Implementation Group Members

Dr Jenifer Baxter

Chief Engineer, IMechE

Jenifer works with members, government, media, industry and academia, to raise the profile of engineers and engineering potential, to generate discussion and provide thought leadership and ensure the engineering perspective is included in policy making, innovation and research and development and there is a greater awareness of engineers and their role.

She is an expert in combined research methods for engineering, the role of policy making in engineering innovation, waste and resource management and low carbon technologies.

Jenifer joined the Institution as Head of Energy and the Environment in May 2015. She has a BEng in Environmental Engineering and an MSc in Sustainability, Planning and Environmental Policy, both from Cardiff University. Following an early spell in research, Jenifer worked for the Welsh Government's Waste Strategy Team before studying for a PhD in Technological Innovation for Hydrogen Production Waste from Cardiff University. She was also Head of Enterprise and Innovation at the University of East London and Research Manager and Lecturer in the Engineering Department of the University of South Wales.

Joanna Horton

Director, Member Operations, IMechE

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 passionate about coaching, volunteering, football and her allotment!

Giles Hartill

Trustee, Governance Review

Giles 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 joined the Institution in 1999 and began volunteering for the IMechE in 2004, in a variety of roles. He became a Fellow of the Institution in 2014 and was elected Greater London Region Chairman as well as representing members on the IMechE Council and Regional Strategy Board.

Giles served as a Trustee and Vice President in 2016-2017 (casual vacancy) and was then elected as Vice President in 2018, initially chairing the Education and Skills Strategy Board. He went on to be a member of the team that delivered the 2019 Governance Review and has since been a member of the Implementation Group responsible for actioning the Review recommendations.

Sylvain Jamais

Council member, Vice Chair Technical Strategy Board

Sylvain is the current chair of the Biomedical Engineering Division.

Sylvain is on his second ex-officio term on Council, having represented the Eastern Region in 2014-15. He has been a member of the Council Terms of Reference subgroup and now of the Governance subgroup. He has joined the Implementation Group to help develop a collaborative approach in working through the 2018-19 reviews recommendations.

Sylvain's day job is with Cambridge Consultants, developing medical devices.

Maria Powell

Chief Governance Officer, IMechE

Maria Powell leads on best practice in governance and risk management for the Institution in pursuit of its charitable aims and objectives.

Maria heads up the new Corporate Governance and Risk (CGR) department. They work with senior member committees such as Trustee Board, Council, Audit & Risk, Strategy Committee (StratComm), and Nominations Committee (NomCo).

They are responsible for the Institution’s data protection/GDPR responsibilities. The team supports the Implementation Group’s work on the recommended actions arising from the 2019 corporate reviews.

Rich Sibbick

Code of Conduct/Disciplinary Review

Rich is a chartered mechanical engineer, a Fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE).

Rich is a capital contract manager at The Dow Chemical Company. Throughout his career with Dow, he has held a range of leadership roles with global responsibility in manufacturing, research and development, supply chain, sales and purchasing.

Rich is an elected member of two solar cooperative schemes and has contributed to several patent applications in solar panel manufacturing and fabric coating systems.

Within IMechE, Richard has held Young Member, Trustee, Council, Audit and Risk Committee and Investigation Panel positions. He is currently a Trustee and Director of Which?, the Consumer Association. He is married with a nine year-old daughter.

Nick Valentine

Young Member

Nick Valentine is a Trials and Experimentation Engineer in the Ministry of Defence, specialising in Unmanned Ground Vehicles. He holds a BEng in Mechanical Engineering and an MSc in Robotics and Automation.

Nick has held roles on the Greater Manchester and Bath and Bristol Young Member Panels, and was the Mechatronics Informatics and Control Group representative on the Young Members Board (YMB). He won the Volunteer of the Year Award in 2019 and is a Vice Chair of the YMB.

Nick runs the CHAIN series of events for young engineers, and recently finished a replica ‘Tank Tram’.

