about SBAC > sbac council

The SBAC Council comprises representatives nominated by the member companies and representatives of the main boards and committees. The Council is the governing body of the Society. It sets the strategy, directs and determines the work and activities of SBAC.

Each year the Council elects the President, Vice-President and Treasurer. The Deputy President, who is the immediate past President, is an ex officio member of the Council. These four are the Officers who also form the Finance Committee and manage the work of the Society between Council meetings.

The current Council Officers are:

SBAC President - Allan Edward Cook
Chief Executive, Cobham plc
Appointed to the board in 2001, Allan Cook, aged 55, joined the group from BAE SYSTEMS where he was group managing director of programmes and managing director of Eurofighter. He was formerly group managing director of GEC-Marconi Avionics and chief executive of Hughes Aircraft ( Europe ). He is also a director of the Society of British Aerospace Companies Ltd and a member of the SMMT Industrial Forum and the Dti Aerospace Forum.

SBAC Deputy President - Chris Geoghegan
Chief Operating Officer, BAE Systems
Chris joined BAE Systems as an undergraduate apprentice and has worked in various parts of the organisation. The majority of his time in the 1990s was spent with Airbus. For the last four years he has worked predominately in Defence Electronics and with the Company's European Joint Ventures. He was appointed Chief Operating Officer in April 2002 and became a member of the main board in July 2002.

SBAC Treasurer - Norman Barber

A past SBAC President, Norman was appointed SBAC Treasurer in September 2005. His career has encompassed a variety of senior executive positions with BAE Systems and Smiths Industries. Since his retirement in 2001, Norman has been Treasurer of the Aerospace and Defence Industries Association of Europe and he is also a non-executive Director with Marshall of Cambridge Aerospace Ltd. He is trustee of two educational trusts which encourage young people to join the aerospace industry: the Smallpeice Trust and the Arkwright Trust.