Britishvolt, the UK’s foremost investor in battery technologies, has announced four new board members and two new advisory board members, bringing further experience and talent to its leadership team.
Joe Bakaj joins the Britishvolt Advisory Board following 34 years of experience in the automotive industry. His latest position was Vice President Product Development for Ford of Europe. Prior to that he served as Ford’s Vice President Global Powertrain and Electrification. Nick Spencer also joins the Britishvolt Advisory Board, bringing over three decades of automotive industry expertise in complex manufacturing and global supply chains, at both Jaguar Land Rover and the BMW Group.
Sir Michael Snyder, Jolyon Price, Lord Chadlington and William Harrison bring vast industrial, commercial and financial expertise to Britishvolt as it delivers Britain’s first battery gigaplant, investing £2.6BN and directly creating 3000 skilled jobs. Making world-class lithium-ion batteries is widely regarded as being strategically critical for the UK economy.
Orral Nadjari, CEO Britishvolt “We are delighted and honoured that Sir Michael Snyder, Jolyon Price, Lord Chadlington and William Harrison are joining Britishvolt as non-executive directors, along with automotive experts Joe Bakaj and Nick Spencer joining our Advisory Board. Their skills, experience, long history of success and senior counsel will be invaluable to our business as we prepare to lead the UK’s electrified future.
“These appointments underpin the huge progress that we have made in a short period of time and the world-class capability that is now driving Britishvolt forwards at pace. We are firmly on track with construction, product development, funding, and engaging all future customers. We will be production ready by 2023.”
Britishvolt’s Board of Directors is led by Chairman Peter Rolton and now comprises of:
Orral Nadjari, Chief Executive Officer
Isobel Sheldon, Chief Strategy Officer
Sir Michael Snyder, Non-executive Director and Chair of Audit Committee
Lord Chadlington, Non-executive Director
William Harrison, Non-executive Director
Charles Morgan, Non-executive Director
Jolyon Price, Non-executive Director
Joe Bakaj has been appointed Interim Chairman of Britishvolt’s Advisory Board and is joined by:
Sacha Dench
Jon Sigurdsen
Nick Spencer
Sebastiaan Welling
About Britishvolt
Britishvolt is Britain’s foremost investor in battery technologies. It is dedicated to supporting the future of electrified transportation and sustainable energy storage, producing world-leading lithium-ion battery technologies.
Britishvolt’s aim is to establish the UK as the leading force in battery technology. It is working with leading partners and suppliers to achieve this because it is of paramount importance to the future of the UK automotive industry and the overall economic and industrial health of the UK.
The company believes that the UK is the right place for its investments because of the strength of its automotive and energy industry, its expertise and history of industrial and academic battery research and development.
Quarter four of 2023 has been targeted as the start of production in Britain’s first gigaplant in Blyth, Northumberland.
Britishvolt’s new board members
Sir Michael Snyder, Non-executive Director and Chair of Audit Committee – An esteemed British businessman, Sir Michael Snyder joins Britishvolt as a Non-executive Director and Chair of Audit Committee. Snyder previously held the positions of Managing Partner and Senior Partner of Kingston Smith, a top 20 UK accountancy firm. He currently serves as a Non-Executive Director on the board of Metro Bank and held the position of interim Chairman between October 2019 to November 2020.
Lord Chadlington, Non-executive Director – Lord Chadlington has been involved in national and local politics for many years and is an active member of the House of Lords. He has served as a director on the Boards of a multitude of public and private companies ranging from communications to healthcare, banking and procurement. His current portfolio includes directorships for companies in public relations, venture capital, political strategy and digital banking.
William Harrison, Non-executive Director – William Harrison, Chairman ISG Ltd, brings long-standing boardroom level experience to Britishvolt. One of the largest global construction companies, ISG has a 30-year track record of large-scale production projects. Harrison is also CEO of Cathexis Holdings, a global multi-strategy holding company.
Jolyon Price, Non-executive Director – Jolyon Price joins the Britishvolt board as a non-executive director after over 20 years at Ridge & Partners LLP. In his current position, as one of the owners of Ridge sitting on the Executive Board, Price has gained unrivalled experience managing multi-million-pound projects worldwide. He has particular expertise in the construction industry, delivering projects for 15 Formula One teams and some of the world’s largest OEMs across five continents, making him well placed to help oversee the delivery of Britain’s first battery gigaplant.
Joe Bakaj, Advisory Board Interim Chairman – Bakaj joins Britishvolt with over 34 years of experience in the automotive industry. During his career he has held senior positions at Ford and Mazda working in Europe, Japan and North America. His last position was as Vice President Product Development for Ford of Europe. Prior to that he served as Ford’s Vice President Global Powertrain and Electrification.
Nick Spencer, Advisory Board member – Nick Spencer has over three decades of automotive industry expertise and is a recognised expert in complex manufacturing and global supply chains. After training as an electronics engineer, he spent nine years at BMW’s global headquarters in Munich, before becoming Managing Director of its Hams Hall engine plant in the UK. He then joined Jaguar Land Rover leading its global powertrain manufacturing operations, before heading up a global procurement division.
