Ken Ford
Chairman
Ken joined the Board in 2010 and became Chairman in 2012. He has been involved in the acquisition strategy of SDI since 2012. He was previously Chief Executive of Teather & Greenwood, the formerly quoted investment bank, and brings over 36 years of City experience to the Company, including a strong understanding of shareholder value, strategic planning and corporate transactions. His previous roles include Morgan Grenfell and Wedd Durlacher. Ken is currently non-executive Chairman of AIM-listed CMO Group plc. He is a Fellow of the Chartered Securities Institute.
Stephen Brown
Chief Executive Officer
Stephen joined the Board in September 2023 as COO and was appointed CEO in January 2024. He has held a number of senior positions with prestigious global product and technology focused businesses. Recent roles include Group COO at AIM quoted AB Dynamics plc and CEO & Operating Partner at BP Launchpad, part of BP plc. Prior to this, Stephen held multiple leadership roles, including Global Vice President at Romax Technology, R&D Director at Vestas Wind Systems A/S and Technical Director at the Rolls Royce Holdings plc Industrial Power Group. Stephen also held other executive level roles in earlier-stage growth companies. Stephen holds an Honours degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Newcastle upon Tyne.
Amitabh Sharma
Chief Financial Officer
Ami joined the Board in August 2022. He has over 30 years’ experience in public and private companies of various sizes. Most recently, Ami was Group CFO at FTSE 250 listed Ultra Electronics Holdings plc, an international manufacturing group with a focus in the aerospace and defence market. He was also CFO of Gibbs and Dandy plc, a smaller listed company. Ami has, in the past, held senior finance roles at Senior plc and Saint Gobain Building Distribution and has extensive experience of corporate transactions, driving operational improvements, and raising finance. Ami is also a Non-Executive Director and Audit Chair at premium main market listed Porvair plc. Previously, he was an audit manager with KPMG and is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales.
David Tilston
Non-executive, Senior Independent Director, Chair of the Audit Committee
David joined the Board in July 2017. He is a Fellow of both the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales and the Association of Corporate Treasurers. He has over 30 years’ experience in finance functions within public companies including at Group CFO level. He is currently Audit Committee Chairman and a member of the Remuneration Committee at EnSilica plc and Senior Independent Director, Audit Committee Chairman and a member of the Remuneration Committee at Ocean Harvest Technology Group plc, both companies being listed on AIM.
Andrew Hosty
Non-executive, Chair of the Remuneration Committee
Andrew joined the Board in August 2022. He has over 30 years of executive and management experience, spanning private equity, UK Plc and global blue-chip corporates. Andrew was Chief Operating Officer of Morgan Advanced Materials and served on the Plc Board as an Executive Director from 2010 to 2016. He is also a non-executive Chairman of the Rights and Issues Investment Trust Plc, Chairman of Nexeon Ltd, Chairman of mOm Incubators ltd and Chairman of Kentoeq Ltd. and Chairman of Rheon Labs Limited. Andrew holds a PhD in Materials Science and is a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineers.
Louise Early
Non-executive
Louise joined the Board in February 2023. She has over 25 years of industry experience, including a variety of sales, business development, M&A, product and marketing management roles. Louise is currently marketing and commercial director at Halma plc subsidiary company Navtech Radar Ltd. In addition, she is also currently non-executive director of Halma plc subsidiary company SENSIT Technologies LLC. Previously, Louise held executive and management roles at Crowcon Detection Instruments Ltd and management roles at ACAL Technology Limited, Abacus Polar Limited and Deltron UK Limited. Louise initially studied Engineering and has since complemented this with a CIM postgraduate diploma in Marketing and a MSc in Management. Louise is also a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing.
