Chief executive

Keith Clarke was appointed a director in October 2003. He is a chartered architect with a master’s degree in urban planning from Pratt University, Brooklyn, USA. He joined the Group from Skanska AB where he was executive vice president responsible for its activities in the UK, Poland, Czech Republic, India and China. Prior to Skanska, he held various management roles at construction companies Trafalgar House and Olympia and York. He also spent 10 years in the USA with the New York City Public Development Corporation. He has over 40 years’ experience in urban regeneration, policy development and the implementation of large scale projects in construction and engineering as well as extensive international experience, having worked in the USA, Asia, India and Europe.

He is an advisory board member of the Built Environment Innovation Centre at Imperial College, London, a non-executive director of the British Standards Institute, and has received honorary fellowships from the Institution of Structural Engineers and Cardiff University. He is currently deputy chairman of the UK Construction Industry Council (CIC). Keith was awarded a CBE in the Queen’s New Year’s Honours list 2011. He is a member of the Nomination Committee.

Chief executive designate

Dr Uwe Krueger was appointed a director in June 2011. He is a physicist who studied at the University of Frankfurt, graduating with a PhD in complex system theory. He also studied at Columbia University (New York), the Ecole Normale Supérieure (Paris) and at Harvard (Boston). He has spent the majority of his career leading engineering and consulting organisations in North America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia Pacific.

He began his career at international strategy consulting firm, A T Kearney, followed by leadership positions at Hochtief AG, an international provider of construction services, including CEO of central and eastern Europe and senior vice president and chairman of Turner International based in Dallas, USA. More recently he was chief executive officer of Swiss company, Oerlikon, one of the world’s leading high-tech industrial companies specialising in machine and plant engineering. He joined Atkins from Texas Pacific Group, a private equity investment firm based in London and San Francisco and Cleantech Switzerland, a trade promotion organisation in the area of sustainability which operates on behalf of the Swiss Federal Government. He is currently on the Board of STR Holdings (Connecticut, USA), Zementis, Inc (San Diego) and ONTEX S.A. (Zele, Belgium).

Group finance director

Heath Drewett was appointed a director with effect from 15 June 2009, and took over as Group finance director on 19 June 2009. A graduate in mathematics from Peterhouse, Cambridge, he started his career at PricewaterhouseCoopers where he qualified as a chartered accountant. Prior to joining the Group he held a variety of senior finance and corporate development roles at British Airways plc and The Morgan Crucible Company plc.

Group HR director

Alun Griffiths was appointed a director in March 2007. He has a background in management consultancy and has led a wide range of projects in the areas of restructuring, organisational development and privatisation in the UK and internationally. He is an economics graduate and a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. He was appointed Group HR director in February 2003. Alun chairs the Industry Board of the UK Resource Centre for Women in Science, Engineering and Technology (UKRC), an organisation charged with progressing the UK Government’s strategy for increasing the participation of women in science and engineering.

Non-executive director

Lord Boyce was appointed a non-executive director in May 2004. He had a distinguished career in the Royal Navy and the Ministry of Defence that culminated in his becoming First Sea Lord, professional head of the Royal Navy, in 1998 and then Chief of Defence Staff, professional head of the Armed Forces, from 2001 to 2003. He was elevated to the peerage in 2003, was appointed Lord Warden and Admiral of the Cinque Ports and Constable of Dover Castle in 2004 and was made a Knight of the Garter in 2011. He is senior independent director and a member of the Remuneration and Nomination Committees.

Non-executive director

Fiona Clutterbuck was appointed a non-executive director in March 2007. She has substantial experience in all areas of corporate finance, including a particular focus on the financial institutions sector, gained during 15 years at Hill Samuel and HSBC and seven years at ABN AMRO. Fiona is Head of Corporate Development at the Phoenix Group, a FTSE 250 company. She has an LLB (Hons) from the University of London and qualified as a barrister in 1980. She is a member of the Audit, Nomination and Remuneration Committees.

Non-executive director

Joanne Curin was appointed a non-executive director in February 2009. She is a chartered accountant and has a broad range of international experience gained during her career as a senior finance executive for large scale organisations in the property and construction, oil and gas, pulp and paper, shipping and logistics sectors. She has worked in the UK, New Zealand and Australia and more recently held finance director roles for both Lend Lease Corporation and P&O. She is chairman of the Audit Committee and a member of the Nomination Committee.

Non-executive director

Raj Rajagopal was appointed a non-executive director in June 2008. He held several positions at BOC Edwards before being appointed chief executive, a position he held until October 2006. He was an executive director of the BOC Group plc until October 2006 and is a non-executive director of Bodycote plc, e2v plc and Spirax-Sarco Engineering plc. He is also chairman of HHV Pumps Private Ltd and non-executive chairman of The University of Manchester Intellectual Property Limited. He is a fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, a fellow of the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), a fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Management and a fellow of the Institute of Directors. He is also a member of the Advisory Board of the Centre for Business Research of Cambridge University. He was awarded an honorary doctor of science degree by Cranfield University in 2004 and the IET’s IEE Eric Mensforth International Gold Medal for outstanding contribution to manufacturing technology and management in 2003. He is a member of the Remuneration and Nomination Committees.

Non-executive director

Sir Peter Williams was appointed a non-executive director in May 2004. He graduated from Cambridge University with an MA and PhD in physics and initially pursued an academic career at Cambridge and subsequently at Imperial College, London. After a period with VG Instruments Limited he joined Oxford Instruments plc in 1982. He became its chief executive in 1985 and was chairman from 1991 until his retirement in 1999. He is chairman of the National Physical Laboratory, Vice President and Treasurer of the Royal Society and served as fifth chancellor of the University of Leicester from October 2005 until July 2010. He is chairman of the Remuneration Committee and a member of the Audit and Nomination Committees.