Board and management team

Chair

Lucy Armstrong

Chair

Appointed in July 2017, Lucy is Chief Executive of The Alchemists, a North East-based consultancy which helps businesses increase their development and success. Lucy joined The Alchemists in 2003 after an early career in private equity, corporate development and headhunting with 3i plc, Courtaulds Textiles and Tyzack.

Executive Directors

Matt Beeton

Chief Executive Officer

Having held director positions at Rolls Royce, Bombardier, Serco plc, Northern Rail and National Express Matt has over 20 years experience within the road, rail and aerospace industries. His early career began with a graduate programme at Rolls Royce Aerospace. Matt joined the Port in 2019 with extensive experience in transforming business strategy, driving efficiency through smart technology and inspiring leadership - including increasing customer satisfaction and safety performance.

Mark Stoner

Chief Financial Officer

Previously Finance Director at Communisis plc, Mark started his career with British Steel, before holding senior positions at Rolls Royce Industrial Power Group, Siemens Microelectronics, KPMG, and Atmel North Tyneside. A Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants with over 25-years’ practice in corporate finance Mark joined the Port in 2018 with the responsibility for Group financial services, information technology, internal audit and risk management.

Non-Executive Directors

Geoff Brown

Board Member

Geoff is the former Chair and Global Managing Director of Halcrow Transportation. He is a chartered civil engineer with experience in senior executive roles in organisations both in the UK and internationally.

Steve Crosland

Board Member

Steve has 20 years of experience specialising in leading human resource practices. A graduate of Newcastle University and a Chartered Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, he has previously held positions with NetJets Europe and Northern Electric and brings experience of leading large UK, European and US based companies in organisational development.

Mike Comerford

Board Member

With over 30 years of experience in shipping, maritime safety and engineering Mike has held senior roles within the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, Lloyd's Register and Bureau Veritas. Currently Mike is non-executive director of David MacBrayne Limited; one of the largest ferry operating groups in Scotland. He is a Chartered Engineer, a Member of the Royal Institution of Naval Architects and an Associate Fellow of the Nautical Institute.

Julia Prescot

Non-Executive Director

Julia has over 30 years of experience in financing global infrastructure investments in the energy and transport sectors. Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer of Meridiam SAS, she is also a Commissioner at the National Infrastructure Commission. She is a Director of the Fulcrum Infrastructure Group and Chair of Neuconnect Limited, a Non-Executive Director of the International Project Finance Association as well as sitting on the advisory panel of Glennmont Renewable Energy Fund. Julia is an Honorary Professor at the Bartlett School, University College London and Co-founder of the group, Women Leaders in Infrastructure.

Julia Thomas

Non-Executive Director

Julia is a senior transportation professional with over 30 years' experience in the passenger transport and maritime and logistics sectors, and has a strong record as a Board level executive working in the UK and overseas. Her most recent positions have been as President of the Business to Business Division for Transdev North America, part of Transdev Group, a global public transport provider, and as Interim Managing Director for Arriva Rail London. Earlier in her career she worked for P&O Nedlloyd and P&O Containers.

Terry Burke

Non-Executive Director

Terry is currently Vice President Finance and Chief Financial Officer at Husqvarna, the world’s leading producer of outdoor products for forest, park and garden care. Terry is a Fellow member of Chartered Certified Accountants and has more than 20 years’ experience in various senior international finance positions, both at Husqvarna Group and Electrolux.

Kelly Dent

Non-Executive Director

Kelly has 25 years’ experience in the energy sector and has held various senior international positions at Shell, a leading energy company. She has a strong record in delivering new business opportunities, partnerships and M&A deals in Europe, Russia, the Middle East, the US and South America. She has also worked with governments to deliver solutions to meet their energy needs. She has been working closely with Shell’s board to deliver portfolio changes and the strategic agenda. She is currently leading a transformation project across Shell to drive delivery of the company’s decarbonisation targets and Net Zero ambition by 2050. Kelly is part of Shell’s UK Senior Women network where she hosts mentoring circles and supports younger staff across the organisation.

Management Team

Louise Tinkler

Director of Human Resources

Louise joined in 2011, having held a number of roles in the private and public sectors. She leads the Port’s Investors in People programme, which achieved Gold status in 2013. Since becoming Director of Human Resources in 2017 she has developed strategies including the successful apprentice and health & wellbeing programmes and contributed to a positive change in culture within the organisation.

Jo North

Technology and Transformation Director

Dr Jo North is Associate Lecturer for business creativity and Innovation at the University of York and joined the Port as Technology and Transformation Director & 2050 Innovation Hub lead in 2019. Jo has leading-edge expertise in working with companies to optimise the creative potential of their people, products, services and brands and build an innovative, entrepreneurial capability into organisational culture. She brings a truly unique perspective to teams and innovation as she combines her academic excellence, research and facilitation skills with real world, commercial business experience in the transport sector and beyond.

Charlotte Brown

Chief Commercial Officer

Charlotte joined the Port in 2021 and brought over 20 years' experience in the energy, maritime, engineering and technology sectors to the role. She has held a range of commercial roles at companies including Honeywell, Fujitsu, and DNV. Charlotte has a wealth of knowledge in growing and developing businesses across the IT and energy sectors from previous sales and divisional director roles in the UK, Europe and the Middle East. Her cross-sector career has seen Charlotte implement innovation strategies using AI and machine learning.

Ashley Nicholson

Marine Director

Ashley joined the Port in 2022 following a decade at Forth Ports as Senior Harbour Master. She is in charge of the Port’s marine operations including pilotage and conservancy, and leads on the decarbonisation of the Port’s vessels and responding to global trends as deep-sea shipping switches to sustainable fuels. Ashley is also an industry advocate for encouraging more women into the maritime workforce and was recognised in the Queen’s 2021 New Year’s Honours for this work. She is also the first female president of the UK Harbour Masters’ Association.

Graeme Hardie

Operations Director

As Operations Director at the Port, Graeme is responsible for all operations, cruise and ferry, and engineering activities. His career initially started in the Armed Forces before he moved to the transport industry. From there he developed his career through the Port in various management roles from Operations Manager, to Head of Operations and most recently being appointed as Operations Director.