Governance

Our legal status

The UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH) is a registered Charity in England & Wales (number 1185618) and in Scotland (number SC049849), and a registered Company Limited by Guarantee in England & Wales (number 11314957). The Centre owns a registered trading subsidiary, the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology Enterprise, a Company Limited by Shares (number 12251749), which supports our charitable purpose. The registered office of the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology is at the Maclean Building, Benson Lane, Crowmarsh Gifford, Wallingford, Oxfordshire, OX10 8BB, UK.

Trustee directors

Lord Cameron of Dillington (Chair)

Lord Cameron of Dillington

Ewen Cameron serves as an independent crossbench Peer in the House of Lords and chairs the House of Lords Select Committee for Natural Environment and Rural Communities. He was Chairman of the Countryside Agency and a member of the Defra landscapes review panel.

Professor Mark J Bailey FAAM, FRSB, Executive Director

Professor Mark J Bailey FAAM, FRSB, Executive Director

Mark leads and manages the operations of UKCEH. He is a member of the NERC Executive Board (NEB) and a Trustee Director of Rothamsted Research. Mark is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology and the American Academy of Microbiology.

Fiona Evans

Fiona Evans

Fiona has been HR Director at the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) since 2014. She is a Chartered Fellow of the CIPD and won HR Director of the Year in 2017 for her transformational work at ZSL. Previously, Fiona was HR and Marketing Director for London’s largest further education college.

Professor Iain Gillespie FRSE FRSB

Professor Iain Gillespie

Iain is Pro-Vice-Chancellor of Research and Enterprise at the University of Leicester. He was formerly Director of Science and Innovation at the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) and lead director for international research across all seven UK Research Councils that are now part of UKRI.

Benet Northcote

Benet Northcote

Benet is Director of Corporate Responsibility for the John Lewis Partnership. He is a Trustee of Green Alliance and on the board of the Conservative Environment Network. He has been Deputy Private Secretary to HRH The Prince of Wales and Chief Policy Adviser to Greenpeace UK.

Neil Scragg

Neil Scragg

Neil is a Scottish Chartered Accountant and Partner of Caird Capital. He previously worked at Gresham LLP and has been a non-executive board member of over 30 businesses in manufacturing, retail, engineering, services and leisure.

Will Galgey

Will Galgey

Will is Global Chief Commercial Officer of the Insights Division of Kantar, the market research, data and consulting company. He was previously UK CEO of the Insights Division of Kantar, UK CEO of Kantar TNS, Global CEO of The Futures Company and Managing Director of The Henley Centre.

Linda Naylor

Linda Naylor

Linda was previously Managing Director of Oxford University Innovation, the University of Oxford’s technology commercialisation company. Prior to this she spent over 25 years in industry with ICI, Zeneca and Monsanto involved in the technical and commercial management of developing bioproduct.

Alexia Tye

Alexia Tye

Alexia has a financial services background at leading institutions including Barclays, HSBC, and GIC in Paris, London, Hong Kong and Singapore. She served as Finance Director and Centre Director at the Oceanographic Institute, Prince Albert I of Monaco Foundation from 2013 to 2019.

Our charitable objects

The Company’s objects are for the benefit of the public, within the United Kingdom and overseas. They are: to advance science; to advance education in the environment and environmental sciences, and sustainable development; and to promote sustainable development for the benefit of the public.

Executive directors

Professor Mark J Bailey FAAM, FRSB, Executive Director

Professor Mark J Bailey FAAM, FRSB, Executive Director

Mark leads and manages the operations of UKCEH. He is a member of the NERC Executive Board, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology and of the American Academy of Microbiology.

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Jaqui Dingle, Director of People and Operations

Jaqui Dingle, Director of People and Operations

Jaqui leads UKCEH’s financial and people resource management, estates, IT and project management. She is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development.

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Professor Alan Jenkins, Deputy Director and Director of Science

Professor Alan Jenkins, Deputy Director and Director of Science

Alan provides scientific leadership for UKCEH. He is Hydrological Advisor for the UK Met Office with the World Meteorological Office and Chair of the UK National Focal Centre for the UNESCO International Hydrology Programme.

