Board of Directors

Jeff Harris joined the Board on 1 April 2010 and was appointed Chairman at the Company's Annual General Meeting held on 13 May 2010. Jeff has been the Chairman of Filtrona plc since 2005 and recently retired as a non-executive Director of Bunzl plc, where he served as Senior Independent Director and Interim Chairman. He was Chairman of Alliance UniChem plc from 2001 until 2005. He holds a BSc Hons and is an Honorary Doctor of Business Administration for Kingston University. He is a Chartered Accountant.

Nick Salmon was appointed Chief Executive in July 2004. Prior to joining Cookson, Nick was Executive Vice President of Alstom SA.  Previously he was the Chief Executive Officer of Babcock International Group plc and held senior management positions at GEC and China Light & Power Company Limited. Nick is the Senior Independent Director of United Utilities plc.

Mike Butterworth was appointed to the Cookson Board in June 2005 and assumed the role of Group Finance Director in August 2005. Prior to joining Cookson, Mike was Group Finance Director of Incepta Group plc. He previously spent five years as Group Financial Controller at BBA Group plc. Mike is currently a non-executive Director of St Ives plc.

Barry Perry joined the Board in January 2002. Barry was formerly Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Engelhard Corporation. He is currently a non-executive Director of Arrow Electronics, Inc, Ashland Inc and Albemarle Corporation.

Jeff Hewitt joined the Board in June 2005 and is Chairman of the Audit Committee. Jeff was previously Deputy Chairman and Group Finance Director of Electrocomponents plc. He is currently Chairman of Regenersis plc and a non-executive Director of ZincOx Resources plc, Cenkos Securities plc and Cyril Sweett Group plc. He is also the external Chairman of the Audit Committee of John Lewis Partnership. Jeff is a chartered accountant.

John Sussens joined the Board in May 2004 and is Chairman of the Remuneration Committee and Senior Independent Director. John was previously Managing Director of Misys plc. He is currently senior non-executive Director and Chairman of the Remuneration Committee of Admiral Group plc, and a non-executive Director of Anglo & Overseas plc.

Jan Oosterveld joined the Board in June 2004. He spent the majority of his career at Royal Philips Electronics, latterly serving as a member of the Group Management Committee. Jan is Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Crucell N.V. and a non-executive Director of Barco N.V. and Candover Investments plc. Jan is also a Professor at IESE Business School in Barcelona.

Peter Hill joined the Board on 1 February 2010. Peter is Chief Executive of Laird PLC and was a non-executive Director of Meggitt PLC until March 2010. He previously held senior management positions with BTR plc (subsequently Invensys plc) and was an executive Director of Costain Group plc from 1992 to 1996. He holds a BSc and an MBA, and is a Chartered Engineer.

François Wanecq joined the Board on 1 February 2010. François has been the Chief Executive Officer of the Cookson’s Ceramics Division since October 2005. Prior to joining Cookson he held a series of senior management roles at ArjoWiggins Group and from 1985 to 1995 he was Managing Director of the technical ceramics division of Saint-Gobain SA. He is a graduate of the Ecole Polytechnique and Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Mines de Paris.