Nominet's board is responsible for making strategic and policy decisions.
The board meets regularly to discuss strategic, policy and operational issues and the communique from the meetings are archived here.
Baroness Rennie Fritchie DBE - Chair
Baroness Fritchie DBE is an Independent Crossbench Peer, Chair of the 2gether NHS Trust for Gloucestershire, a consultant on strategy and leadership working out of Mainstream Development and Vice Chair of the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman Audit and Advisory Committee. She was appointed as Chair of Nominet in June 2010 following a competitive selection process.
She was Chair of the Web Science Research Initiative at Southampton University and MIT until 2009 and is a former Pro Chancellor of Southampton University.
She was Vice Chair of Stroud and Swindon Building Society until 2008. In 1999 she was appointed Commissioner for Public Appointments and a Civil Service Commissioner, a post she held for seven years.
Baroness Fritchie DBE is the holder of seven Honorary Degrees from the Universities of Southampton, York, Oxford Brookes, St Andrews, The Open University, Hull University and Queen’s University, Belfast. She is also a Fellow of the University of Gloucestershire, City & Guilds, London, the Chartered Institute for Public Finance and the Sunningdale Institute, part of the National School of Government. She was appointed a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1996 and a life peer in 2005.
Lesley Cowley - Chief Executive
Lesley has been Managing Director/Chief Executive of Nominet since 2002.
She is responsible for leading Nominet and for the development and implementation of strategy.
She leads relationship building and liaison with Nominet members and stakeholders and international representation and leadership in the Internet field.
In 2007, she won the CBI First Women Award for Technology. In 2006, she was a top five finalist in Britain’s Best Boss awards and received a special commendation.
Lesley is an elected Council Member of the Country Code Names Supporting Organisation (ccNSO) and is a Fellow of the British Computer Society, The Institute of Credit Management and The Chartered Management Institute.
Lesley is a Trustee of the Nominet Trust and the Jenner Hall charity. She has an MBA, with distinction.
Clive Grace - Non-Executive Director
Clive has a keen interest in the internet as an end user across the range of his business and personal interests, and a particular commitment to its self regulation. He was co-opted to the Board in December 2008 following a search by recruitment consultants Veredus, and a competitive selection process.
He has extensive Board level experience in the not-for-profit, public and commercial sectors. He Chairs the Research Councils’ Shared Services Centre Ltd, Supporta plc, the Local Better Regulation Office, and the Advisory Forum of the Board of BT Wales. He is the Honorary Secretary of the Solace Foundation, and an Honorary Research Fellow at Cardiff Business School.
He is a Life Member of the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (though not a professional accountant), and has been a CIPFA Council member since 2003 and Chairs their International Board. Until 2007 he served on the Financial Reporting Council (which is the steward of the Combined Code of Corporate Governance) with a special remit for not-for-profit bodies.
He has been appointed to Nominet’s Audit Committee.
He is a former Deputy-Auditor General of Wales, and the former Chief Executive of Torfaen County Borough Council.
He has a Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Birmingham, a Master’s Degree from the University of California, a Doctorate from the University of Oxford, and a Professional Diploma in Management from the Open University. He is also a qualified (but non-practising) lawyer.
Sebastien Lahtinen - Non-Executive Director
Sebastien has a B.Sc. Management and M.Sc. Management of Information Systems degree from the London School of Economics.
An entrepreneur with a strong interest in Internet related projects, Sebastien is director of NetConnex, a hosting company, Chairman and director of LONAP, a not-for-profit Internet Exchange Point and co-founder of thinkbroadband.com, an independent broadband information site.
Previously (from 2007 to 2009) he was a non-executive director of Nominet. He was also a member of Nominet's Policy Advisory Body for four years, two of them as Chair.
Nora Nanayakkara - Non-Executive Director
As a Non Executive Director, Nora brings experience in online business, digital media and international domain markets within both New Media and the not-for-profit sector. She provides business consultancy to UK charities through Pilotlight and working at Sedo/Adlink Media over the last six years has given her valuable insight into both the primary and secondary international domain markets.
Nora is also an active member of Nominet's own policy advisory body (PAB), since being elected in June 2008. Her formal education includes an MBA in International Business in addition to a BA from University College Cork, Ireland and on-the-job training in media communications and strategic financial modeling.
Jonathan Robinson - Non-Executive Director
Jonathan is a co-founder of Group NBT (formerly NetBenefit) plc and was Chief Operating Officer of the Group until June 2009. At Group NBT, Jonathan was most recently responsible for the areas of product management and associated strategic planning, fulfilment operations and industry policy issues, as well as acquisition integration projects.
He holds a PhD in Materials Engineering and a BSc (Physics) from the University of Cape Town. He previously held research posts at Imperial College, London from 1993-1994 and then the Rolls Royce Technology Centre at the University of Cambridge until 1997.
Thomas Vollrath - Non-Executive Director
He has succeeded in delivering business growth in a variety of contrasting situations, including turning around and realising significantly enhanced value in previously underperforming divisions.
Thomas is currently CEO of the Host Europe Group, which comprises two leading Internet services’ businesses. He is also Co-founder of three high growth, profitable new operating divisions.
Thomas holds an MBA in International Management from Long Island University, NY , as well as a BA in International Business Management from Franklin College, Switzerland.
Piers White MBE - Non-Executive Director
Piers is a non-executive director at Ordnance Survey and has been Chair of their Audit and Risk committee for the past eight years. He is also a non-executive director of Croydon Economic Development Company Ltd, ACS International Schools Ltd and CIPFA Business, the commercial arm of the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy. Pro bono, Piers makes time to act as Chair of The Larks Nursery School, as Deputy Chair of Hazelwood School and as a Governor of Croydon College.
Piers had a successful executive career in banking including Service Director for all Barclays UK branches, senior executive roles at Flemings and UK Chief Executive Officer of Insinger de Beaufort, the Anglo Dutch Private and Investment Bank.
Piers has a degree in Economics and Statistics from Exeter University and an MBA from Henley Management College. He is a member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing and an associate of the Chartered Institute of Bankers. He was awarded an MBE for public service in 2009.