PRESS RELEASE : New government partnership directors at NATS – Greg Bagwell and David Smith

The press release issued by the Department for Transport on 1 September 2022.

Greg Bagwell and David Smith have been appointed as Non-Executive Partnership Directors to the board, where they will work alongside existing Partnership Director Maria Antoniou. Their appointment begins at the end of this month and will last for the next 3 years.

Aviation Minister Robert Courts said:

The next few years are going to be crucial for the aviation industry as it continues its recovery from the pandemic and air traffic management will continue to play a key role in keeping our skies safe and flights running smoothly as demand rebounds.

That’s why it’s excellent we’ve secured such experienced individuals to sit on the NATS Board. While they will have big shoes to fill, both Greg and David’s breadth and depth of experience will be indispensable assets over the coming years.

NATS Chair, Dr Paul Golby CBE said:

I am delighted to be welcoming Greg and David to the NATS Board bringing their collective experience on safety and finance issues to support NATS going forwards.

I would like to express my gratitude to Richard and Iain for all their work and support over the last 9 years which has been invaluable to myself as Chair, the NATS Board and NATS more widely.

Greg Bagwell previously served for 36 years in the Royal Air Force, as an Air Marshal, Deputy Commander and a member of the Air Force Board, while David Smith has held a number of senior executive and finance positions in large multinational companies, including Jaguar Land Rover and Rolls Royce. He most recently was the CFO and Director of QinetiQ and has also served on the board of Motability for 10 years.

They will take over from Iain McNicoll CB CBE and Richard Keys, who have both served 9 years on the board and have made significant contributions, particularly as the industry faced up to the pandemic.