The Board

Lord Deighton was appointed as Non-Executive Chairman on 22 June 2016. He is best known for delivering the 2012 London Olympic Games to international acclaim as CEO of LOCOG (London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games), enhancing the UK’s reputation for infrastructure service delivery and generating national pride. More recently, he was Commercial Secretary to the Treasury and was responsible for the UK’s National Infrastructure Plan, focussing on getting major projects built, benefits captured, attracting capital into the UK from across the world and creating the right environment for continued infrastructure investment. Lord Deighton also had a very successful career at Goldman Sachs and will now guide Heathrow through its next phase of development, supporting Heathrow’s vision of giving passengers the best airport service in the world and preparing for the Government’s decision on airport expansion.

Akbar Al Baker was appointed a Non-Executive Director in January 2013. He has been the Chief Executive Officer of Qatar Airways since 1997. He is also leading the development of the multi-billion dollar Hamad International Airport (formerly known under the project name New Doha International Airport), which is scheduled to open in phases from April 2013.

Mr. Al Baker is a graduate of Commerce and Economics and holds a private pilot licence. He is also CEO of several divisions of Qatar's national airline - being Qatar Airways Holidays, Qatar Aviation Services, Qatar Duty Free Company, Doha International Airport, Qatar Distribution Company, Qatar Executive, Oryx Rotana Hotel and Qatar Aircraft Catering Company.

Ahmed Al-Hammadi is the Chief Investment Officer for Europe, Russia and Turkey. He oversees Qatar Investment Authority’s direct sector teams’ investments in Europe, Russia and Turkey. Prior to joining QIA, Al-Hammadi worked at EFG-Hermes as a regional asset manager and before that at consulting firm Booz & Co. advising financial services clients on strategy, private equity investment opportunities, and organization structures. Al-Hammadi sits on the boards of Heathrow Airport, SoFi, Borsa Istanbul and Pavillion Real Estate Investment Trust. He was named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum in 2019. Ahmed Al-Hammadi is a graduate of the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and has obtained his MBA from the Harvard Business School.

Andrew Dench is a Managing Director, Head of Asset Management for GIC’s global Infrastructure Portfolio and a member of the Infrastructure Investment Committee. Andrew is also a member of GIC’s Global Leadership Group. In addition to portfolio responsibilities, Andrew has represented GIC on a number of investee company boards including Greenko, Duquesne Light, Kellas, Terega, and Railpool. His current board memberships include Yorkshire Water. Andrew joined GIC Infrastructure in 2015, prior to which he held various c-suite and board positions for network utilities, contracting and service delivery businesses in Northern Europe. Andrew also spent 15 years in investment banking largely at Morgan Stanley.

Raymond Chan was appointed as a Non-Executive Director on 9 May 2023. He is a senior member of the Global Real Assets team at Australian Retirement Trust, one of Australia’s largest superannuation funds with over $230 billion of assets and over 2 million members which was the result of a merger between QSuper and Sunsuper in early 2022. Raymond joined QSuper in 2011 with primary responsibility for implementing investment policy decisions, structuring potential investments and managing portfolios of private assets. Raymond has over 25 years of investment management, merchant banking and advisory experience.  He has originated, executed, and financed principal investments across various asset classes, including private equity, real estate and infrastructure.  Before joining QSuper, Raymond worked in New York for 10 years in infrastructure investing with Macquarie Bank and corporate development with McGraw Hill. He began his career in Australia in corporate finance with PricewaterhouseCoopers and Deutsche Bank.  Raymond earned a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Queensland and a Graduate Diploma in Applied Finance and Investment from the Financial Services Institute of Australasia. He is also a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia and a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Shawn Kinder was appointed as a Non-Executive Director on 21 September 2023. Shawn is the global Corporate Development and Strategy Director at Ferrovial Airports, responsible for the Airport division growth. Shawn joined Ferrovial Airports in 2023. Before his appointment, he helped to build the aviation/airport financial advisory practice at Solomon Partners. He previously spent 19 years at aviation advisory firm Ricondo, working on several of the world’s largest infrastructure development and business planning efforts at airports such as Chicago O’Hare, Abu Dhabi, Manchester, Nairobi, and Keflavik, while advising investors and government agencies on transactions in the United States, United Kingdom, and Europe. Shawn earned undergraduate and graduate degrees from Purdue University and Northwestern University.

Olivier Fortin was appointed as a Non-Executive Director on 27 October 2015. He is a director in the CDPQ team based in London and is an experienced asset manager and infrastructure investor in the UK and Continental Europe. Previously he was working with AMP Capital, and prior to that with MAp Airports and Macquarie Capital Funds. He has been involved with Brussels, Copenhagen, Bristol, Rome and Newcastle airports. He also sits on the board of Eurostar and the supervisory board of Budapest Airport

The Rt. Hon Ruth Kelly has been appointed to the Board as Non-Executive Director with effect 8 April 2019. Ms Kelly’s previous roles include Secretary of State for Transport and Financial Secretary to the Treasury and thus brings a wealth of political, transport and financial expertise to Heathrow. This will help Heathrow build on its role as the UK’s only hub airport – providing new trading global links post-Brexit and delivering world class passenger service.

Ernesto López Mozo was appointed a Non-Executive Director in October 2009. He is Ferrovial’s Chief Financial Officer. Ernesto joined Ferrovial from Telefonica, having previously held positions at JP Morgan and Santander.

Mike Powell was appointed a Non-Executive Director in November 2014. Mike is Head of Private Markets Group of USS Investment Management (USSIM), which is the wholly investment management subsidiary of the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS). USS is the principal pension fund for the UK university sector with in excess of 250,000 members and approximately £40 billion in assets. USS currently has approximately £10 billion invested across private equity and debt, infrastructure and property. Mike has overall responsibility for the Private Markets Group and is Chairman of the Private Markets Investment Committee. He is also a member of the USSIM Executive Committee and Investment Policy Committee. Mike has served as a director on a number of portfolio company boards for USS as well as a number of advisory boards for private equity and infrastructure funds. Mike is also a member of the British Venture Capital Association Limited Partner Advisory Committee.

David Xie was appointed as a Non-Executive Director on 26 September 2018. He is a director of CIC Capital Corporation (‘CIC Capital’), a wholly-owned subsidiary of China Investment Corporation (‘CIC’). He is responsible for CIC Capital’s infrastructure investments globally, in paricular in transport, utilities and energy sectors. In addition to Heathrow Airport, David also sits on the board of Cadent Gas and InterPark. Prior to joining CIC in 2011, David worked 11 years in various capacities at Merrill Lynch. David is a graduate of the Pennsylvania State University and has an MBA degree from Georgetown University

Joan MacNaughton was appointed a Non-Executive Director in June 2021. She has extensive board experience in industry, government, academia and the third sector. After a career in government culminating as Director General of Energy for the UK, she spent five years in a power sector company, where she led the company’s global climate change advocacy. She has wide international experience, including as Chair of the International Energy Agency, and a high-level international network. She currently chairs the Board of the Climate Group; is a Non-Executive Director of En+Group IPJSC, where she chairs the Health, Safety and Environment Committee; and is a member of the Strategic Advisory Board of Engie UK plc. She sits on several academic advisory boards at energy and climate institutes and publishes and lectures on energy and climate issues.

Thomas joined Heathrow in October 2023. Previously he served as the CEO of Copenhagen Airport where he championed passenger service, sustainability and growth. During his tenure at Copenhagen Airport, Thomas put customers and colleagues at the heart of the airport's transformation, turning it into the powerhouse transport hub of northern Europe with an award-winning passenger service ranking.

Prior to his role at Copenhagen Airport, he spent 27 years at Møller-Mærsk, leading the global shipping and ferry divisions, working in several different countries and delivering significant success in complex operating environments while building up expertise in process efficiency.

Javier was appointed as Chief Financial Officer in November 2016. He joined Heathrow in January 2008 and was closely involved in establishing the current capital structure and positioning Heathrow as a strong credit in the financial markets. Over a four-year period up to 2016, as Finance Director for Operations and Performance, Javier played a key role in the delivery of a cost efficiency programme and in ensuring a rigorous appraisal of a multi-billion capital investment plan.

Luke Bugeja is CEO of Ferrovial Airports. He has held senior executive positions at Hermes GPE, OMERS, Ontario Airport Investments, and Macquarie Bank Limited/MAp Airports. He has over 30 years experience in the aviation industry, including senior positions at Changi Airports International, London City Airport, Brussels Airport, Bristol Airport, Virgin Blue, and Qantas. Luke has held Board of Directors positions at  London City, Brussels, and Bristol airports.

Mark Brooker was appointed to the Board as a Non-Executive Director on 1 April 2022. During his executive career, Mark was latterly Chief Operating Officer for Trainline, Europe’s largest independent retailer of rail and coach tickets.  Before Trainline, he was Chief Operating Officer of Betfair Group Plc, a leading online gambling operator and now part of Flutter Entertainment.  During his earlier career, Mark spent 17 years in investment banking working for Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch, NatWest and NM Rothschild & Sons. Mark brings a diverse range of Non-Executive Board Director experience and currently sits on the boards of Findmypast, a leader in online genealogy, where he is Chairman; Future Plc, a global platform for specialist media and member of the FTSE250; Paysafe, an online payments system; and Seedrs, a digital fund-raising platform for early-stage businesses. He also recently served as a Non-Executive Director of Equiniti, a leading provider of share registration, pension administration and other technology-enabled business outsourcing and William Hill, one of the largest gambling operators in the UK, before the Board was dissolved following its acquisition by Caesars Entertainment in April 2021. Mark holds a Master’s Degree in Engineering, Economics and Management from Oxford University.