Defra Ministers have appointed one Trustee and reappointed four Trustees at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
Fay Cooke has been newly appointed as Trustee. Her three-year term commenced on 1 March 2024.
Sir Paul Nurse, Judith Batchelor and David Richardson have been reappointed as Trustees, and Professor Christopher Gilligan has been reappointed as King's Trustee. Sir Paul, David and Professor Gilligan's terms commenced on 8 March 2024, while Judith's commenced on 1 April. Judith and David will serve a further three years. Sir Paul and Professor Gilligan will serve a further four.
The appointments have been made in accordance with the Governance Code on Public Appointments published by the Cabinet Office.
Biographies
Fay Cooke
Fay is the current Chief Impact & Financial Officer at Yeo Valley Production Ltd. She has a PhD in Zoology and is qualified as a Chartered Accountant at Deloitte. She has a broad range of leadership experience across food, manufacturing & energy sectors. Fay is also a trustee of The Woodland Trust.
Judith Batchelor
Judith is Director of Corporate Responsibility and Public Affairs at J Sainsbury plc. She previously worked for Safeway, Marks and Spencer, Mars Confectionary and Bass plc. Judith is also a Non-Executive Board Member of the Environment Agency, Chair of the Innovation Working Group for the Food and Drink Sector Council and an Ambassador for the Woodland Trust. Judith was appointed OBE in 2015 for services to farming and the food industry.
Professor Christopher Gilligan
Professor Gilligan is currently a Director of Research at the University of Cambridge, where he has previously held the posts of Head of the School of Biological Sciences and Professor of Mathematical Biology. He has chaired a number of complex bodies, including the Joint Nature Conservation Committee, the Science Advisory Council for Defra and the UK Tree Health and Plant Security Taskforce. He is also a former Trustee of the Natural History Museum. He was awarded the CBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours in 2015 for services to plant health in the field of epidemiology. He continues to lead research programmes in epidemiological modelling to manage disease of staple crops and the natural environment.
Sir Paul Nurse
Sir Paul is a geneticist and cell biologist. He is currently Chief Executive and Director of the Francis Clark Institute, and a board member of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. He was previously President of Rockefeller University New York. Paul received a knighthood in 1999, the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 2001, the Legion d'Honneur in 2002, and the Order of the Rising Sun in 2018.
David Richardson
David is currently Director of Horticulture at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and has worked in the organisation for over 35 years. He is a Chartered Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Horticulture and is its current President. He is a Liveryman of Worshipful Company of Gardeners and an Honorary Fellow in the School of History, University of Kent.
Notes:
- All appointments are made on merit and political activity plays no part in the selection process.
- The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew is a world-famous scientific organisation, known for its vast collections and scientific expertise in plant and fungal diversity, conservation, and sustainable development. Kew Gardens was made a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2023 and celebrated its 260th anniversary in 2019.
- The current RBG Kew Board of Trustees is now made up of: Dame Amelia Fawcett, Steve Almond, Judith Batchelar, Krishnan Guru-Murthy, Professor Christopher Gilligan, Sir Paul Nurse, David Richardson, John Scanlon, Kate Priestman, Professor Ian Graham and Fay Cooke.
