Chemring Board

Tony Wood

Chairman
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  • Board experience at Chief Executive level and in non-executive positions
  • Extensive international experience in aerospace, defence and engineering sectors
  • Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society and a Fellow of the Association for Project Management

Tony joined the Group as an independent non-executive director and Chairman-designate on 1 October 2024 and was appointed Chairman of the Board on 1 December 2024.

Tony formerly held senior leadership and executive positions at Meggitt plc and Rolls Royce, having started his career at Dowty Group (now part of Safran SA). He was also a non-executive director and President of ADS Group, Ltd, the UK trade association for the Aerospace, Defence, Security and Space sector, before stepping down in 2023.

Tony is a Member of the Board of Directors of Airbus SE, a Member of the Board of Directors of National Grid plc and a Member of the Board of Directors of Aero Accessories.

 

Michael Ord

Group Chief Executive
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Michael Ord was appointed to the Board on 1 June 2018, and appointed as Group Chief Executive on 1 July 2018.

Michael formerly held a number of senior management roles with BAE Systems including Managing Director of their Naval Ships and F-35 Joint Strike Fighter businesses. Prior to his 1996 move to industry Michael had a successful career in the Royal Navy serving for twelve years in a number of engineering management roles. 

An Aeronautical Systems Engineering graduate and a Chartered Engineer, Michael has also completed post-graduate management studies at Manchester Business School and is a graduate of Harvard Business School’s Advanced Management Programme.

Michael is a non-executive director of TT Electronics plc, a trustee of The Education & Training Foundation, and a member of the Royal Aeronautical Society. 

 

James Mortensen

Chief Financial Officer
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James Mortensen joined the board on 1 November 2023 and was appointed as Chief Financial Officer on 1 January 2024. 

James has a proven track record in industrial, engineering and technology sectors and extensive experience building and managing global, multi-disciplinary finance teams. He joins Chemring from Smiths Group plc, the FTSE 100 engineering group, where he has spent the last seven years.

Sarah Ellard

Group Legal Director and Company Secretary
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Sarah Ellard was appointed as Group Legal Director on 7 October 2011, having been Group Company Secretary since 1998.

Prior to joining the Group, Sarah trained and worked at Ernst & Young LLP. She is a Fellow of the Chartered Governance Institute.

Baroness Kate Rock

Senior Independent Director
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Baroness Kate Rock was appointed as Senior Independent Director on 1 April 2026.

Kate has significant board experience across the technology, engineering, construction and infrastructure sectors, and is currently Non-Executive Chair of the UK infrastructure solutions company Costain Group PLC and Senior Independent Director of Keller Group plc.

Kate also has wide-ranging experience working across government and was appointed a Life Peer in 2015. She sat on the House of Lords Science and Technology Select Committee until January 2023, was a member of the House of Lords Select Committee on Artificial Intelligence from 2017 to 2018, and was Chair of the House of Lords Select Committee on Autism between January and November 2025.

Previously, Kate was a Board member of the world’s first Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation and a non-executive director of Imagination Technologies plc.


Alpna Amar

Non-Executive Director

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Alpna Amar was appointed as independent non-executive director on 13 June 2023. She is currently an executive director of Senior plc since 1 April 2025 and will be appointed as Chief Financial Officer in May 2025.

A qualified Chartered Accountant, Alpna has over 22 years of corporate, operational and commercial finance, strategy, M&A and investor relations experience in both corporate and consulting positions. Previously she was Corporate Development Director of Kier Group plc and was a member of Kier Group’s Executive Committee. Prior to Kier Group she held senior investor relations and corporate development roles at global automotive suppliers, TI Fluid Systems plc and International Automotive Components Group SA.

Alpna is a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales and has a degree in Economics and Politics from Lancaster University.

Laurie Bowen

Non-Executive Director
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Laurie Bowen was appointed as an independent non-executive director on 1 August 2019 and was appointed as Chairman of the Remuneration Committee on 4 March 2020. Laurie is also a non-executive director of SBA Communications Corporation. 

Laurie has over thirty years of leadership experience at large multinational telecommunications and technology companies including Cable & Wireless Communications plc, Tata Communications, BT Group plc and IBM. Most recently she was Chief Executive of Telecom Italia Sparkle in the Americas, a subsidiary of the international wholesale arm of Telecom Italia.

Laurie was previously a non-executive director of Ricardo plc and Transcom Worldwide AB.

 

 

Stephen King

Non-Executive Director
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Stephen King was appointed as an independent non-executive director on 1 December 2018 and as Chairman of the Audit Committee on 1 August 2019. Stephen served as Interim Senior Independent Director from 20 February 2026 to 31 March 2026.

Stephen has a wealth of senior level experience within the industrial, engineering and manufacturing sectors, including a number of executive and non-executive roles, and is currently a non-executive director of Keller Group plc. Stephen retired as Group Finance Director of Caledonia Investments plc in 2018. He was previously a non-executive director and Chairman of the Audit Committee at Signature Aviation plc and The Weir Group plc, and a non-executive director and Senior Independent Director at TT Electronics plc.

Stephen was Finance Director at De La Rue plc from 2003 to 2009, and prior to that at Midlands Electricity plc. A Chartered Accountant, Stephen has also held senior financial positions at Lucas Industries plc and Seeboard plc, and was a non-executive director of Camelot plc.

Pete Raby

Non-Executive Director
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  • Board experience at Chief Executive level and in non-executive positions
  • International and operational experience in the defence sector and other manufacturing operations

Pete Raby was appointed as an independent non executive director on 1 September 2025.

Pete is currently a non-executive director of Hill & Smith plc and was Chief Executive of Morgan Advanced Materials plc until his retirement in July 2025. Pete was previously President of the Communications and Connectivity sector of Cobham plc and was a partner at McKinsey & Company.