Council, Board and Committee Biographies H-Z

PE CEng FIMechE

• Nominations Committee

Based in Texas, Stuart brings an international perspective to NomCo.

He has more than 10 years’ experience volunteering for the IMechE, having previously held the roles of Americas Region Chair on the International Strategy Board and Council, and Americas Young Members Representative.

Stuart has over 15 years’ experience working in the aerospace and oil & gas industries in Europe and across North America.  He has worked as a mechanical hardware test engineer, a facilities engineer, and more recently as a project manager on oil & gas processing facilities and infrastructure projects.  His current role is in carbon capture & storage business development across the Americas.

BEng MSc CEng FIMechE

• Strategy Committee

Giles joined the Institution in 1999, gaining a BEng in Mechanical Engineering from UCL in 2002, and has worked in the UK defence industry since 2003 in product design management and is currently Chief Engineer for a major UK defence contractor.

Giles obtained an MSc in Industrial Materials from Loughborough University in 2008 and became a Chartered Engineer the same year, becoming a Fellow in 2014.

Giles served as Vice President in 2016-2017, sponsoring the Institution’s Digital Transformation Programme, as well as being a member of the Audit & Risk Committee, and was then elected as Vice President in 2018 initially chairing the Education and Skills Strategy Board (2018-2019). Giles was a member of the team that delivered the 2019 Governance Review and then the Implementation Group responsible for actioning the Review recommendations.

He took over as Chair of the Strategy Committee in May 2021.

• Culture and Inclusion Committee

Michaela joined the IMechE as an Affiliate Member during Mechanical Engineering degree and was encouraged by her university to engage in events such as the Design Challenge. Following a year in industry, she returned to Rolls-Royce plc after graduation, completing a rotational scheme and settling into a Lifecycle Engineering role within the Defence division. In recent months, Michaela has taken on an additional role as Global Engineering for Services Leadership Coordinator, adopting insights from diverse portfolios and business models, growing her professional network and influencing capability development across Rolls-Royce. She is working towards Chartership via the Supported Registration Scheme.

In 2025, Michaela began volunteering with the IMechE as a Young Member Representative within the Culture & Inclusion Committee. In this role she will continue to advocate for inclusivity and hopes to develop skills to make a greater impact across our industries.

PhD MBA PE CEng CSP CFIOSH FIMechE FCILT

Vincent is the Hon. Secretary for the IMechE, Hong Kong Branch and he was a member of the Covid-19 Task Force contributing to the IMechE COVID-19 Manual.

Vincent’s career spans the transportation, nuclear, and defence sectors. After his retirement from the MTR Corporation, a multinational railway operating company, Vincent is lecturing engineering and risk management-related subjects at universities. He actively promotes the application of risk engineering in enhancing safety. He is 52nd President of the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health, the world’s largest health and safety-chartered institution with its headquarters in the UK. He is a Past President of the International Association of Probabilistic Safety Assessment and Management, and the Southern California Society for Risk Analysis.

Vincent received his BS in Mechanical Engineering, PhD in Nuclear Engineering, and MBA from the University of California, Los Angeles, where he conducted research in fire risk assessment, fire growth in microgravity environment, magneto-hydrodynamic power generation, decision analysis, and dynamic human action analysis.

• Nominations Committee - Trustee Board Representative

Raymond has been a member of the IMechE since 1968, Chartered since 1977 and Fellow since 2014. He was founding chair of the Germany Group, European Chair from 2016-2019 and ISB Chair from 2019 to 2020 handing over to a non-Trustee Chair as part of the Governance Review implementation. He is Vice Chair of the TBAC and has judged Formula Student since 2012 and the Apprentice Automation Challenge since 2017. A long time PRI interviewer, he was International Representative on QMB from 2016 to 2020.

After a five-year University Apprenticeship in Grantham, he joined a machine tool manufacturer, in the UK (London and Newcastle) for seven years, Australia (Melbourne) for eight years and Germany (Frankfurt area) for 34 years (with a two year delegation to Belgium). His work as Regional Manager has taken him to many countries in Europe, Asia, Africa and the Middle East.

• Culture and Inclusion Committee

• Implementation Group

Joanna has worked in the charity sector for over 25 years focusing on volunteer relations; membership development; diversity and inclusion and international development. She is a member of IMechE's senior leadership team; as Member Operations Director, she is responsible for the delivery of volunteer support, member facing services and enhancing the member experience globally.

In her spare time Jo enjoys coaching, volunteering, football and growing fruit and veg on her allotment!

