Board appointments boost the department for innovation universities and skills

The Non Executive Board Members appointed are:

Alan Aubrey

Alan is CEO of IP Group plc, a company that invests in and builds technology businesses. He is an entrepreneur who has had a trail blazing role helping UK universities in the commercialisation of their intellectual property. He has applied to this task the commercial disciplines derived from his audit and corporate finance experience with KPMG where as a partner from1995-2006 he specialised in providing advice to fast growing technology businesses.

Alan holds a number of non executive roles in small innovative venture capital businesses. In addition to financial governance skills he will provide particular expertise in the areas of the exploitation of science research for innovation. He will chair the Audit and Risk Committee.

He was the joint founder and Chief Executive of Techtran Group Limited, the first Company in Europe to offer a complete out-sourced technology transfer function to Universities. He is also Non-Executive Chairman of Proactis, an AIM listed software company based in York and the Non-Executive Chairman of Energetix Group plc, an AIM listed company based in Chester. Energetix has developed a number of products for the alternative energy sector.

He holds a BA in Economics from the University of Leeds and a MBA with Distinction from the University of Bradford. He is a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales.

Julia King CBE

Professor Julia King has been Vice-Chancellor of Aston University since December 2006. She has a career which spans both the academic and industrial sectors with 8 years experience in engineering at Rolls-Royce. She has held the positions Chief Executive of the Institute of Physics and Principal of the Engineering Faculty at Imperial College London.

She brings to the Board a strong appreciation of the issues affecting both the higher education sector and the development of science and engineering skills. She has had considerable exposure to Whitehall contributing to a range of committees and working groups as well as being a Non Executive Director of the Engineering and Technology Board.

After sixteen years as an academic researcher and lecturer at Cambridge and Nottingham universities, Julia joined Rolls-Royce plc in 1994, where she held senior engineering and business appointments. In 2004, she returned to academia as Principal of the Engineering Faculty at Imperial College, London.

Throughout her career, Julia has held a number of senior public appointments and has continued to support universities and voluntary bodies in various roles. She chaired the Defence Science Advisory Council for the MoD from 2003 to 2007, and is a member of the Technology Strategy Board.

She led a Royal Academy of Engineering Working Party on 'Educating Engineers for the 21st Century' which published its final report in June 2007. She was appointed by the Chancellor of the Exchequer in March 2007 to lead the 'King Review' of low carbon cars. The Review's final recommendations are due in March 2008.

Julia's research has been recognised through the award of the Grunfeld, Bengough and Kelvin medals and in 1999 she was made a CBE for 'Services to Materials Engineering'.

Dame Julie Mellor

Dame Julie Mellor is a partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) in its consulting practice. She is widely known for her time as Chair of the Equal Opportunities Commission for seven years until 2005 where she was recognised for bringing increasing authority and influence to the body.

Julie has private sector experience as an HR Director, serving for 20 years with British Gas, TSB, Shell UK as well as local government. She has commercial experience working with plc boards and holding non executive positions in public organisations.

In addition to her commitment to equality and inclusion she brings passion and experience on the skills agenda and a capability in organisational governance.

Julie has been actively engaged within the CBI on employment, skills and equality issues. She worked on consumer issues as a board member for the National Consumer Council. She chairs the Fatherhood Institute, the UK's fatherhood think tank, and is a board member of the Green Alliance and the Employers Forum on Disability.

Kristina Murrin

Kris's early career was in Proctor and Gamble where she was their youngest Innovation Manager. She was a marketing manager in France, UK and the USA before becoming the Innovation Manager for Europe and now chairs its Social Innovation Foundation.

In 1994 she helped to found 'What If'? - the world's largest independent innovation company in the world that specialises in creative problem solving and breakthrough solutions.

She was a board member of the Government's School Food Trust and through this took on the delivery of the Jamie Oliver School Dinners initiative, developing the funding strategy and gaining contributions from the public and private sector.

She has Whitehall experience having worked for the past seven years with the Prime Minister's Delivery Unit and will bring to the Board a practical experience and capability to support and encourage innovation in its broadest sense.

Kris has particular skills in communications and as a TV presenter and hosted the popular series 'Honey we're killing the Kids' and presented 'The Women who stopped the traffic' on Channel 4.

She is a fellow of the National School for Government Institute, Sunningdale. Married with three children she is co-author of 'What Worries Parents', 'How to raise happy healthy kids' and 'Sticky Wisdom'.

1. The NEBMs will attend four Board meetings each year with a strategic focus.
2. Alan Aubrey will chair the Audit and Risk Committee.
3. The Non Executive Board Members will contribute on average 12 days per year of their time and the time outside the formal Board events will be used to enable them to contribute to the policy agenda.

For more information please contact

Philip Treloar, Press Office, 020 3300 8107