Prof J McGlade (Independent Non-Executive Director) joined the Board in July 2021. A natural scientist by training, Prof McGlade is qualified in both the UK and Canada and is recognised globally as a leading researcher in climate change, natural capital and carbon sequestration. Prof McGlade is currently at University College London and Strathmore Business School and is a co-founder and shareholder of Downforce Technologies, a start-up for natural capital analytics. Prior to this, she was appointed as UN Environment Chief Scientist and Global Director of Science 2013-2017 and Executive Director of the European Environment Agency 2003-2013, where she was responsible for 32 EU, EEA and Associate member states’ data, reporting and assessment on the environment and major sectors.
Earlier posts include Director of UK Natural Environment Research Council Centre for Coastal and Marine Science, Professor at Warwick University, Director Ecosystems Modelling Institute German Federal Government, and Senior Research Scientist Federal Government of Canada. Prof McGlade was a Board Member of the Environment Agency England and Wales from 1998-2003, and in 2020 was appointed a member of Essex County Council’s Climate Action Commission. She is a member of the AC and R&CSC, is chair of the ESG Committee and has a special focus on the Group’s environmental performance and its activities in Essex and Suffolk.