Non-Executive Directors

Sirius Minerals

Mining, Metals & Minerals

Grosvenor Clive and Stokes has been closely involved with Sirius Minerals plc since the early stages of its development.  At the time the Company was listed on the Aim Market but earlier this year it was admitted to the main market.

The Company aims to be a world-leading producer of multi-nutrient fertilizer. It is focused on the development of its North Yorkshire project which involves the construction of a new state-of-the-art mine and associated processing and port infrastructure facilities.  The project represents one of UK ’s most ambitious industrial investments in decades, costing in the region of £2.4bn and will take five years to complete. It has promised to create 1,000 jobs and pump billions into the region’s economy. This deep shaft mine will be sunk to a depth of 1,500m, the equivalent of five Shard skyscrapers stacked one on top of the other, making it the deepest mine in Britain. In addition, the project will include the construction of a 37km tunnel to transport the mined polyhalite to the port facilities.

The Client’s Brief
At this early stage in its development,  Sirius required a number of board directors who could provide a range of proven expertise and experience covering UK regional and national planning processes, large-scale infrastructure planning and execution and audit and financial oversight.  Our challenge was to attract a number of executives of the highest calibre to join the board of a company which was perceived to be high risk at the time.  To this end, we conducted a number of extensive searches which lead to the appointment of:

Sir David Higgins
Sir David is currently Chairman of both HS2 and Gatwick Airport. He is also a Board Member of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia. At the time of his appointment to the Board of Sirius, Sir David was the Chief Executive of Network Rail, the Authority responsible for the United Kingdom’s rail network with an asset value of £40bn.   Previously, he was the Chief Executive of the Olympic Delivery Authority responsible for Venues, Infrastructure and Spectator Transport for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games with a budget of £8bn.  Prior to this, he was Chief Executive of English Partnerships, the Government’s National Regeneration Agency for three years.

Earlier in his career, Sir David was the Managing Director and Chief Executive of the Lend Lease Group, a global property and infrastructure company.

Lord Hutton
Lord Hutton is currently Chairman of the Nuclear Industry Association. He was a distinguished member of the Government for 13 years from 1997 to 2010, including 11 years as a Minister and four years as a member of the Cabinet. He was appointed Chairman of the Independent Public Service Pensions Commission established by the Coalition Government in June 2010, which delivered its final report in March 2011.

Lord Hutton was a legal adviser to the Confederation of Business Industry in the late 1970s before becoming a senior law lecturer at Newcastle Polytechnic. In 1992, he was elected to the Barrow and Furness seat in Cumbria where he remained as MP until he stood down at the 2010 general election. During Lord Hutton’s varied career in Government, he served first as a Permanent Parliamentary Secretary in the Department of Trade and Industry before becoming Leader of the House of Commons and then moving to the Department of Health in 1998 where he became Minister of State for Health in 1999, a position he held until 2005.

In 2005, Lord Hutton was briefly appointed Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister of the Cabinet Office before being made Secretary of State for Work and Pensions. In 2007, Lord Hutton was appointed Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform. In 2008, he became Secretary of State for Defence until he stepped down from the Cabinet in 2009. Following the general election in 2010, he was made a life peer as Baron Hutton of Furness and now sits in the House of Lords.

Lord Hutton joined the Board in January 2012. He is Chairman of the Remuneration Committee.

Jane Lodge
After an academic background in Geology, Jane’s executive career was primarily in accountancy, where she became a partner at Deloitte. Her roles included Deloitte’s Midlands Practice Senior Partner and Lead Partner for the National Manufacturing Industry. As Manufacturing Industry Leader, she represented the UK on the Deloitte Global Manufacturing Industry Executive and was a member of the CBI Manufacturing Council.

During her 35 year career with the firm, she advised multinational businesses in the construction, financial services, manufacturing and property sectors. Jane was the first woman partner in Deloitte to be appointed to the UK Board of Partners.

Jane is currently a Non-Executive Director of Costain Group plc Devro plc and DCC plc

Jane joined the Board in July 2015 and is currently Chairman of the Audit Committee.

Noel Harwerth
Noel was formerly Chief Operating Officer and Chief Tax Officer of Citibank International.  Noel is a highly experienced Non-Executive Director who has sat on a number of boards in a variety of different sectors e.g. Standard Life plc, Alent plc, RSA Insurance Group plc, Logica plc, The Tote and Chairman of GE Capital Bank Ltd.

She is currently the Chair of the UK Export Finance Board and a Non-Executive Director of The London Metal Exchange and British Horseracing Authority Limited.

Noel was appointed to the Board in July 2015 and is currently the Senior Independent Director

Louise Hardy
Louise Hardy has over 25 years’ experience in the engineering sector. She is currently a Non-Executive Director of Ebbsfleet Development Corporation, DCLG and also a Non-Executive Director of the Defence Infrastructure Organisation, MoD. Prior to this, she was European Project Excellence Director at Aecom.

Previously she was a Director at Laing O’Rourke, working as Infrastructure Director within CLM, which was the consortium delivery partner for the Olympic Delivery Authority for the London 2012 Olympics.

Her early career was spent with London Underground and Bechtel.

Louise joined the Board in May 2016.

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