Dr Colin Brown

Chief Executive, IMechE

Colin is the interim Chief Executive at IMechE, a role he has held since July 2018. In this role he is responsible for all of the 230 employees working across the Institution and its commercial subsidiaries.

Colin is a career engineer having started out at Rolls-Royce Aero Engines after leaving university. Since then, he has also worked in the oil and gas, automotive and defence industries. Importantly for his current role and for his input to the Implementation Group Colin has had full financial control as part of his accountability at three small and medium sized enterprises during that time.

Colin is a Fellow of our Institution, a Fellow of the Institute of Materials Minerals and Mining, and a Freeman of the City of London.

Andrew Ives

Past President, Governance Review

Andrew joined the IMechE in the early 1980s as a Fellow; he was previously a member of the IEE, elected as an IEE Fellow in the 1970s.

Andrew's career began as a research engineer for Lucas industries, moving into senior management to lead the project for the first drive-by-wire electronic diesel engine management systems for cars and vans.

Andrew has served the Institution as Chair, Automobile Division, Chair, Technical Strategy Board and founder Chair,  International Strategy Board before becoming President in 2005. Latterly he was Chair of the Investigating Panel for 10 years and was a member of the Institution’s Governance Review Team.

He was made an Honorary Doctor of Engineering by Brunel University for his pioneering work in the automotive arena and promoting the value of engineering to society.

Andrew has joined the Implementation Group and now serves as Deputy Chair. Now retired, Andrew maintains a strong interest in the governance of the IMechE and has been influential in bringing about the much needed changes to the structure and culture of our Institution.

Dr Kerry J Mashford OBE

Chair

Kerry has been a member of the IMechE since her student days. She has worked in many sectors, developing as a systems engineer with a strong focus on innovation and sustainability.

Kerry has served as a board member and then Chair of the MID, and for two terms as an elected member of Council. She was awarded the Institution's first prize for 'Engineering a More Sustainable Future' in 2016 and an OBE for services to energy in the Queen's Birthday Honours List, 2017.

Having been a member of the Institution's Governance Review Team in 2018/19, Kerry joined the Implementation Group when it was formed and now serves as its Chair.

Kerry's professional activities centre mostly on sustainable development, building performance and energy systems, which she pursues through a combination of consultancy, NED and voluntary roles.

Vijay Raman

International Member, Trustee Board

Vijay joined the Institution in 1966. He is an engineer in three disciplines and a member of six professional societies.

Vijay has worked for governments, international financial institutions and the private sector in 28 countries across several sectors. His skills include strengthening institutions, policy formulation, corporate and strategic planning, financial/ economic analyses and risk assessment.

Within IMechE, Vijay's roles have been as a visitor for the Benevolent Fund, PR activities, Chair of Southern India Panel, first Chair of Aerospace Division India Centre (2018).

Vijay is currently the International Member of the Trustee Board, assisting with implementing three institutional reviews in the Implementation Group.

John R Wood, MBE

Past President, Code of Conduct/Disciplinary Review

John spent the early part of his career in the Army (REME), latterly involved in the development and trials of new tracked vehicles. He retired from the Army in 1987 as a Lieutenant Colonel to join RAC Motoring Services as Technical Director and Chief Engineer.

John moved to the Motor Industry Research Association (MIRA) Ltd as Managing Director and Chief Executive. John has also been chairman of the Design Engineering Group of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders and of the Technical Advisory Panel of the Motor Sports Association. More recently, John has been Chair of the Industry Advisory Panel for the Low Carbon Vehicle IDP of InnovateUK.  He is currently the Chairman of the Niche Vehicle Network Executive Committee.

John joined IMechE in 1973, became a Member (1978) and a Fellow (1987). He served as Chairman of the Automobile Division in 1993 and was elected President in 2010. In 2011, he took over as Chair of the Engineering Heritage Committee.

He was the first Chairman of Formula Student, from its inception in 1998 to 2009. John has also been a Visiting Professor of Coventry University.