Homaira Akbari

Non-executive director (independent)

Board member since 2016.

Nationality: American and French. Born in 1961 in Tehran, Iran.

Education: PhD in Experimental Particle Physics from Tufts University of Massachusetts and MBA from Carnegie Mellon University.

Experience: Ms Akbari was a non-executive director of Gemalto NV and Veolia Environment S.A. She was Chair and CEO of SkyBitz, Inc., managing director of TruePosition Inc., and a non-executive director of Covisint Corporation and US Pack Logistics, LLC. She also held various roles at Microsoft Corporation and Thales Group, was non-executive Chair of WorkFusion, Inc., and an independent director of Temenos, AG.

Other positions of note: Ms Akbari is CEO of AKnowledge Partners, LLC, a global consultancy firm on the Internet of Things, cybersecurity and artificial intelligence. She is an independent director of Landstar System, Inc. and a member of the security advisory board of Telefónica Soluciones de Criptografía, S.A.U. She is also a trustee of the French Institute Alliance Française.

Positions in other Group companies: Ms Akbari is a non-executive director of Santander Consumer USA Holdings, Inc. and PagoNxt, S.L.

Membership of board committees: Audit committee, responsible banking, sustainability and culture committee, and innovation and technology committee.