In her role within IMechE, Jo is passionate about striving to achieve a work environment in which all individuals members and staff are treated fairly and respectfully, have equal access to opportunities and resources, and can contribute fully to the Institution’s success.

• Council Leadership Committee

Member of Relevance Sub Group, Member of COVID-19 Task Force, IMechE Lead for Department for Transport request for assistance, Education Officer NE Region, Member of Tyne & Wear Panel IMechE,

Mark is currently leading a number of startup initiatives and businesses. Mark's career started in manufacturing and then moved to the commercial area of the North East regional universities, brokering innovation and technology support, dealing with well over 3000 projects.

Previous roles include Chairman of the NE Region and the Tyne & Wear Panel IMechE for well over a decade.  His current focus is “hands on” volunteering. Other roles include serving as a Lt Col Army Reserve Officer as well as operating as a STEM Ambassador with Primary Engineer, Greenpower, Bloodhound and Bring it On. Lt Col Jackson’s most recent role involved working to help coordinate the military response to the COVID-19 crisis in the North East. As soon as this duty was complete it was possible to get heavily involved in the IMechE COVID-19 Task Force. Anyone wanting to discuss how to turn the "science" into an engineering solution is encouraged to reach out.

CEng

• Council Leadership Committee

Chrisma is a Chartered Engineer and a Senior Project Manager at Transport for London.  She has over 15 years’ experience in the Railway industry and is jointly responsible for renewing the track and drainage infrastructure across all of London Underground’s network. She was also a Top100 We are the City 2020 winner in the Science and Engineering category.

Chrisma has been a member of the North West London Committee since 2016 and the Greater London Region Committee since 2018 where she leads the social media for both groups.

CEng FIMechE

• Deputy President
• Finance Board

Richard is a Chartered Engineer and Fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers. His career spans the energy, rail and environmental sectors, within high value science and technology organisations that bring together multi-disciplinary expertise and innovation to tackle important societal issues. He has an engineering science degree and a PhD from the University of Durham.

In his engineering roles, Richard has assessed ageing structures using advanced non-linear analyses (ranging from the graphite core of nuclear reactors to telephone handsets), developed risk based asset management strategies for critical infrastructures, and carried out due diligence reviews. Current activities focus on the governance and safety of complex systems. He recently led an international review exploring the future of regulatory systems in a disruptive world (2021, sponsored by the Lloyd’s Register Foundation).

The breadth of Richard’s interests have enabled him to lead, and to work with, many amazing people in the UK and internationally. In doing this, he has seen first hand the practical value of diversity: bringing together different styles of thinking and varied experience can generate powerful insights that help us with the uncertainties and opportunities of disruptive worlds.

Richard developed director and strategic skills as Chief Executive of private sector businesses, government agencies and UK regulators - most recently as CEO of the Health and Safety Executive (2014-18). This experience is now being applied in a variety of ways, including as non-executive director of KTN (the Knowledge Transfer Network) and as an independent reviewer of high risk public sector projects. He is qualified as a Chartered Director.

Richard is a Vice-President of the Institution, Deputy Chair of the Finance Board and Chair of the PEP Ltd Board.

BSc PhD CEng FIMechE

• Strategy Committee

Neal Juster is Vice-Chancellor of the University of Lincoln. He is a graduate of the University of Leeds where he obtained a BSc in Mechanical Engineering and a PhD in Computer Aided Design.

Neal has extensive experience in University Management and the development and implementation of strategy: He was Senior Vice-Principal and Deputy Vice Chancellor at the University of Glasgow having been initially appointed as Vice-Principal (Strategy & Resources). Previously he was Pro Vice-Principal, Dean of the Faculty of Engineering and Head of Department in the Department of Design, Manufacture and Engineering Management at the University of Strathclyde and Senior Lecturer in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Leeds.

Neal is a past member and Chair, of the IMechE Academic Standards Committee, the committee responsible for accrediting relevant undergraduate degree programmes and a member of the QAA Advisory Committee on Degree Awarding Powers

BSc (Hons) MBA CEng FIMechE

• Finance Board

Patrick is an RAEng Visiting Professor at the University of Derby.

He was a Board Trustee and Vice Chair at the Science Council and continues on their Finance, Audit and Risk Committee.

In the Institution, he served 20 years as a Trustee and chairing boards and committees.

At Rolls-Royce, after his technical achievements in electronic motorway signs, nuclear power and skills development, he was Head of Business Management. He led a capital investment approvals board and maintains a keen interest in sound business finances. He was a pension scheme trustee for 19 years and was on the Company D & I steering group.

