Executive team

Nigel Fine, Chief Executive and Secretary      

Nigel Fine was appointed Chief Executive and Secretary of the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) in June 2009.  

Nigel graduated from UMIST in 1978 with a BSc (Hons) in Civil Engineering and received his MBA from the London Business School in 1984.  He is a Chartered Engineer and a Fellow of the ICE and IET.

His professional career has been with Experian Plc where he was a member of the Global Operating Board and Managing Director for all operations in EMEA and Asia Pacific.  Before joining Experian, he was an Associate Partner at Andersen Consulting (Accenture), responsible for setting up and running BPO operations in Procurement and Logistics.  His early career was spent with John Laing and International Paint.

Nigel is a Board Member and Chair of the Audit Committee of EngineeringUK.  He chairs the Professional Plenary Forum of the Chief Executives of all 36 licensed professional engineering institutions and represents the IET on the Technician Council.

 

Ed Almond, Director of Finance and Planning

Ed joined the IET in 2001 as Head of Business Planning and Performance. Ed gained an MBA in 2004 before becoming Director of Corporate Strategy & Planning in 2005 and taking up his current role in 2006. Previously he worked within the John Sisk construction group and provided strategic support to the UK Board.

In 1989 Ed commenced training as an accountant with Ernst & Young working with a wide variety of clients including McDonnell Information Systems and Leica. He qualified in 1992 and is now a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales.

Ed trained in Biological Sciences at the University of Exeter before completing a Masters in Applied Molecular Biology at University College London. With a particular interest in extremely thermophilic archaebacteria, Ed undertook postgraduate research within the Chemical Engineering departments of Cornell University and the University of California at Berkeley before returning to the UK and working for the SERC at Rothamstead Research Station in 1987.

 

Alison Carr, Director of Governance and Policy       

Alison Carr was appointed as Director of Governance and Policy in March 2014.

Alison started her career with the Insurance Brokers Registration Council (IBRC) and was the Deputy Registrar at the time of the transfer of the organisation’s responsibilities owing to a change in legislation. During her time with the IBRC, Alison qualified as a Chartered Secretary.

Alison moved to the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales where she worked in a number of areas, including investment business and insolvency policy.

Alison’s most recent position before joining The IET was Registrar and Chief Executive of the Architects Registration Board (ARB). The ARB is the UK regulator for architects and the UK competent authority for architects, helping to facilitate the movement of architects across Europe. Alison worked closely with the Department of Communities and Local Government, ARB’s sponsoring Government Department.

Alison is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators.

 

Tim Hamer, Director of Knowledge

Tim Hamer was appointed Director of Knowledge at the IET in January 2010. Previously, Tim was with Thomson Reuters as Senior Vice President of Global Marketing and UK General Manager of the scientific businesses. 

Tim started his career at Thomson in 1984 working for Van Nostrand Reinhold (UK) Ltd, then at Chapman and Hall Ltd followed by The Institute of Scientific Information in a wide ranging series of positions including Sales and Marketing, Editorial, and Product Management, until being promoted to Managing Director of ISI Europe in 1998. 

Tim graduated from Durham University in 1984 with BSc (Hons) Engineering Science and Management.

 

Janet Oldham, Head of Human Resources  

Janet Oldham was appointed as Head of Human Resources in January 2015.

Janet has work in HR in a variety of sectors. Her most recent position before joining the IET was as Human Resources Director for The Harpur Trust, one of the largest charities in the UK, which focuses on education and grant giving in the Borough of Bedford.  Prior to this Janet worked in Financial Services, for an insurance broker in the City of London.  She also has experience in sales and marketing focused SMEs, including Harlequin publishing, Reebok, EMI Records and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines.

Janet has a BA (Hons) degree in Business Studies and is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development (CIPD).

Michelle Richmond, Director of Membership and Professional Development

Michelle was appointed IET Director of Membership & Professional Development in 2006.

Her career started in 1981 with Siemens Plessey Radar, Isle of Wight as an apprentice and then microwave technician engineer.  On completion of her degree, Michelle became Principle Microwave Design Engineer.  She was then promoted to Development Manager working on AR327 Military Radar System.  Michelle joined Nokia Huntingdon in 1995 as base station Product Manager.

Michelle moved to Matra Marconi Space in Stevenage in 1996 as Antenna Project Manager and later Deputy Project Manager for the Skynet 5 Satellite System.

In 2000 she joined Ubinetics, a PA Consulting Group technology spin off company, as Programme Manager, working on advanced 3G test platforms and then as Operations Manager.  Ubinetics was acquired by Aeroflex in 2005.  

Michelle also represents the IET on the Engineering Council Board of Trustees and was a member of the IET Council at the time of its formation by the IIE and IEE.  She was awarded Britain’s ‘Young Woman Engineer of the Year’ in 1990.

Michelle is a Chartered Engineer and has an electronics engineering degree from the Southampton Institute of Higher Education (part time) and was awarded Fellowship of the IET in 1999.

Richard Best, Head of IT and Digital Services  

Richard has over 15 years of experience working in a range of technology roles including project management, software development management and strategic leadership.