Sir John, a technology pioneer and investor who took up his five-year term as President of the Academy in September 2024, is the first tech entrepreneur to hold the post since the Academy was founded in 1976.
Sir John is Chair of the Raspberry Pi Foundation, which aims to help young people realise their full potential through the power of computing and digital technologies. Raspberry Pi recently completed a successful IPO of its commercial subsidiary on the London Stock Exchange, cementing an endowment of £500M to drive an ambitious global strategy.
He is co-founder, General Partner, and a Limited Partner at Enza Capital, which backs founders and teams using technology to solve large and meaningful problems across Africa. He sits on the boards of multiple African technology companies. He previously served as the Chair of What3words and was awarded a CBE for services to engineering in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list in 2016.
Congratulations to all Fellows of the Academy who have been honoured, including:
- Professor Bashir Mohammed Ali Al-Hashimi CBE FREng FRS. Vice-President (Research and Innovation), King’s College London. For services to Engineering and Education. (London, Greater London)
- David Warren Arthur East CBE FREng FRS. Lately Chief Executive, Rolls-Royce. For services to the Economy and to Net Zero. (Cambridge, Cambridgeshire)
Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE)
- Professor Thomas Anthony Rodden FRS FREng. Professor of Computing and lately Chief Scientific Advisor, Department for Culture, Media and Sport. For services to Science, to Technology and to Academia. (Nottingham, Nottinghamshire)
- Professor Rahim Tafazolli FREng. Regius Professor, University of Surrey. For services to International Mobile Communications Research. (London, Greater London)
- Dr Peter Anthony Thompson FREng. Chief Executive Officer, National Physical Laboratory. For services to Science and Technology. (Salisbury, Wiltshire)
- Professor Richard Andrew Williams OBE FREng FRSE. Vice-Chancellor and Principal, Heriot-Watt University. For services to Education, to Engineering and to Entrepreneurship. (Edinburgh, Edinburgh)
Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE)
- Dr Mohamed Raouf Abdul Karim Al-Kattan FREng. Founder, Safinah Ltd., and Member, Board of Directors, I-Tech AB. For services to Marine Engineering. (Newcastle upon Tyne, Northumberland)
- Dr Alan James Belfield FREng. Lately Business Co-Chair, Professional Business Services Council and lately Chair, Arup. For services to Business. (Solihull, West Midlands)
- Carolyn Jane Griffiths FREng. Chair, Rail Group, Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety. For services to the Rail Industry, to Transport Safety and to the Engineering Profession. (Shepton Mallet, Somerset)
- Professor Nicholas Jenkins FREng. Professor of Renewable Energy, Cardiff University. For services to Renewable Energy and to Smart Grid Technologies. (Bristol, Bristol)
- Professor Rachel Angharad Oliver FREng. Professor of Materials, University of Cambridge. For services to Materials Engineering. (Cambridge, Cambridgeshire)
Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE)
- Professor Melissa Terras FREng. Professor of Digital Cultural Heritage, Edinburgh College of Art, University of Edinburgh. For services to Digital Humanities. (Edinburgh, Edinburgh)