Patrick was one of the very first Chartered Managers and has always been a strong proponent of coaching style leadership.

He took part in the Perkins Task groups, Defence Industry Skills and NSAN (Nuclear) Advisory Board.

In his spare time, Patrick enjoys history, theatre and playing many sports.

• Culture and Inclusion Committee

Kristina graduated with a BSc in Organisational Psychology and Behavioural Economics from City University of London. She joined the IMechE in 2017 supporting education outreach and simultaneously championing the D&I agenda across the Institution. In 2021 Kristina progressed into a newly created position as IMechE Diversity and Inclusion Officer with responsibility for the Institution’s D&I strategic direction. One of her first achievements in post, was collaboration on and delivery of the IMechE’s first D&I Strategy to embed inclusion across employee and member communities.

Kristina is passionate about culture and organisational change and making a positive and long-lasting difference to people’s lives. She is originally from Moldova and pursued her studies in UK when she was seventeen. Outside work, Kristina enjoys travelling, doing sports, socialising with friends but most of all being a mum to a wonderful boy.

CEng, MIMechE

• Diversity and Inclusion Committee

Dipak is presently working as a Senior Reliability Engineer at Liberty Primary Steel in Whyalla, South Australia, Australia. He has 20 years' experience in reliability, maintenance, asset integrity and project management. 

Dipak joined IMechE as an Affiliate Member in 1997. He is a Chartered Mechanical Engineer (CEng, MIMechE); Chartered Professional Engineer (MIEAust CPEng) through Engineers Australia; Registered Professional Engineer Queensland (RPEQ - Board of Professional Engineers, Queensland), and Professional Engineer Qatar.

Dipak has been a member of the Diversity and Inclusion Committee since 2010 and is passionate about promoting engineering to school students and in particularly female students.

After leaving school, Dr. Peter Lee qualified and worked as a motor vehicle technician for four years before attending university.

At the University of Leeds in the UK, he studied for an automotive engineering degree and was then asked by Shell and Infineum to study for a PhD in the field of automotive tribology.

After receiving his PhD in 2006, Peter was awarded a five-year Royal Academy of Engineering Fellowship to continue his research in automotive tribology.

In 2011 he moved from the UK to San Antonio, Texas, where he established the Tribology Research and Evaluations Laboratory at Southwest Research Institute (SwRI).

Initially being automotive focused, the labs are now multidisciplinary and have tested for all clientele from deep sea to deep space.

MEng (Oxon) DPhil CEng FIMechE, SFHEA

• Nominations Committee

Claire Lucas is a Professor of Engineering Teaching and Learning in the Department of Engineering at King’s College London where she leads engineering education research and implementation. Previously, Claire was Director of Studies for General, Biomedical and Systems Engineering at Warwick University using her industrial experience as a mathematical modelling specialist at Jaguar Land Rover where she carried out and managed capability improvement projects and multi-physics modelling.

Claire is a Fellow of IMechE, a QAA subject specialist reviewer for Engineering, an academic accreditor for the IET and a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. She acts as a Professional Review volunteer for the IMechE.

In December 2019, Claire was awarded the Women’s Engineering Society Prize at IET’s Young Women Engineer of the Year ceremony and in 2020 Claire was named one of the top 50 Women in Engineering for her work in engineering education.

PhD MEng CEng FIMechE SFHEA MWES

• Nominations Committee

Aziza graduated with a MEng Mechanical Engineering degree from Durham University. Following this, she completed a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in biomaterials at the School of Mechanical Engineering, University of Birmingham.  This was followed by Research Fellow posts, which involved research on spinal implants in the Biomedical Engineering Group (University of Birmingham), during which time she became a Chartered Engineer (MIMechE; 2011).

In 2012, she was seconded to DePuySynthes (Johnson & Johnson) as a Marie Curie Experienced Research Fellow. She returned to the University and was appointed as a Lecturer in August 2017 and in August 2019, as a Senior Lecturer in the School of Engineering. She became a FIMechE in September 2019. Alongside her current post she holds a school senior leadership role as the Head of Education for the School.

Aside from her Academic profile, in December 2020 she joined the IMechE Nominations Committee as an Ordinary Member.

MEng (Hons) CEng FIMechE FRSA

• Strategy Committee

Matthew Marson is the Global Technology Sector Director at Arcadis, working at the intersection of technology, sustainability, and the built environment. Having founded WSP’s Smart Places practice and grown Accenture’s offering in this field, Matthew now leads a 9-figure business across a range of asset types and geographies.

Marson was named as the Institution of Mechanical Engineers Young Visionary 2016 for his work in creating The World’s Most Connected Building. He now sits on the Institution’s Strategy Committee.