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Kathleen Parsons, Director of Business & Finance

Kathleen Parsons, Director of Business & Finance

Kathleen leads the business and finance aspects of UK CEH’s operations. She is a Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland and was previously International Finance & Systems Director at Oxfam.

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Dr Nick Wells MBA, Director of Impact & Innovation

Nick is the UKCEH Director of Impact & Innovation and Managing Director of UKCEH Enterprise Limited, and has responsibility for the impact and innovation strategy for UKCEH alongside business development, external communications, research contracts, commercialisation and quality assurance.

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Our relationship with UK Research and Innovation

The UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology is a strategic delivery partner for the Natural Environment Research Council, part of UK Research and Innovation.  

Through our national capability programmes, funded by the Natural Environment Research Council, part of UK Research and Innovation, we enable the UK research community to stay at the forefront of environmental science globally, and we meet national strategic needs, informing government and business decision-making on environmental issues. 

Victoria McMyn, Programme Director for the Natural Environment Research Council, attends our Board of Trustees meeting as an Observer.

Science Board

Professor Alan Jenkins, Deputy Director and Director of Science

Professor Alan Jenkins, Deputy Director and Director of Science

Alan provides scientific leadership for UKCEH. He is Hydrological Advisor for the UK Met Office with the World Meteorological Office and Chair of the UK National Focal Centre for the UNESCO International Hydrology Programme.

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Professor Bridget Emmett, Science Area Head, Soils and Land Use

Professor Bridget Emmett, Science Area Head, Soils and Land Use

Bridget is a member of the EU Mission Board for Soil Health and Food, was the Specialist Advisor to the 2016 UK Parliamentary Inquiry into Soil Health, and is Chair of the NERC Soil Security Programme Advisory Board.

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Professor Richard Pywell, Science Area Head, Biodiversity

Professor Richard Pywell, Science Area Head, Biodiversity

Richard provides scientific leadership for biodiversity research in UKCEH. He is also leads the Achieving Sustainable Agricultural Systems (ASSIST) national capability programme and leads the research partnership agreement between Defra and UKCEH.

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Dr Gwyn Rees, Science Area Head, Water Resources

Dr Gwyn Rees, Science Area Head, Water Resources

Gwyn has over 26 years’ experience in applied hydrology. He sits on many national and international committees and expert panels, including the CIWEM Water Resources Panel in the UK and the Advisory Committee of the WMO-Global Water Partnership Integrated Drought Management Programme.

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Dr Stefan Reis, Science Area Head, Atmospheric Chemistry and Effects

Dr Stefan Reis, Science Area Head, Atmospheric Chemistry and Effects

Stefan is a Fellow of the International Society for Environmental Modelling and Software Systems and the Modelling and Simulation Society of Australia and New Zealand, and Honorary Associate Professor at the University of Exeter Medical School.

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Nick Reynard, Science Area Head, Hydro-climate Risks

Nick Reynard, Science Area Head, Hydro-climate Risks

Nick is Science Area Head for Hydro-Climatic Risks. He represents UKCEH on the Steering Group of the Natural Hazards Partnership (NHP) and provided hydrological advice for the National Flood Resilience Review, the Pitt Review and the UK Foresight Flooding programme.

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Professor Richard Shore, Science Area Head, Pollution

Professor Richard Shore, Science Area Head, Pollution

Richard leads the pollution science area in UKCEH and chairs the Programme Executive Board of its largest National Capability Programme, UK-SCAPE. He is an ecotoxicologist and has been a member of the government’s Hazardous Substances Advisory Committee and its UK Expert Committee on Pesticides.

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Dr Nick Wells MBA, Director of Impact & Innovation

Nick is the UKCEH Director of Impact & Innovation and Managing Director of UKCEH Enterprise Limited, and has responsibility for the impact and innovation strategy for UKCEH alongside business development, external communications, research contracts, commercialisation and quality assurance.

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