FCDO Services board

Non-Executive Director and Chair of the FCDO Services Board

Simon became the Chair of the FCDO Services Board in 2017. Between 2019 and 2023, he was Chair of the Joint Intelligence Committee. Before that he was the Commandant of the Royal College of Defence Studies.

From 2012 to 2015, Simon was the then Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s (FCO – now FCDO) Political Director. During this time he supervised policy on the Middle East, Russia, Africa, South and Central Asia, the United Nations and other international institutions.

Previously he held a range of policy and senior management posts within the FCDO, including NATO’s Senior Civilian Representative in Afghanistan and British Ambassador to Iran and Greece.

He is now a Senior Adviser at SC Strategy Ltd, advising clients on a full range of geopolitical issues.

Simon is a Distinguished Fellow at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) and a Visiting Professor at King’s College London.

Non-Executive Director and Audit and Risk Assurance Committee Chair

Greg is a qualified accountant and member of the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy.

He has enjoyed a 37-year career in public sector audit and advisory, at the National Audit Office, PwC and BDO.

As a partner at BDO, Greg led on public sector internal audit and was the overall lead for the firm’s public sector work. He has extensive experience of working with central and local government, as well as the National Health Service.

In addition to his role as a Non-Executive Director at FCDO Services, he is also the Chair of the Audit Committee and Non-Executive Director at Central London Community Healthcare NHS Trust.

Non-Executive Director

Jenny is Director General, Economics, Climate and Global Issues at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO). She was Director General for Indo-Pacific, between September 2020 to January 2024, and Director General for Europe from March to August 2020.

Previously, she has worked at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy as Chief Economist and Director of Analysis, and led the Secretariat of the Smith Commission. She has also worked in HM Treasury and the British Embassy in Washington.

Non-Executive Director

Ann is a Chartered Fellow of the Institute of Personnel and Development and a Fellow of the Institute of Directors. She has forty years operational experience in the defence, security and foreign affairs fields of UK government service. She is a Non-Executive Director at SANS EMEA.

She has held senior roles in GCHQ and was a Programme Director for the cross-Ministry of Defence Spending and Efficiency Programme. She has also worked in NATO and the Met Office.

Non-Executive Director

Lawrie has extensive experience in senior executive and non-executive roles across a range of major private sector companies and high-profile public sector organisations.

He comes with a strong track record in the nuclear sector including his roles as President of Rolls-Royce’s Land and Sea Division, Chair of Magnox Ltd, Chief Executive of British Nuclear Group and Non-Executive Director at Network Rail.

Lawrie has been the chair of Magnox Ltd since September 2019.

Non-Executive Director

Sabah has over 25 years’ experience in technology leadership roles across numerous industry sectors. This includes financial services, media, education, telecoms and government.

She is currently serving as Chief Data, Intelligence and Technology Officer at the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS).

Prior to working at the FSCS, Sabah held a senior role at News Corp and was on the Board of News Technology Services (NTS), a subsidiary of News Corp.

She is passionate about the link between team diversity and high performance, and speaks regularly about the opportunities and challenges AI will present to society.