Board of Directors

Jon Pither, Chairman (75)
Jon Pither is a well regarded non-executive director, with significant experience of main list and AIM quoted companies. Since 1991 he has worked extensively with growth companies in a non executive capacity and is currently Chairman of Southern Bear plc, Active Capital Trust plc and Deputy Chairman of The Alumasc Group plc and Jourdan. Prior to 1991 he was managing director of Amari plc, an international group of engineering companies, which was acquired by Glynwed International plc. He has previously been a member of the AIM advisory committee of the Stock Exchange, a director of The London Metal Exchange,a past president of the Aluminium Federation, and a Council member of the CBI. He was Chairman of Tanfield from its admission to AIM in December 2003 until June 2005.

Darren Kell, Chief Executive (43)
Darren Kell has worked as a business development professional in a number of capital goods roles, predominantly in North East England, with a focus on production and manufacturing plant operations and business development. Darren joined Tanfield in a senior managerial role in 2000. He was appointed Chief Executive in September 2006, following three years as the Group’s Business Development Director. Prior to joining Tanfield, Darren was Business Development Director of the Crabtree Group for over 10 years.

Charles Brooks, Financial Director (47)
Charles Brooks joined The Tanfield Group in March 2006 and was promoted to Financial Director in June the same year. A chartered accountant, Charles has extensive experience as a Director in a range of businesses, including a UK plc and US corporations; in both single and multi-site environments. Charles joined Tanfield from IT solutions business Agility Systems Ltd, where he was Finance and Operations Director. Prior to this, he was Managing Director of printed circuit board manufacturer Circatex Ltd.

Brendan Campbell, Managing Director, Powered Access Division (44)
Brendan Campbell joined Tanfield in 2001, as Group Operations Director. In this role he was responsible for overall production on all Group manufacturing facilities, which includes overseeing Design; Purchasing & Logistics; Production Planning; Health & Safety; Quality; and Engineering. Brendan was appointed Managing Director of the Powered Access Division in July 2008. Prior to joining The Tanfield Group, Brendan spent eight years at Viasystems Ltd, ultimately becoming Manufacturing Director at the company's facility in South Tyneside in the North East of England, where he was responsible for 1,500 people and his site achieved a turnover of £140 million.

Roy Stanley, Non-Executive Director (58)
Roy Stanley founded The Tanfield Group as a private company in 1996 and was Chief Executive for a decade, overseeing its transition to AIM in December 2003. He moved from Chief Executive to Chairman in September 2006, to Non-Executive Chairman in 2008 and Non-Executive Director in 2010. In August 2007, Roy founded bus manufacturer The Darwen Group, now also trading on AIM as Optare Plc. He is Chairman of Smith Electric Vehicles US Corporation, Tanfield's 49%-owned associate company in North America. Roy is also Chairman of Business Link North East and holds an MBA from the University of Newcastle.

John Bridge, Non-Executive Director (67)
John Bridge joined the Board as a Non-Executive Director in January 2001. John is Chairman of Endeavour SCH plc, Chairman of the Land Restoration Trust and Chairman of the newly formed Levy Board (UK). John is an economist by training and runs his own consultancy, as well as being a consultant to PricewatehouseCoopers. He is also Chairman of the Alnwick Garden Trust and was formerly Chairman of Regional Development Agency, One NorthEast. John Bridge is Chairman of the Board’s Remuneration Committee and sits on the Audit Committee.

Martin Groak, Non-Executive Director (60)
Martin Groak joined the board of Tanfield in June 2005. He qualified as a chartered accountant after completing a degree in economics from the University of London and has over 30 years of international business experience. Martin is multi-lingual, with a strong background in finance and financial control, predominantly in the oil and gas, steel, logistics and energy sectors. He has previously held four other directorships of publicly quoted companiesand is currently CFO of AIM-listed Chariot Oil and Gas Limited, which is exploring offshore Namibia. Martin is Chairman of Tanfield's Audit Committee and sits on the Remuneration Committee.

Jeremy Wooding OBE, Non-Executive Deputy Chairman (64)
Jeremy Wooding joined the board of Tanfield in June 2009. A qualified engineer, he had a distinguished career in marketing, corporate management and strategic development of the aerospace, defence and transport engineering sectors. After a successful period for BAE Systems as Group Director of Public Affairs, Jeremy was appointed Group Regional Marketing Director of BAE Systems in 1996, with responsibility to the CEO for all group sales and marketing activities. He stepped down from the senior management board at BAE Systems in 2000 to establish his own consultancy, advising major corporations on business development, marketing and corporate change programmes. He was appointed an OBE for Aviation Services in the Export Market in 1999. Jeremy sits on Tanfield's Audit Committee.