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 Gear4music and CMO Group plc, both of which are AIM-listed. He is a Fellow of the Chartered Securities Institute.

Stephen Brown

Chief Executive Officer

Stephen joined the Board in September 2023 as Chief Operating Officer 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 (non-board) 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, Research and Development Director (Technology and Production business unit) at Vestas Wind Systems A/S and Technical Director at the Industrial Power Group, part of Rolls Royce Holdings plc. Previously, Stephen held other executive-level roles in early-stage growth companies. Stephen holds an Honours degree in Mechanical Engineering and Advanced Manufacturing from the University of Newcastle upon Tyne.

Stephen is also a non-executive director at non-listed AltEnergis plc and its subsidiary companies.

Amitabh Sharma

Chief Financial Officer

Ami joined the Board in August 2022. He has over 30 years of 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 on 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 and was appointed Senior Independent Director in September 2022. 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, most recently at Northgate plc and Consort Medical plc. He is currently Audit Committee Chairman and a member of the Remuneration Committee at AIM listed EnSilica plc. David was formerly a non-executive director at Sepura plc which was listed on the main market. David is also Treasurer and Trustee at British Exploring Society, a youth development charity.

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 Rheon Labs Limited, Chairman of mOm Incubators Ltd and Chairman of Kentoeq Ltd.  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 a 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 an MSc in Management. Louise is also a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing.