Board of Directors

Mark Cubitt joined the IQE Board and was appointed Executive Chairman in October 2024.

Mark is an accountant and has been the Non-executive Chairman of both AIM-listed Beeks Financial Cloud Group plc since 2016 and also Concurrent Technologies plc since 2020. Previously, Mark was the CFO of Wolfson Microelectronics Plc for eight years from 2007 to 2014, and also Non-executive Chairman of Superglass Holdings Plc in 2015 and 2016. He has also served as VP of Finance at Jacobs Engineering and was Finance Director of Babtie Group Ltd until the sale of the company to Jacobs Engineering in 2004, when he then took up a wider finance role within Jacobs.

Jutta is an experienced finance executive who has held senior positions at global semiconductor companies for over 25 years.

She joined IQE in January 2024 from Intel Corporation, where she served as a Senior Finance Director at Intel Foundry Services, supporting Intel's Foundry business transformation. Prior to joining Intel, Jutta served as Vice President of Finance at GlobalFoundries Inc, a global leader in semiconductor manufacturing and she also held various positions at Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD), a multinational semiconductor company. She holds an MBA from Technische Universität Dresden.

CBE, FREng, FIET

Phil Smith joined the IQE Board in 2016 and took over as Chairman in April 2019 until October 2024 and Executive Chairman from September 2021 to January 2022.

Phil is a Chairman and Director as well as an advisor, mentor and speaker.  As former Chief Executive and Chairman of Cisco UK and Ireland, Phil is passionate about innovation, skills, technology, digitisation and leadership.  Phil is currently Chairman of IQE PLC, a leading advanced materials solutions company, headquartered in Cardiff, focused on the Compound Semiconductor market. Phil is also a Chairman of Streeva a Fintech based growing payments company and Chairman of Appyway which is leading on smart mobility.

In the broader innovation and skills space, Phil is also former chair of Innovate UK, the Government’s innovation agency as well as former Chair  of Techskills , an employer led organisation championing digital skills. In his industry and government roles he is co-Chair of the Digital Skills Council and is on the board of the Digital Economy Council.  Additionally, Phil also sits on a number of advisory boards in organisations as diverse as Coventry University and the National Theatre.

Phil championed and was passionate about, innovation, entrepreneurship and productivity whilst at Cisco and continues now in many of his roles. He is founder member of the Productivity Leadership Group and a commercial trustee of Be the Business.  He is additionally a Board Mentor for Critical Eye.

Phil was awarded a CBE in the 2019 Queen’s Birthday Honours List for services to Technology, Business and Skills and in September 2019 was made a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering.

He has been recognised with several industry accolades and awards from mentorship for women to CSR, company culture, employee engagement and leadership as well as change and digitalisation. Those include Orange Business Leader of the year, a member of Wired 100 and listed in the inaugural 50 Kindest Leaders in 2018.

Phil’s contribution to industry has been recognised with Honorary Doctorates from Birmingham City, Warwick and Glasgow Universities and an Honorary Fellowship from Cardiff.

Phil is the founder of a group of CEOs and leaders who, since 2012 have raised close to £1m for Sport Relief participating with their teams in Triathlon based events.  Phil is a keen Triathlete and cyclist and has qualified in Triathlon for Team GB in 2014, 2015 and 2017, competing in Canada and the Netherlands.

Phil lives near Stratford upon Avon and is married to his wife Steph, has four grown-up children and five grandchildren.

Chair of Audit Committee

Carol Chesney joined IQE’s Board in May 2019 and was appointed as a Senior Independent Director in November 2020.

Since October 2012 Mrs Chesney has served as a Non-Executive Director and Chair of the Audit Committee
of Renishaw plc. In addition, she is a Non-Executive Director and Chair of the Audit Committees of Imagination Technologies, Hunting plc and Biffa plc. Until 2018 Mrs Chesney served as the Company Secretary of Halma plc, a FTSE 100 health, safety and environmental technology group, having also served as the Group’s Financial Controller. During her time at Halma, Mrs Chesney’s role included corporate governance, legal compliance, equity incentives, pensions, internal audit management, taxation, property, health and safety compliance, environmental reporting and anti-bribery and corruption compliance. Mrs Chesney is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, and qualified with Arthur Andersen in the UK.

An experienced Non-Executive Director, Victoria Hull is currently serving Non-Executive Directorship and Remuneration Committee roles for listed technological companies including Alphawave IP Group plc and Network International Holdings plc.

Victoria is also the Senior Independent Director for Ultra Electronics Holdings plc. Prior to these appointments, Victoria held an executive directorship at Invensys, now Schneider Electric. Having worked in a variety of global companies at Executive Committee or Board level, her appointment to the Board of IQE brings an extensive understanding of legal, commercial and governance matters. Victoria has a strong background in corporate finance and began her career as a trainee solicitor at Clifford Chance LLP.

Bami Bastani has a wealth of experience in the semiconductor industry, having spent seven years at GlobalFoundries, first as Senior VP and GM of the Mobile & Wireless Infrastructure Business Unit and then as Senior VP and Senior Advisor to the CEO as well as GlobalFoundries' board member at the Global Semiconductor Alliance (GSA). Prior to GlobalFoundries Bami held President, CEO and Board member roles at Meru Networks, Trident Microsystems and ANADIGICS. Bami brings over 20 years of serving on Boards of Directors of public and private companies. Dr Bastani holds a PhD and a Masters of Science in Solid State Electronics from The Ohio State University and a Bachelors of Science in Electrical Engineering from University of Arkansas.

Maria Marced is currently the President of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company ("TSMC") Europe, a role she has held for over 16 years. Prior to that, Maria held Senior Vice President roles at NXP Semiconductors and spent 19 years as Vice President and EMEA General Manager at Intel Corp. Maria holds a PhD in Telecommunications Engineering from the Polytechnic University of Madrid.

Harmesh has over 15 years' experience of working in investment management, with a particular focus on UK small and mid-cap equities including the technology and life sciences sectors.

Harmesh has over 15 years' experience of working in investment management, with a particular focus on UK small and mid-cap equities including the technology and life sciences sectors. He brings a wealth of expertise in active engagement with companies that Lombard Odier has invested in. Since 2017 he has worked as a Portfolio Manager at Lombard Odier 1798 Volantis, and prior to this he was an Investment Manager at Henderson Volantis Capital and Gartmore Investment Management. Lombard Odier 1798 Volantis is a major shareholder in IQE