Professor Jim Norton

PROFESSOR M.J. NORTON
OBE FREng BEng(Hons) CDir CITP CEng DEng LLD FIET FBCS FIoD FRSA

Aged seventy, Jim Norton is an independent director, policy adviser and public speaker. He is a Fellow of the UK Royal Academy of Engineering, where he is past Chair of its Digital Systems Engineering Community of Practice. Jim is a Pro-Chancellor of Coventry University, where he was until July 2018 a Governor and Chair of the Audit & Risk Committee. Jim is a Board Member and Trustee of the Foundation for Information Policy Research (FIPR). He completed his role as a Non-Executive Director of Applegate Marketplace Ltd, an electronic marketplace for the engineering sector and of its holding company Amside Holdings Ltd in December 2022. Jim is a Trustee (Non-Executive Director) of the Canada-UK Council.

Jim was for eighteen years an external member of the Board of the UK Parliament's Office of Science & Technology (POST), role completed July 2018. In May 2019 he completed his role as a member of the Irish Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment (DCCAE) Steering Group for the delivery of the Irish National Broadband Scheme. Jim is a Past President (2011-12) of BCS, the Chartered Institute for IT. He was Chair of the UK Spectrum Policy Forum 2013 -2015. Jim was a member of the Independent Climate Change E-Mails Review (ICCER) which completed its work in July 2010. He was also a Commissioner in the IPPR Commission on National Security in the 21st Century completing that role in June 2009. Jim retains a special interest in critical national infrastructure and cyber-security issues.

Jim completed his role as Senior Policy Adviser e-Business and e-Government for the UK Institute of Directors (IoD) on 31st December 2008. He is a past non-executive director of F&C Capital & Income Investment Trust plc (role completed in February 2014), Zetex plc (role completed 12/06/08), 3i European Technology Trust PLC (role completed 20/12/04) and of Securicor plc (retired 31/12/02) and is the former UK Country Manager for the Deutsche Telekom (DT) Group and former Executive Chairman of DT Ltd (2001-2002). He was previously Head of e-Business Policy at the Institute of Directors (1999-2001). Prior to joining IoD, Jim led the Cabinet Office team that produced the PIU report 'e-commerce@its.best.uk' for the UK Prime Minister in September 1999. He is a former Chief Executive of the DTI Radiocommunications Agency (the UK's radio spectrum manager 1993-1998) and has held senior positions in Cable & Wireless (Marketing Director C&W Europe 1990-1993), Butler-Cox (Director Vendor Consulting Practice 1987-1990), and British Telecom (Senior Manager International Business Development).

Jim was a member of the Strategic Stakeholders' Group (SSG) of the UK National High-Tech Crime Unit (NHTCU) prior to the creation of the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) in April 2006 and of the NESTA FutureLab committee, prior to FutureLab being spun out from NESTA also in April 2006.

Jim is a Visiting Professor of Electronic Engineering at Sheffield University and an Honorary Doctor of Engineering of that University. He is also an Honorary Doctor of Laws of the University of Bath, Jim is a Chartered Engineer and Fellow of the Institution of Engineering & Technology (IET). He is also a Fellow of the Royal Society for the Encouragement of the Arts, Commerce and Manufactures and of the Institute of Directors. Jim received an OBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours 2019.

04.06.2023.