As a recognised thought leader, Matthew is a keynote speaker at international industry events related to emerging technology, net zero design and places at the building and city scales. He was an author in the Encyclopaedia of Sustainable Technologies and a published writer in a variety of journals, earning a doctorate in Smart Buildings.

• Trustee Board

Lisa is a Chartered Engineer and Fellow of the Institution and is also a member of the Institute of Directors. Prior to being elected as an Ordinary Member of the Trustee Board in 2025, she was on the IMechE Council. Lisa is a senior executive with over 30 years of experience in manufacturing, operations and innovation across various sectors and geographies and has particular expertise in operational performance transformation. She is currently leading the team developing the world’s first ropeless elevator for TK Elevator, and she is a Trustee/School Governor for Cheltenham Ladies’ College.

Lisa holds a B.Sc.(Eng) in Mechanical Engineering from University College London and an M.Sc. in Advanced Manufacturing Systems from Brunel University. Outside of work, she enjoys photography, reading, travel, cycling, swimming and walking.

• Strategy Committee and Trustee Board

David Nowell is a Fellow of the Institution and has been a Trustee since 2019. He is currently a member of the Technology Strategy Board and the Education and Skills Strategy Board as well as the Real Estate Strategy Group. His career started in the rail industry, but he has spent most of his life in education and research. He is currently Professor of Machine Dynamics at Imperial College, where he researches structural integrity and is Director of the Rolls-Royce University Technology Centre in Vibration. David served for 30 years on the governing body of an Oxford College (Christ Church) and has experience of finance, endowment management and historic building renovation. In his limited leisure time, David enjoys sailing, open water swimming, walking and gardening.

• BSc(Hons) FCIBSE FIMechE MASHRAE
• Real Estate Strategy Group

Frank is a leading specialist in sustainable and energy efficient building engineering design. His experience includes the design, management, supervision, construction and operation of building services engineering across a range of building types including sports stadia, large-scale mixed-use developments sports facilities, leisure centres and hotels, retail and community schemes - both in the United Kingdom and internationally.

• Trustee Board

Christopher G O'Boyle has decades of experience spanning international executive leadership, structuring public & private complex investments, managing real estate portfolios and developments including the financing, building, operation, management, and facilities management. Experienced in structuring and closing PFI’s, PPP’s, JV’s, SPV’s and TUPE.

After graduating from Liverpool University, he initially was project engineer on two major building projects in the UK, before transferring to the Middle East for 8.5 years where he became regional manager running a large engineering design and contracting operation, working on universities, sport complexes, hospitals, and other major projects before being promoted to General Manager responsible for international operations of this international engineering company.

He then joined Prudential Portfolio Managers (PPM), ending up as director responsible for managing 1,500 properties valued at £18bn, 500 staff, a £1bn pa development programme and a rent roll of £350m. He left PPM to start his own company and raised £42.5m for a venture capital backed start-up as CEO of the first UK Government PFI in the arts and leisure, The Royal Armouries Leeds and, subsequently growing and developing the business as Chairman. He led the landowner consortium that delivered the mixed use 1 million sq ft, £250m regeneration scheme for the development of Leeds waterfront, Clarence Dock, and subsequently successfully sold the company.

He was also programme director responsible for writing the UK Government’s National Decontamination Strategy and successfully delivered the innovative PPP implementation programme across the UK NHS, winning two Public Private awards, and has been Director of Estates and Facilities for Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust 1313 bed, 300,000 sq. m., 5 sites and a leading NHS Trust.

Latterly he was CEO of a green energy Danish company delivering the first green energy power station in the Azores and executive chairman of a leading design and electronics Polish IOT and energy savings company.

He is a European Engineer, International PE(UK), Fellow of the Institute of Mechanical Engineers, Member of the Chartered Institute of Building Services, and has been a Chartered Engineer for 40+ years.

• Culture and Inclusion Committee

Margaret-Anne is a corporate communications manager providing advice to the D&I committee on promoting their campaigns and increasing engagement from members, employees and key external stakeholders.

She joined the Institution in 2018 after working as media relations manager at UCL. Margaret-Anne’s background is as a journalist at Reuters – she started her career as a foreign correspondent in Chile and then returned to London to work on the energy news desk.

Margaret-Anne is a keen cyclist, hiker and enjoys gardening on her roof terrace.

BSc (Hons) Meng CEng FIMechE

Phil Peel was the 2022/23 President of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.

Phil has been a member of the IMechE since 1981, becoming a Fellow in 2007.

