Trust welcomes former Oxford Instruments CEO to Board
September 28, 2017
We are delighted to announce that Jonathan Flint CBE, former Chief Executive of Oxford Instruments, has joined our Board of Trustees.
Jonathan, a graduate of Physics from Imperial College and Fellow of the Institute of Physics and Institute of ET, started work as a systems engineer for the Marconi Company, designing scientific and communications satellites.
He held a variety of technical and managerial roles before joining Oxford Instruments (OI) in 2005. Our patrons, Sir Martin and Lady Audrey Wood, founded OI back in 1967 to design and manufacture super-conducting magnets for use in scientific research. By the early 1980s, the magnets were in high demand for use in MRI scanners and in 1983 the company floated on the stock market. The flotation enabled Martin and Audrey to pursue their philanthropic interests – which included the founding of The Oxford Trust.
Steve Burgess, our CEO, says: “Jonathan’s appointment to the Board completes the circle really. He spent eleven years as Chief Executive at OI, the company founded by our patrons, and now joins us as a board member. He brings a wealth of commercial experience and insight to the Board and we are greatly looking forward to working with him.”
During Jonathan’s time as CEO, OI grew significantly, becoming a leading supplier of high value systems to the physics research community and to industrial customers deploying advanced techniques for research and production. Products spanned the communication, materials science, semiconductor, energy and nanotechnology sectors. From 2013-2017 he was a Non-Executive Director.
Most recently, Jonathan has worked as the Senior Independent Non-Executive Director for Cobham plc. Cobham is a leading UK Defence and Communications equipment contractor and specialises in air-to-air refuelling, airborne communications equipment, network test equipment and antennas.
In addition, he has been a member of the Board of the UK National Neutron Source at Harwell, and of the economic advisory Board for the UK Science and Technology Facilities Council. He served on Council of the Institute of Physics from 2009 to 2012 and is currently the President Elect. He also sits on the Quantic strategic advisory board, advising researchers on governance, standards and commercialisation of new quantum imaging and sensing techniques.
