Ted Inman OBE
Ted Inman is 56. After studying German and Russian at Cambridge and international relations in London , he joined the Imperial War Museum in 1972 as a research assistant and archivist. Following a period in the Museum's Directing Staff he was given responsibility in 1978 for developing the IWM's new branch at Duxford which he went on to direct until 2004. During that time IWM Duxford grew to be one of the world's leading aviation museums, attracting 450,000 visitors a year. Ted was awarded the OBE in 1998 for services to aviation history. He left Duxford in June 2004 to become Chief Executive of the South Bank Employers' Group.'
Keith Mans BA, FRAeS
Keith Mans was educated at the RAF College Cranwell and the Open University. He spent twelve years in the RAF, flying Vulcans and Canberras and continues to fly with the RAF reserve.
Before entering Parliament in 1987 as MP for Wyre in Lancashire he worked for The John Lewis Partnership for 10 years filling a number of posts including that of the Central Buyer and Assistant General Inspector. Whilst in Parliament he founded and was the first Chairman of both the Parliamentary Environment Group and the Parliamentary Aerospace Group. He was also a member of the Environment Select Committee and the Defence Select Committee. He was Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Secretary of State for Health from 1991 - 1995 and he was Chairman of the Conservative Defence Committee in 1996. He left Parliament in 1997 and took up his present appointment as Chief Executive of the Royal Aeronautical Society in 1998. He is also Vice-Chairman of the Air League and Chairman of the Air Travel - "Greener by Design" Initiative.
John Sharman
John Sharman was a founding shareholder in Spectrum Capital, Ltd. in 1985 and is an Executive Director of the company. John is a graduate of University College, Oxford.
John's career started at Rolls Royce who awarded him an industrial scholarship in 1967. After graduating from Oxford, he was appointed PA to the Production Director. After leaving Rolls Royce, John joined First National Finance as a trainee management accountant, eventually working on the formation of the property lifeboat during the secondary-banking crisis in 1972. From 1973 to 1980, John worked in Singapore for the United Overseas Bank Group, specialising in ship finance and finance for the Tin Dredging industry including the repatriation of London Tin Corporation to Malaysia to form what is today Malaysian Mining Corporation.
Upon his return from Singapore, John was appointed Managing Director of Guinness Peat Midland, a joint venture between Guinness Peat Aviation and Midland Bank (now HSBC) designed to develop aircraft finance products through Ireland. Having been head-hunted by Chemical Bank in 1982, he was appointed Vice President, Special Finance Group tasked with developing a successful aviation portfolio.
Over the last 20 years, John has been a key player in establishing and developing Spectrum's business in the aviation finance sector and now runs Spectrum Capital London Limited. In his time at Spectrum, he has been instrumental in developing a range of complex option lease structures that have been employed by a number of airlines worldwide. In 2002 he was acclaimed by Euromoney as one of the sector's "top 50 market shapers", based on his significant contribution via the development of innovative financing structures.
John is a Non-Executive Director of Aer Lingus, where he is also presently acting Chairman. He is also a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society; a member of the Aerospace committee of the Department of Trade & Industry; a member of the Aviation Club of Great Britain and is visiting lecturer in Air Transport Management at City University
Sir Donald Spiers CB, TD, FRAeS
Donald Spiers was born in Wimbledon in 1934. Following schooling at Blakesley House and Raynes Park County Grammar, he joined the Army and was commissioned in the Royal Engineers, serving with 16 Parachute Brigade in Egypt . From 1954 to 1957 he read Mechanical Sciences at Trinity College , Cambridge , where he was an Exhibitioner. After graduating he served an apprenticeship with the de Havilland Engine Company at Stag Lane and then became a gas turbine development engineer in the Halford Laboratory at Hatfield.
In 1961 he joined the Air Ministry, working on a variety of operational research topics, including the Kestrel evaluation trial in 1965 and covering the Radfan war in Aden in 1966. From 1967 to 1970 he was the Scientific Adviser to the Far East Air Force, based in Singapore but undertaking operational analysis and trials work in Australia , Malaysia , Thailand , Vietnam and Hong Kong as well.
Returning to London , he became Assistant Chief Scientist to the RAF, until in 1978 he moved to the Procurement Executive where he became in turn project director for the Hawk, Jaguar, Tornado and Eurofighter aircraft programmes. From 1982 to 1985 he was Chairman of the NAMMA Board of Directors, responsible for the overall policy control of the international Tornado programmed. In 1986 he became Controller of Establishments, Research and Nuclear Programmes in the MOD, and then from 1989 to 1994 he was Controller Aircraft in the MOD, responsible for the procurement of all aerospace materiel for the UK Armed Forces.
After leaving the MOD, Sir Donald served as a Director of Meggitt plc; Messier-Dowty International; Smiths Aerospace; and Siemens-Plessey. He was Chairman of the Government Foresight Defence and Aerospace Panel and of the 1988 Government enquiry into the new Air Traffic Control Centre at Swanwick. He was President of the Royal Aeronautical Society for 1995 - 1996 and of the Popular Flying Association from 1997-2000 Dynamics ( UK ) and TAG Aviation (UK). He is Chairman of the Farnborough Aerospace Consortium and of the Farnborough Enterprise Hub. He is also a Council Member of the Royal Aeronautical Society and of the Air League.
Sir Donald is married to Sylvia and they have two grown up sons. Over the years his interests have included parachuting, flying, teaching other people to fly, riding horses and rebuilding old cars. He was awarded the Territorial Decoration in 1966, appointed a Companion of the Bath in 1987, and received a Knighthood in 1993.
Sir Donald is currently Chairman of Agusta Westland International and a Director of General
Ken Smart CBE, FRAeS
Non-Executive Director and Board Member of British Airways where he is Chairman of the Safety Review Committee. He also serves on the Company Audit Committee. Ken joined the Department for Transport’s Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) in 1975 becoming the UK’s Chief Inspector of Air Accidents and Head of the Air Accidents Investigation Branch in September 1990 until his retirement in April 2005. He is a member of the Board of Trustees of the UK Confidential Human Factors Incident Reporting Programme, European President of the International Society of Air Safety Investigators and a Visiting Professor at Cranfield University. Ken is married with two children and his interests are sport, especially tennis and mountaineering.