His engineering career began as a student trainee with the UK Ministry of Defense in 1981. Having graduated in engineering from University College, Durham in 1985 with a B.Sc. in Engineering Science, he continued his studies to obtain a Masters in Turbomachinery in 1986.

He has over 35 years of experience in the global power generation business. His career has focused on the development and design of large steam turbines, being based initially in Rugby, UK with GEC Turbine Generators and subsequently Alstom Power. Relocating to Switzerland in 2001, he led the development of new steam turbine technologies, advancing to the position of Chief Engineer in 2012, which he now holds with the current company owner, General Electric.

His journey as IMechE volunteer started as a UK school liaison officer in the 1990s through the Engineering Council Neighbourhood Engineers Scheme.

He was instrumental in launching the IMechE Switzerland Group in 2010, taking the position of country Chair from 2011 to 2016, and was a member of both the International Strategy Board from 2013 to 2016 and the Strategic Advisory Board in 2016.

He has been a Trustee since 2016, initially as the International Ordinary Member and subsequently as a Vice President from 2018.  

As Trustee, he has acted as Chair of the Technical Strategy Board (2018-2019) and Legal Committee (2020-2021) as well as Co-Chair of the Qualifications and Membership Board (2016-2017), Audit and Risk Committee (2017-2019) and Commercial and Investment Board (2018-2019).

In 2018, he was appointed as the Institution’s Honorary Treasurer.

In addition to his IMechE activities, he is a committee member of the VDMA (German Engineering Association) and has acted as presenter, panel speaker and session chair at several international power generation conferences.

OBE BSc(Eng) CEng Hon DSc Hon FIET FIMechE FCGI

• Nominations Committee - Chair
• Culture and Inclusion Committee

Isobel is the IMechE Past President and Chair of the IMechE Pension Scheme responsible for investment assets of ~ £55 million.

Isobel graduated from Imperial College, London in 1976 and became FIMechE in 1991.

As Patron of WES (Women’s Engineering Society), she works with WISE (Women into Science and Engineering) and is one of the Top 50 Women in Engineering announced in 2016.

Appointed OBE in 2015 for services to mechanical engineering. Awarded Honorary DSc from Huddersfield University in 2004 and from the University of Leeds in 2016. FCGI in 2010 for services to engineering and in 2016, awarded Honorary Fellow of the IET.

Isobel continues to promote the importance of measurement through her BEIS & NPL appointments and as a British Hallmarking Council member.

• Culture and Inclusion Committee

Rob has been Head of Events and Member Engagement at the IMechE since January 2020, prior to which he held the role of Head of Events since joining in April 2017. An events professional for more than 16 years, Rob is passionate about delivering first-rate content and meaningful engagement opportunities, and is applying the same approach to developing the IMechE’s volunteer communities, thereby maximising the impact of the work they do. His particular area of professional interest is in evolving the culture of the Institution to enable it to deliver on its vision to be world-leading, global and inclusive.

Before joining the IMechE, Rob was the Director of the Waterfront Conference Company, a niche provider of B2B conferences in the built environment sector. Prior to that, he worked in event research and content roles at major international data/publishing brands including RELX and Emap.

Outside of work, Rob is a father to three young children, a craft beer enthusiast, and a fan of alternative music.

• Real Estate Strategy Group

Benjamin is a Chartered Engineer (Fire), Chartered Engineer (Mechanical) and Partner at Foster + Partners, where he is the Head of Fire Safety. Paramount among his primary drivers is early and integrated conscientious fire safety design - unlocked through iterative creation, multi-objective optimisation, and quantitative risk-based engineering analysis.

One of Benjamin’s core values is continued learning and growth - he gets his biggest kick from developing and using cutting-edge science and engineering to drive informed decisions, unlock aspirations, and meet society's expectations for a safer future.

Benjamin is passionate about diversity and inclusion - especially fostering the achievements of people with learning differences and advocating design of spaces for all abilities and neurodiversities.

Benjamin’s areas of technical expertise are fire experimentation and CFD-based fire modelling. His current research topics are centred on the quantitative analysis of total building systems and the development of risk-based decision making tools.

• Culture and Inclusion Committee

Holley became a member of the IMechE after graduating in Mechanical Engineering in 2005. Now with a foundation of over 18 years consultancy experience and a specialism in solving complex structural integrity problems for the nuclear industry, Holley is passionate about the field of Engineering and developing talent so others can flourish. In her current role as Director of Strategic Programmes and a member of the Senior Leadership Team at Frazer-Nash Consultancy, Holley remains proud of her technical roots on which she has grown her career.

