A former director general of the CBI is set to join the board of arms, security and aerospace giant BAE Systems.
Dame Carolyn Fairbairn will become a non-executive director at the listed company from March 1.
BAE added that Dr Ewan Kirk, who founded Cantab Capital Partners in 2006, will take on the same role from 1 June.
Dame Carolyn, who stepped down from her position at the CBI at the end of 2020, was previously a non-executive director of Lloyds Banking Group, The Vitec Group plc and Capita plc.
She is also a former non-executive director of the Competition and Markets Authority, the Financial Services Authority and until 2016, a trustee of Marie Curie.
Dame Carolyn also worked in government as a member of the Number 10 Policy Unit during the 1990s, following which she became a partner at McKinsey specialising in digital and media, and held senior executive roles at the BBC and ITV.
BAE Systems has Lancashire bases in Samlesbury and Warton.
Dr Kirk established Cantab Capital Partners, a science-driven investment management firm, and grew the business from a team of two with £30m assets under management to 60 people with over £4.5bn AUM, before the business was acquired by GAM Investments in 2016.
Prior to founding Cantab, he was partner and head of quantitative strategies group at Goldman Sachs.
He is chairman of the Isaac Newton Institute for Mathematical Sciences, chairman of DeepTech Labs, a UK-based venture capital fund that invests in deep technology businesses, and co-chairman of the Turner Kirk Trust.
BAE Systems chairman Sir Roger Carr said: "I am delighted to welcome Dame Carolyn Fairbairn and Dr Ewan Kirk to the BAE Systems board.
“Carolyn brings extensive business leadership and commercial experience across multiple sectors and Ewan adds a deep insight and knowledge of emergent digital technologies that have been the basis for a successful business career.
“As highly respected leaders, I am confident that their wealth of experience and diverse array of complementary skills will provide further diversity of thought, whilst strengthening Board discussions, challenge and invaluable insight.
“I am very much looking forward to working with them both and welcome the contribution they will bring to both the skills and chemistry of the board."
