Dr Krishnamurthy “Raj” Rajagopal was Chief Executive of BOC Edwards and an Executive Director of the BOC Group plc until November 2006. He has worked for over 25 years in the fields of international business especially in high technology industries as well as manufacturing technology and product development and held several positions in BOC Edwards before being appointed Chief Executive. He was appointed non-executive Director of FSI International Inc in Minneapolis (a NASDAQ company) in January 2001 and Foesco plc in May 2005. Dr Rajagopal is a non executive director of Dyson Group plc and a Vice President of the IET. He is also an Audit Commissioner and has other business advisory and investment interests. Dr Rajagopal is a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering and a member of the Council of Cranfield University. He is a member of the Advisory Board of the Centre for Business research, Cambridge University. He is also a Fellow of the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), which awarded him the IEE Eric Mensforth International Gold Medal for outstanding contribution to manufacturing technology and management. He is a Fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Management and chairs the IET’s manufacturing sector panel. He was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Science degree by Cranfield University in 2004.