As a Chartered Engineer and Fellow of the IMechE, Holley wants to give back to the engineering community and is a PRI assessor. Holley is a founding member and chair of the Frazer-Nash Diversity and Inclusion Steering Committee, and is actively supporting other organisations to foster inclusivity and promote the importance of visible role models. Holley is a Non-Executive Director for the British Horse Society Qualifications (BHSQ) where she is able to combine her business acumen with her lifelong passion for horses.

• Real Estate Strategy Group
• Culture and Inclusion Committee

Helena is a Chartered Engineer and a Fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers. She is Director of Estate Decarbonisation at AECOM supporting both public and private sector clients on their journey to net zero focussed on their existing real estate assets.

Helena started her career in the nuclear industry but has spent the last 16 years working in buildings. She is passionate about sustainability and supporting our journey to net zero with both the great opportunity and responsibility that bring for Engineers.

In 2019 Helena was named as one of the most influential women in engineering by the FT and in 2022 won the WICE award for digital innovation.

Helena joined the Trustee board in 2017 and has served for five years as an ordinary Trustee, during this time she has worked on and chaired the Audit and Risk Committee before moving on to chair the Real Estate Strategy Group. Throughout her time on the board Helena has also been Vice Chair of the Diversity and Inclusion Committee, which she has recently taken over as Chair.

 

FIMechE

• Chair, Council Leadership Committee

Martin started work at 16 in a small fabrication business. He won a place at Imperial College, a sponsorship from British Rail and enrolled on the IMechE’s Monitored Profession Development Scheme. After graduating and several years as a maintenance supervisor he joined Air Products’ internal audit and financial controllership – modelling project finance for cryogenic plants. A change of direction came as a performance consultant using process and behavioural change techniques in various engineering dependent businesses in the UK and USA.  

This foundation led to a twenty-five-year career with engineering consultants Atkins and latterly Jacobs, embracing Oil and Gas in Brunei and Venezuela, ports, railways, water, waste, power, property and IT/IS programmes.

For the last decade Martin has been focused on providing technical and commercial due diligence for mergers and acquisitions of utilities, and project finance – notably for the world’s longest heated oil pipeline and Hinkley Point C nuclear power station.

• Culture and Inclusion Committee

Faisal is an International Member of the Culture and Inclusion Committee, representing diverse demographics and contributing to IMechE’s strategic direction.

He also serves as the Vice Chair of the UAE branch of IMechE, playing a key role in advancing Mechanical Engineering across the region. His dedication and contributions earned him the 2023 Volunteer of the Year Award. His IMechE journey began in the Merseyside and North Wales Region (UK), where he served as Secretary of the Young Members’ Panel. In his role with IMechE, Faisal aims to use his skillset to help the Institution achieve its strategy and implementation ambitions.

Faisal attained Chartered Engineer status with IMechE while working at Royal Mail UK, where he started his career and progressed to Technical Manager, leading innovation-focused projects.

With extensive experience in industry and academia, he has contributed to leading Institutions in both the UK and UAE. Based in the UAE for the past eight years, he currently works with the UAE Armed Forces, overseeing the implementation of Quality Assurance standards for Vocational Training, as set by the Ministry of Education UAE.

B.Eng (Hons) MSc CEng FIMechE

• Trustee Board

Darren was born in Kingston Upon Hull (locally known as “Ull”) and studied at Sheffield City Polytechnic gaining a B. Eng and subsequently studied Advanced Manufacturing Systems at Brunel to round out with an MSc. He also took his initial passion for mentoring to the next stage and is a qualified adult and further education teacher.

The first 20 years of Darren’s career focused on manufacturing, from high-volume automotive through to bespoke high-end structural items such as panic rooms and blast-proof systems for banks and diplomatic residencies, followed by 18 years in New Zealand involved in Electricity Generation, through Transmission and Distribution alongside Gas gathering, Transmission and Distribution, before taking on an Australian adventure in 2024.

Darren has been NZ Corresponding member and Panel Chair, Oceania Committee Member, PRI reviewer and has organized many NZ-based events including Oceania SOFE finals and an Asia Pacific design competition final.

• Strategy Committee

Professor Derek Sheldon is a pro-active and innovative Chartered Engineer with an enviable track record of success in industry, academia, government and consultancy at an international level. As Managing Director/Principal Consultant of Derek Sheldon Consultants Ltd he leads a network consultancy of Chartered Engineers with considerable multi-disciplinary experience across a wide field of industries, who achieve best practice in manufacturing industry.

