The Element Operating Board

Jo was appointed CEO of the Element Group in 2019 and is responsible for the overall strategic direction and growth of the Group. Prior to becoming CEO, he was the Group CFO from 2012 and has been a board member of the Group since the buyout from Stork in 2010. Before Element, he built a career in private equity and led the investment in a number of global testing businesses in both Europe and the US, including the buyout of Element in 2010. Jo has been instrumental in growing Element from 20 locations in five countries at the time of the buyout in 2010 into a global business with over 270 locations, and approximately 8,500 colleagues, through a combination of strong organic growth and the integration of more than 50 acquisitions. During his time at Element, Jo has led the buyouts with 3i, Bridgepoint and Temasek and most recently he oversaw the successful buyout by Temasek in 2022.

Paul joined Element in September 2024 as Group CFO and sits on the Company's Operating Board and main Board of Directors. Paul brings a proven track record of over 30 years' financial leadership in the consumer, technology, and tech-enabled services industries and has held a wide range of executive roles in both private equity backed and listed businesses. Paul's experience in private equity backed companies includes tenure as CFO and COO for CPA Global, an IP platform business (now part of Clarivate plc), and CFO for the UK's Automobile Association. He has also been CFO for public companies including Mitie plc, a leading facilities management company, and more recently Cazoo, a European marketplace for used cars. His earlier career was spent in a variety of roles for well-known international organisations including Dell Technologies, Jardine Matheson, and PwC. Paul holds a BA in Philosophy, Politics & Economics from Oxford University, and is a qualified Chartered Accountant (ACA).

Rick joined Element in 2004, originally as a Business Development Manager responsible for integrating newly acquired laboratories into the organisation. He has held General Manager positions for Element's laboratories in Los Angeles, Detroit and Amsterdam and led several US laboratories through a Lean process transformation. Rick was part of the management team that led the buyout from Stork in 2010 and in 2011, Rick took the position of Vice President of European Operations and joined the Element Executive Team. Rick became the Executive Vice President (EVP) of Aerospace in 2014. Under his leadership the global aerospace sector has more than tripled in size and successfully integrated over 10 acquisitions, adding capabilities, capacity and footprint to become the number one provider of aerospace testing services in the world. In October 2020, Rick was appointed EVP, Americas, with responsibility for Element's operations in the USA, Canada and Mexico, covering around 120 laboratories.

Matt joined Element in December 2018, initially as EVP for Element's global Energy business. In October 2020, Matt was appointed EVP for the Europe, Middle East, Asia and Africa region (EMEAA) and has responsibility for three business units covering Aerospace and Defence, Connected Technology and Mobility (global), and Built Environment. Matt has twenty years of experience in the Testing, Inspection and Certification sector, holding operational and commercial leadership roles based in Europe, South America and North America. Principally this has covered leading global laboratory networks, as well as leading teams focused on account management, technical governance, systems development and new growth initiatives. Before his role at Element, Matt was a member of the Group Executive Leadership Team at Bureau Veritas.

Trudy was appointed as Group General Counsel in December 2022 and is responsible for leading the Legal, Insurance, Governance and Compliance teams and building capabilities across Risk. She has over 25 years of experience working in PLC and private equity environments across a range of different business sectors and in the legal profession. Trudy was most recently Group General Counsel and Company Secretary at Avast PLC, an FTSE-100 global cyber security company. She sat on the Executive Team, leading teams across Governance, Legal, Compliance, Privacy, Risk and Internal Audit. She also spent over 14 years as Chief Operating Officer at Private Equity Firm Terra Firma Capital Partners.