John Hirst

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 executive team as Chief Executive of the speciality chemicals division. Then 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. Other appointments: John is Chairman of NOC (National Oceanography Centre), Senior Independent Director of Anglian Water Services and a Non-Executive Director of Marsh Limited.