Derek has significant experience of expert witness cases (together with recent court experience) in both civil and criminal proceedings. These included matters related to litigation, industrial accidents, contractual disputes, patents, health & safety, personal injury, insurance & loss adjusting.

Presently, Judge for the MX Awards on Innovation and Design, recently Director of the Manufacturing Advisory Service (MAS) and the West Midlands Manufacturing Consortium (WMMC) for the past 9 years. Past Chairman of the Manufacturing Industries Divisional Board and member of Council of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, together with significant and ongoing experience of working in Industry and Academia at a senior level, both in the UK and abroad.

In addition to his present Consultancy practice and the position of Emeritus Professor of Engineering & Design at Anglia Ruskin University, in recent years Derek has also held positions as Lucas Professor and Dean of Engineering at Coventry University, Director of Manufacturing at T&N Technology and Ford Professor in Automotive Systems at Anglia Ruskin University.

The UK & Oversees Client portfolio has included: Cosworth Technology, Maersk, PowerGen, London Underground, Christian Salvesen, Fiat Auto, Durr Automation, AVL List GmbH, Kautex/Textron (Belgium), Rank Organisation, Caradon Group, Crown Resources, UKM GmbH, Brittania Insurance (Thailand), Elementis Chromium, DTI, Ford Motor Company, etc.

Expert Witness experience has resulted in High Court appearances and were involved with:- IPR, patent disputes, valuations, professional negligence, forensic issues, domestic product designs, automotive vehicle design and manufacture, CNC machinery, machine tools, engineering software issues, manufacturing industry equipment, general electro-mechanical & rotating machinery systems, CAD/CAM/CAE facilities, noise/vibration in manufacturing/process industry equipment, escalators, lifts, food process machinery, gearbox/transmission systems, oil rig systems & platforms, overhead cranes, etc.

• Trustee Board

Ruth graduated with an MEng in Engineering Design from the University of Bristol in 2006, she is a Chartered Engineer and Fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.

Ruth’s career is rooted in the construction industry, where she works with clients to create buildings and spaces which are comfortable for people, use limited resources and are resilient to our changing climate. Ruth has a passion for sports buildings and a particular career highlight was her work on the stadium cooling strategy for Qatar 2022. In her current role she leads the delivery of specialist engineering on major projects world-wide.

Ruth started her volunteering career with the Young Members’ board (YMB), chairing the board from 2013 – 2015. Upon stepping down from the YMB, Ruth was invited to join the Education Skills and Strategy Board (ESSB) and the Construction and Building Services Division (CBSD). Ruth has been an elected member of Council since 2015, and in 2020 she was invited to join the Real Estate Strategy Board (RESG).

Ruth was elected as an Ordinary Member of the Trustee Board in 2023 and is the Trustee Representative on the Technical Strategy Board (TSB).

BEng MSc MBA CEng MIMechE

• Nominations Committee

Michael Swinson has been working in Engineering, Manufacturing and Product Development roles across various industries and sectors for the past 15 years, starting his career designing centrifugal pumps for the Oil & Gas and Power industries. He moved to Switzerland in 2013, eventually returning to the UK to successfully build a new Product Development department within the UK organisation. Michael moved from rotating equipment to power generation in 2016, developing equipment for use in global rental power markets. After completing his MBA, Michael moved into product management where he is currently the Product Manager for a global fleet of gas-fuelled electrical power generation products, experiencing first-hand the increase in pace of the global Energy Transition.

After taking part in various STEM activities through school, Michael joined the IMechE during his time in university and became a Chartered Engineer in 2013. Since then, Michael has taken a keen interest in mentoring and developing junior engineers and has a strong belief in the value of diversity, providing and enabling opportunity, and the importance in continual professional development.

• Audit and Risk Committee

Elizabeth is a member of our Audit and Risk Committee, she is an experienced Head of Internal Audit and Risk. She plans and executes Internal Audit strategies across businesses ensuring compliance with policy and providing assurance to the board. Holding a joint focus as Head of Risk allows the knowledge of the business gained from the unique view of Internal Audit to enhance the management of Group risks.

Elizabeth previously worked for PwC as part of the Capital Projects team, within the Forensics practice. Elizabeth provided assurance and advisory services to varied FTSE100 and public sector clients, with a specific focus on major mechanical and civil capital projects. She is experienced in forensic investigations having worked on many high profile investigations during her time with PwC and frequently carried out independent reviews of capital projects focusing on financial controls and governance.

Elizabeth has 6 years experience of engineering management and leading business change as an Engineering Officer with the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers.

Elizabeth is a Chartered Accountant and Chartered Engineer.

