Rolls-Royce Holdings plc is a British multinational aerospace and defence company incorporated in February 2011. The company owns Rolls-Royce, a business established in 1904 which today designs, manufactures and distributes power systems for aviation and other industries. Rolls-Royce is the world's second-largest maker of aircraft engines and has major businesses in the marine propulsion and energy sectors.
Cranfield University is a British postgraduate-only public research university specialising in science, engineering, design, technology and management. Cranfield was founded as the College of Aeronautics (CoA) in 1946. Through the 1950s and 1960s, the development of aircraft research led to growth and diversification into other areas such as manufacturing and management, and in 1967, to the founding of the Cranfield School of Management. In 1969, the College of Aeronautics was renamed the Cranfield Institute of Technology, was incorporated by royal charter, gained degree awarding powers, and became a university. In 1993, it adopted its current name.
Julia Elizabeth King, Baroness Brown of Cambridge, is a British engineer and a crossbench member of the House of Lords, where she chairs the Select Committee on Science and Technology. She is the incumbent chair of the Carbon Trust and the Henry Royce Institute, and was the vice-chancellor of Aston University from 2006 to 2016.
Sir Ralph Harry Robins FREng, was the CEO of Rolls-Royce. He served 20 years on the board of Rolls-Royce, retiring in 2003 after 10 years as chairman. After retiring from Rolls-Royce, he was appointed a non-executive director of Marshall Group in 2004.
David Warren Arthur East is a British businessman and engineer. He is a former chief executive officer (CEO) of Rolls-Royce Holdings, a leading UK-based engine manufacturer, and previously held senior positions at ARM Holdings and Texas Instruments.
Triumph Group, Inc. is a supplier of aerospace services, structures, systems and support. Based in Berwyn, Pennsylvania, United States, Triumph engineers, designs, and manufactures aircraft components, systems, and accessories. Several services and products are offered through three of their operating organizations, Integrated Systems, Aerospace Structures, and Product Support.
ADS Group Limited, informally known as ADS, is the trade organisation representing the aerospace, defence, security and space industries in the United Kingdom. It has more than 1,000 member companies across its sectors, including some of the UK's largest manufacturers, like Airbus, Rolls-Royce, BAE Systems, Meggitt PLC and GKN.
Wanda M. Austin is a former president and CEO of The Aerospace Corporation. She was both the first woman, and the first African-American, to hold this position. Austin also served as interim president for the University of Southern California, following the resignation of C. L. Max Nikias. She was both the first woman, and the first African-American, to hold this position.
Colin P. Smith CBE FRS FREng FRAeS FIMechE was director of engineering and technology at Rolls-Royce plc.
Boeing United Kingdom Limited is a subsidiary of Boeing that operates in the United Kingdom and Ireland.
Karen Margaret Holford is a Welsh engineer, Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive of Cranfield University. She was formerly Deputy Vice-Chancellor at Cardiff University. She is also a former Pro Vice-Chancellor of the College of Physical Sciences and Engineering and Head of the School of Engineering. She is an active researcher of acoustic emission and her work has been applied to damage assessment inspections on industrial components.
Josephine Wapakabulo, also Josephine Wapakabulo Thomas, is an electrical engineer and business executive. She served as the founding chief executive officer of Uganda National Oil Company (UNOC). She was appointed in June 2016, being the first person to serve in that position. She resigned as UNOC CEO, with effect from 13 August 2019, "to focus on her family and new opportunities".
In 2016 the Women's Engineering Society (WES), in collaboration with the Daily Telegraph, produced an inaugural list of the United Kingdom's Top 50 Influential Women in Engineering, which was published on National Women in Engineering Day on 23 June 2016. The event was so successful it became an annual celebration. The list was instigated by Dawn Bonfield MBE, then Chief Executive of the Women's Engineering Society. In 2019, WES ended its collaboration with the Daily Telegraph and started a new collaboration with The Guardian newspaper.
Dame Dawn Elizabeth Childs is a British engineer who has moved between several engineering disciplines including mechanical engineering, aeronautical engineering and civil engineering. She has been the first woman engineer in several posts in the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the first female head of engineering at a major international airport. Childs has a track record of developing women within her organisation as well as working to bring more women and girls into the discipline. Childs is currently the chief executive officer of Pure Data Centres Group Ltd, following her role as UK Change Director at National Grid plc.
Lucy Elizabeth Rogers is a British author, inventor, and engineer. She is a visiting professor of engineering, creativity and communication at Brunel University London and has served as a judge on the BBC Two show Robot Wars from 2016 to 2018.
Today's Airbus is the product of international consolidation in the European aerospace industry tracing way before the formation of the Airbus Industrie GIE consortium in 1970. In 2000, the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS) NV was established through the merger of Aerospatiale-Matra of France and DASA from Germany, and that subsequently bought Construcciones Aeronauticas from Spain. In addition to other subsidiaries pertaining to security and space activities, EADS owned 100% of the pre-existing Eurocopter SA, established in 1992, as well as 80% of Airbus Industrie GIE. In 2001, Airbus Industrie GIE was reorganised as Airbus SAS, a simplified joint-stock company. In 2006, EADS acquired the remaining 20% shares of Airbus Industrie GIE from BAE Systems. EADS NV was renamed Airbus Group NV in 2014 and finally Airbus SE in 2015. Due to the commercial aircraft division's prominence within Airbus SE with it representing the largest part of the corporation's activities, Airbus S.A.S was published to be merged into the parent company in January 2017, but it was never done. Airbus SE remains therefore as the holding company for the commercial aircraft subsidiary Airbus SAS, while also being the parent company of the other two divisions Airbus Defence and Space and Airbus Helicopters.
Vertical Aerospace Ltd. is an aerospace manufacturer based in Bristol, England. It designs and builds zero emission, electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) electrically powered aircraft.
Katharine, Lady Parsons was the co-founder and second President of the Women's Engineering Society (WES), and an engineer in her own right.
Anne Louise Stevens is an American mechanical and materials engineer. She is currently a non-executive director at Anglo American plc. She was the CEO of GKN Aerospace until it was acquired by Melrose plc in a hostile takeover in 2018. Previously, Stevens was chairman of the Board of Directors, President and chief executive officer of Carpenter Technology Corporation and vice president of North America Vehicle Operations for Ford Motor Company.
Grazia Vittadini, is an Italian-German aerospace executive. From May 2018 to 2021 she was Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of the aerospace and defence company Airbus. Since November 2021 Vittadini has served as the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of the aircraft engine and power systems company Rolls-Royce Holdings.
