My right honourable friend the Minister of State for Competitiveness (Stephen Timms) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.

I have decided to appoint the new board members listed below:

Keith Riley and Dolores Byrne

and to re-appoint the existing board members listed below:

Imtiaz Farookhi and Professor Bill Wakeham.

All the above appointments will be for a period of three years.

The appointments will begin on 14 December 2007 and will expire on 13 December 2010.

I have placed further details of the appointments in the Libraries of both Houses. They were all made in accordance with the code of practice of the Commissioner for Public Appointments.

Biographies

Dr Dolores Byrne

Dolores Byrne has spent over 25 years working in the high technology sector both in government and in industry, and is currently MD Innovation in QinetiQ, an international defence and technology company. Dolores graduated in physics from Queen's University Belfast and also holds an MBA from Southampton University. She is a Fellow of the Institute of Engineering and Technology, a Fellow of the Institute of Physics and has served as vice-president of the Institute of Physics. Dolores was a member of the national WISE Board (Women in Science & Engineering), a member of the board of the MoD Defence Engineering and Science Group and was a school governor for seven years. She is currently a member of the board of AIRTO (Association of Independent Research and Technology Organisations) and of the Science, Engineering and Technology Advisory Council of SEEDA. Dolores has not undertaken any political activity in the past five years.

Keith Riley BA (OU), BSc (Eng), CEng, FIMechE, MCIWM, MIoD, FRSA

Keith Riley is managing director, Group Technical Services of Veolia Environmental Services plc and has a wide experience in recycling and waste management, particularly working with local authorities. Notably, he worked with the Hampshire local authorities as managing director of Hampshire Waste Services, the private sector partner in Project Integra, that put the county and cities of Portsmouth and Southampton at the forefront of good practice in the UK.

Keith holds degrees in engineering from Queen Mary College, University of London, and in social sciences from the Open University. He is a Fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, a Member of the Chartered Institution of Wastes Management and is a chartered mechanical engineer. Prior to joining Veolia, he worked within both large and small companies, including holding senior positions in some blue-chip engineering companies such as Babcock and Rolls-Royce, where he gained extensive experience working overseas.

Keith is chairman and trustee of the Resource Recovery Forum, a trustee of the Veolia Environmental Trust and trustee of Hampshire Natural Resources Trust. He also serves as an industrial adviser to several universities on resource and wastes management.

Keith is married with one son and two daughters and has lived within the south-east region for over 30 years. His main interests are choral music and historical buildings.

Imtiaz Farookhi

Imtiaz Farookhi joined SEEDA's non-executive board on 14 December 2004. Imtiaz is chief executive of NHBC which provides warranty, risk-management and regulatory services to the UK house building and wider construction industry. He has been chief executive at NHBC since 1997. He was born in Washington DC, and was educated at the Universities of Kent and London. He has a track record of improving corporate and operational efficiency and effectiveness.

A former board member of the Environment Agency and of the Learning and Skills Council, Imtiaz has substantial experience in both urban regeneration and post-16 education policy. He has also served on the Further Education Funding Council, on several public private partnerships and as a non-executive on a training and enterprise council and on a business link. He is currently chairman of the National Skills Forum for Construction and the Built Environmental, and a board member of CITB—Construction Skills.

As NHBC's chief executive, Imtiaz plays a key role in highlighting issues facing UK house-building such as skills shortages, sustainable development and customer service. He has developed and extended NHBC's range of services and restructured its operations with sustained growth in turnover and balance sheet strength. He has also instigated a review of NHBC's services and a restructuring of its operations.

Professor Bill Wakeham

Professor Bill Wakeham was appointed to SEEDA's non-executive board on 14 December 2004. A chemical engineer by training, Bill has been vice chancellor of the University of Southampton since October 2001. He is a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, the Institution of Chemical Engineers, the Institution of Electrical Engineers, and the Institute of Physics. He is a chartered engineer and a chartered physicist. Bill joined the University of Southampton from Imperial College, where he was deputy rector from 1997. In a career spanning 30 years at Imperial College he was appointed pro-rector (research) in 1996, and pro-rector (resources) in 1999. He oversaw the college's merger with a series of medical schools and stimulated its activities in entrepreneurship.

Bill was chair of SEEDA's South East Science, Engineering and Technology Advisory Committee (SESETAC) until 1995, and plays a leading role on the board of the Southampton Strategic Partnership. Among other professional activities, he is a non-executive director of COGENT, the sector skills council for chemicals, nuclear, oil and gas, petroleum and polymers; a non-executive director of Meridian TV; and an executive member of the Worldwide Universities Network. He is also a member of the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council. Bill has also authored, co-authored or edited seven books and published over 350 papers in the open scientific and engineering literature research fields of thermophysical properties of fluids, intermolecular forces and thermodynamics.

He has an honorary degree from the University of Lisbon, was awarded the degree of Doctor of Science by Exeter University, and is a Fellow of Imperial College. In 1997, he was awarded the Touloukian Medal of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. He was Rossini Lecturer at the International Conference on Chemical Thermodynamics, Halifax, Nova Scotia, in 2000; and Ared Cezairliyan Lecturer at the International Thermal Conductivity Conference in 2001.