• International Strategy Board

Dr Vinesh Thiruchelvam has over 25 years of experience in education/academics, ICT, operations & maintenance, facility management, design and project management serving various industries ranging from building services/property, oil & gas, district cooling plants, co-generation power plants and the ports industry.

He has managed deliveries of international projects valued at GBP 1.18 Billion (1998-2012) in the Maldives, India, Russia, Iran, UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Vietnam, Brunei and Malaysia as the Key Accountable Design Engineering personnel. Prof Vinesh has also been an active researcher having obtained industry consultancy/research grants at GBP 5.5 million (2008-2012) and university research grants at GBP 210,088 (2014 to date).

He is currently the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Research & Innovation) and Chief Innovation Officer for the Asia Pacific University of Technology & Innovation/APIIT Education Group. Prof Vinesh has led or has been part of various Malaysian national driven strategic blueprints for Artificial Intelligence, Data Science, STEM Education, Digital Expert Panel and Engineering/Architectural Graduates. He is a Professional Engineer with the Board of Engineers Malaysia (BEM), Professional Technologist with the Malaysian Board of Technologist (MBOT) and a Fellow with IMechE. For international volunteer services, Prof Vinesh has been the IMechE Malaysia branch chair (2017-2019), Process Industry SEAR rep (since 2020) and is currently the IMechE South East Asia chair (2019 to date).

He was jointly instrumental in making inroads towards the IMechE presence in Indonesia, Vietnam and Philippines. Prof Vinesh also sits on the IMechE Education & Skills Strategy Board (EESB) and is the International Chair for ISO TC15/7 – Blockchain Fundamentals. Under the IMechE umbrella he has driven STEM Education in the South East Asia region at high schools (67 nos) and presented/branded IMechE at Symposiums, International Conferences & Engineering Forums (34 nos).

Joshua is a Chartered Engineer and Alumni from The University of Birmingham and studied Mechanical Engineering, graduating in 2018 after a year in industry with Rolls-Royce PLC. He returned to Rolls-Royce PLC after graduation and has worked in multiple areas of the Civil Aerospace business.

He currently works in the Civil Aerospace Development team as a Transformation Technical Lead and is an advocate for continuous business improvement as a training Lean Six Sigma Black Belt. Prior to this he spent 3 years within the Turbines Development team working on the verification of new technologies that help to improve the Trent XWB product in service.

Joshua is passionate about the IMechE and has been a volunteer at the local level in Derby and Nottingham since 2019 and was Chair for the Young Members Panel delivering range of events to members in the area. In this role Joshua worked with the RSB to get funding for a new digital STEM activity that uses drones to teach students both mathematics and coding. He has also been on the YMB since 2021 as lead for the Talking Together series. Joshua created the Talking Together mental health and wellbeing initiative in November 2019 with a very clear objective; to gain multiple perspectives on a universal issue. All events under the Talking Together umbrella give a platform for our members to open up the conversation on mental health and wellbeing and think differently about how we can have that conversation with each other in the professional space.

• Trustee Board

Adrian is a Chartered Engineer with three decades of international experience at P&G and Kellogg's, coupled with hands-on experience in the family ophthalmic titanium instrument business. Adrian specialises in leadership, teamwork, value stream enrichment and digital insights. He graduated with a Masters in Mechanical Engineering from Bristol University.

At Kellogg (now Kellanova) Adrian led the European Engineering organisation before heading up their Cereal Supply Chain (SC) Business. He then ran their European manufacturing organisation before finally leading a team of SC experts looking to drive End to End improvements across the full value chain in partnership Sales, Marketing, R&D and Finance.

Adrian now runs his own company and consults on Strategy as Director and Company Secretary for their medical business. He is passionate about developing organisations as well as individuals and is a strong proponent of diversity at work, especially neurodiversity awareness.

Adrian and his family reside in Belgium and is a dual citizen.

Adrian has been appointed Deputy Chairman of the Finance board and co opted on the Trustee Board.

• Vice-President

Chanaka manages Sri Lanka and Maldives-based business Haleon and also serves as chairman of the board. In addition to managing the business (from manufacturing to marketing and sales), he has experience of engineering, capital project management, health and safety, operations and logistics and has served over 21 years as a senior manager.

He is a Chartered Mechanical Engineer (CEng) registered in Engineering Council UK and Sri Lanka. He is also a fellow member of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers and was elected as the chairman of IMechE Southern Asia Region for a second term, 2023 until 2026. He is a member of the International Strategy Board (ISB) and a VP of the Trustee Board of IMechE