Meet the team
Meet our executive team
The Group Executive Committee is responsible for delivering our vision and our strategy and ensuring that we execute consistently across the different parts of the business.
Graham Ritchie
Chief Executive Officer
BA (Econ), ACA
Graham Ritchie was appointed Chief Executive Officer on 1 October 2021. Since 2016, Graham was a member of the Executive Committee of Intertek Group plc, responsible for its operations in Europe, including Russia, and Central Asia. Prior to that role, Graham was Intertek’s Group Financial Controller. Previously, Graham held senior financial positions at BT Group plc and other technology services organisations, having started his career with PwC. Graham is a qualified Chartered Accountant and holds a BA in Economics.
Judith Cottrell
Chief Financial Officer
BSc
Judith joined Ricardo plc and the Board on the 1 July 2023 and will become the Company's Chief Financial Officer from the end of September 2023.
Judith is a former KPMG accountant and has more than 20 years’ experience working in senior financial and operational roles. She was previously the Group Finance Director for RPS Group plc ("RPS"), and, prior to that, she held various senior roles within RPS, including Chief Executive of RPS's UK & Ireland consulting business and Group Strategy Director.
Before RPS, Judith worked at Ricardo as a Finance Director within its Automotive and Industrial business unit, having originally joined AEA Technology, which Ricardo acquired in 2012.
Mike Bell
Chief Strategy and Digital Officer
BSc (Hons) PhD
Mike joined Ricardo in 2019 and was appointed Chief Strategy and Digital Officer in April 2022. Mike brings over 25 years’ consulting, product, corporate strategy and transformation experience to the Group Executive Committee.
Chet Gryczan
Managing Director, Ricardo Defense Inc.
Chet joined Ricardo in 2011 and was appointed President, Ricardo Defense Inc.* in 2016. Chet is a highly experienced management professional with over 25 years of experience in the defence and automotive sectors at both private and publicly listed companies.
*Ricardo Defense Inc. is the business entity within Ricardo which delivers solutions for the US Department of Defense and therefore operates as a separate entity governed by a Special Security Agreement (SSA).
Richard Guest
Managing Director - Performance Products
BEng Mechanical Engineering, CEng, FIMechE, MBA
Richard Guest was appointed as Managing Director in 2023 and is a Chartered Mechanical Engineer. Richard has over 35 years’ experience in the rotating machines design and manufacturing sector across the automotive, aerospace and power-generation markets. He has managed companies both in the UK and also internationally for over 24 years
Mary Moore
Group People, Team and Organisation Director
BA, MSc
Mary was appointed in 2021 to lead the people-experience strategy to create a purpose-led organisation capable of delivering our strategy and vision. Mary is an experienced HR practitioner, with a background in FMCG and consumer facing businesses with global remits.
Natasha Perfect
Group Marketing and Communications Director
CIM Dip M, MSc
Natasha was appointed as Group Director of Marketing and Communications in January 2021 and has global responsibility for strategic marketing and brand as well as internal, external and investor communications across Ricardo. Prior to joining Ricardo, Natasha spent over 15 years leading marketing and communications for large corporates. Natasha’s depth of experience ensures that Ricardo can accelerate its position as a leader in environmental and energy transition services and build sustainable value for all its stakeholders.
Harpreet Sagoo
General Counsel and Company Secretary
LLB (Hons), LLM
Harpreet Sagoo is Group General Counsel and Company Secretary for Ricardo plc. She began her career with Marconi Telecommunications, where she qualified as a lawyer in 2002. She has held several senior legal positions internationally primarily focused on the technology sector, moving from listed companies to the startup world. Harpreet is a results driven professional with an excellent track record of building agile, responsive legal teams which can provide a tailored service to the business across various regions within a fast paced environment. Her extensive experience with creating legal compliance frameworks to address regulatory changes on a global basis, working on M&A, divestments, IP strategy, litigation, ethics and reducing the sales contract cycle has not reduced her appetite to lead and close complex legal high profile contracts.
Ian Watts
Managing Director - Automotive and Industrial
BA (Hons) Accountancy & Finance First Class
Ian Watts joined Ricardo as Global Managing Director of Automotive and Industrial in February 2023. He has over 25 years’ experience in professional services and business consulting, and has held leadership roles within Infosys, CGI and Capgemini.
Rachel White
Global President, Clean Energy and Environmental Solutions
BSc, MBA, MSc
Rachel White joined Ricardo as Global President, Clean Energy and Environmental Solutions in December 2022. Rachel was most recently CEO of Arcadis Gen, Arcadis' global digital business, where she was instrumental in the inception of the company, which has grown from a start up to being a significant digital business. Rachel has a track record in delivering results and growing businesses internationally and is well experienced in leading large businesses ranging in size from £50m to £500m.
Rachel is a a qualified planner and civil engineer and is currently a non-executive chair of Thomas Telford Ltd, the Institution of Civil Engineers trading subsidiary and also a non-executive director of Engineering UK.
Clive Wotton
Group Director, Sustainability, Quality and Risk
Clive joined Ricardo in 1985 and was appointed as Group Director, Sustainability, Quality and Risk in April 2022. Clive has held numerous roles within the business with a wealth of experience in engineering, product delivery, systems implementation and programme management.
Meet our Board of Directors
Our experienced Board of Directors are responsible for corporate governance and accountable for Ricardo's strategy, ensuring that it delivers value for all its stakeholders.
