
Scott is a Council Member of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and Board member of the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) and of the European Committee for Standardization (CEN).
Dame Polly Courtice
Non-Executive Director
Committees: N S
Skills and experience
Polly Courtice joined the Board as Advisor in June 2020 and was appointed a Director on 1 September 2022. Polly was Founder Director of the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (1988-2021) and has been the recipient of numerous awards for her contribution to sustainability. She is a member of the Supervisory Board of Mercedes-Benz Group AG and serves on its Legal Affairs Committee. She is a sustainability Advisor to Terra Firma Capital Ltd, a member of the judging panel for the King’s Award for Sustainable Development, and a Trustee of Cambridge Past, Present and Future, a local charity dedicated to protecting and enhancing the Cambridge area and its green landscapes.
Other appointments
Polly is Chair of the Faculty Board of Engineering, University of Cambridge, and is a Deputy Lieutenant for Cambridgeshire.
Ian Lobley (Senior Independent Director)
Non-Executive Director
Committees: S A N
Skills and experience
Ian Lobley joined the Board as a Non-Executive Director in May 2019. Ian is a Managing Partner at 3i Group PLC, the FTSE 100 international investor. With over 30 years of experience in private equity, he has been an active investor in and board member of portfolio companies in many countries and sectors. He graduated in Chemical Engineering from the University of Birmingham and, prior to 3i, worked as an engineer for BOC Speciality Gases.
Other appointments
Ian is Non-Executive Director of AES Engineering, Tato Holdings and Cirtec Medical within 3i Group’s global portfolio.
Dr Diane Bitzel
Non-Executive Director
Skills and experience
Diane Bitzel was appointed as a BSI Board Adviser in July 2024 and subsequently as a Non-Executive Director in September 2024. Diane has considerable global management experience, particularly in the areas of IT strategy, IT operations, digital transformations and business process management. Since 2021, Diane has served as Chief Digital and Information Officer for Vodafone Group plc. Previously, Diane was Group Chief Information Officer for Intertek plc, the FTSE 100 testing, inspection and certification company and she has served as Chief Information Officer for global life science and food companies including Syngenta AG, Apetito AG and Lonza Group. Prior to those roles, Diane was a senior leader in management consulting for organizations including Capgemini.
Other appointments
None
Tim Livett
Non-Executive Director
Committees: A N R
Skills and Experience
Tim Livett joined the Board as a Non-Executive Director in January 2024. He was formerly Chief Financial Officer of Caledonia Investments plc. Prior to that Tim was Chief Financial Officer of the Wellcome Trust and previously held senior financial positions at Virgin Atlantic and British Airways.
Other appointments
Tim is Audit Committee Chair and serves as Non-Executive Director of Worldwide Healthcare Trust plc as well as of Oxford University Endowment Management.
Robert MacLeod
Non-Executive Director
Committees: A N R
Skills and Experience
Robert MacLeod joined the Board as Non-Executive Director in March 2024. He was the former CEO of FTSE 250 international chemicals company, Johnson Matthey. Previously, he was the organisation’s Group Finance Director and played a key role in the group’s strategy and business development. Prior to that, he worked for WS Atkins, latterly serving as Group Finance Director.
Other appointments
Robert serves as Non-Executive Director of Vesuvius plc and is a Non-Executive Director and Chairman of the Remuneration Committee of RELX PLC. He is also a Non-executive Member of the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL) Board and the Chair of its Audit, Risk and Assurance Committee.
Alison Wood
Board Advisor
Committees: A N R
Skills and experience
In September 2023, Alison Wood stepped down from the Board after nine years as a Non-Executive Director and was appointed as Board Advisor. 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, e2v PLC, Cobham PLC and Capricorn Energy plc.
Other appointments
Alison is Chair of Galliford Try Holdings PLC and Non-Executive Director and Chair of the Remuneration Committee at TT Electronics PLC, and Oxford Instruments PLC.