Graham Ritchie
Chief Executive Officer
BA (Econ), ACA
Graham Ritchie was appointed Chief Executive Officer on 1 October 2021. Since 2016, Graham was a member of the Executive Committee of Intertek Group plc, responsible for its operations in Europe, including Russia, and Central Asia. Prior to that role, Graham was Intertek’s Group Financial Controller. Previously, Graham held senior financial positions at BT Group plc and other technology services organisations, having started his career with PwC. Graham is a qualified Chartered Accountant and holds a BA in Economics.
Judith Cottrell
Chief Financial Officer
BSc
Judith joined Ricardo plc and the Board on the 1 July 2023 and will become the Company's Chief Financial Officer from the end of September 2023.
Judith is a former KPMG accountant and has more than 20 years’ experience working in senior financial and operational roles. She was previously the Group Finance Director for RPS Group plc ("RPS"), and, prior to that, she held various senior roles within RPS, including Chief Executive of RPS's UK & Ireland consulting business and Group Strategy Director.
Before RPS, Judith worked at Ricardo as a Finance Director within its Automotive and Industrial business unit, having originally joined AEA Technology, which Ricardo acquired in 2012.
Mark Clare
Chair of the Board
Mark Clare formally was announced as Chairman of Ricardo plc on 17 November 2022. He brings to Ricardo substantial plc-level experience and is currently non-executive chairman of Grainger plc, a UK-based residential property business, listed on the London FTSE 250 index. He is also a senior independent director of Wickes Group plc and a non-executive director of Premier Marinas Holdings Limited. From 2005-2016, he was the CEO of Barrett Developments plc, a FTSE 100 house builder.
Russell King
Non-Executive Director, Chair of the Remuneration Committee
BA (Hons)
Russell King was appointed Non-Executive Director on 5 September 2019. Russell is an independent non-executive of BDO LLP. Russell served as Chief Strategy Officer at Anglo American plc where he had global responsibility for strategy, business development, government relations, safety and sustainable development. He was also a member of its executive committee for eight years. Additionally, Russell was Senior Independent Director and remuneration committee Chair of Spectris plc from 2010 to 2020 and Senior Independent Non-Executive Director and Remuneration Committee Chair of Aggreko plc, from 2007 to 2017.
Malin Persson
Non-Executive Director, Senior Independent Director
MSc
Malin Persson was appointed Non-Executive Director on 4 January 2016 and Senior Independent Director on 14 November 2019.Malin is also the nominated non-executive director for workforce engagement and ESG. Malin held a number of senior executive roles during her employment by the Volvo Group between 1995 and 2012. She is an elected member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences and has an MSc in Industrial Engineering and Management from the Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg. Malin is also currently a non-executive director of Peab AB, Getinge AB, Hexpol AB and OX2 AB
Jack Boyer
Non-Executive Director
OBE, BA (Hons), MSc, MBA
Jack Boyer OBE was appointed Non-Executive Director on 5 September 2019. Jack is a non-executive director and Senior Independent Director of TT Electronics plc where he is a member of the Audit, Remuneration and Nominations committees. Jack is a non-executive board member at the Department for Education. He chairs the Board of Trustees of the University of Bristol. He recently chaired AIM listed companies: Seeing Machines and Ilika plc and was previously a non-executive director at FTSE 250 companies Mitie plc and Laird plc after a background in engineering and biosciences. Until recently, he was a board member of the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council and co-chaired the Advanced Materials Leadership Council at the department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy; a non-executive director, Senior Independent Director and Chair of Remuneration Committee of Elcogen Group plc until 30 December 2022; and a non-executive director of the Henry Royce Institute for Advanced Materials until June 2023. Jack was awarded an OBE in 2015 for services to Science and Engineering.
Laurie Bowen
Non-Executive Director, Chair of Nomination Committee
BSc, MBA
Laurie Bowen was appointed Non-Executive Director on 1 July 2015.
She has over 30 years of international leadership experience at IBM, British Telecom, Tata Group, Telecom Italia Sparkle and Cable & Wireless Communications. She was appointed non-executive director of Chemring Group plc on 1 August 2019. Laurie has an MBA, a BSc in Electrical Engineering and a BSc in Computer Science from Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri.
Bill Spencer
Non-Executive Director and Chair of the Audit Committee
BSc, FCMA, MCT
Bill Spencer was appointed Non-Executive Director on 24 April 2017 and Chair of the Audit Committee on 8 November 2017. For 15 years until 2010 he was the CFO of Intertek Group plc. Since then he has developed a varied non-executive career. His former NED roles where he also chaired the Audit Committee include UK Mail plc Exova Group plc and Northgate plc. Currently Bill is a Non-Executive Director and the Audit Committee Chair at The Royal Mint. He is a Chartered Management Accountant and Corporate Treasurer and has a BSc in Management Sciences from the University of Manchester.
Harpreet Sagoo
General Counsel and Company Secretary
LLB (Hons), LLM
Harpreet Sagoo is Group General Counsel and Company Secretary for Ricardo plc. She began her career with Marconi Telecommunications, where she qualified as a lawyer in 2002. She has held several senior legal positions internationally primarily focused on the technology sector, moving from listed companies to the startup world. Harpreet is a results driven professional with an excellent track record of building agile, responsive legal teams which can provide a tailored service to the business across various regions within a fast paced environment. Her extensive experience with creating legal compliance frameworks to address regulatory changes on a global basis, working on M&A, divestments, IP strategy, litigation, ethics and reducing the sales contract cycle has not reduced her appetite to lead and close complex legal high profile contracts.