Commonwealth Board

Paul Smith
Company Member of the Commonwealth Board and Non-Executive Chair

Paul is a chemistry graduate with more than 40 years’ experience in business leadership and strategic marketing with a number of global corporate players such as Albright & Wilson Ltd, Elementis PLC and Brent International, before becoming active in Private Equity and Venture Capital investment strategy. More recently, he was CEO of Rahu Catalytics, the Catexel Group, specialty chemical technology businesses within the Unilever VC portfolio, delivering profitable exits for investors.

Alongside his role with Scott Bader, Paul is currently an advisor to Greensphere Capital – a “green technology” investor in renewable energy and land – and an investor/non-executive Director at Marine Bioploymers Limited. With extensive international experience in Europe, North America and Asia, Paul’s primary areas of industry expertise are in commercial strategy and new technology commercialisation.

Richard Tapp
Guardian Trustee

Richard is a Solicitor and Chartered Governance Professional, having held group company secretary and group general counsel positions with FTSE-100 and 250 corporates for more than 20 years. He is also the architect of an award-winning legal services business that now forms part of a major international Magic Circle law firm.

He currently consults with law firms, in-house legal teams, and alternative legal providers on a range of in-house legal, alternative legal services, and legal technology issues. He is a member of the Company Secretaries’ Forum, which acts as an advisory group on governance matters to the Chartered Governance Institute.

Richard is an experienced trustee and is currently a member of Council and Chair of Audit at the University of Leicester, Chair of the Academy Council at Wrenn School, Wellingborough, and a lay member of Chapter at Peterborough Cathedral. His previous trustee roles include International Lawyers’ Project, the Centre for Tomorrow’s Company, and the British Occupational Health Research Foundation.

Gillian Shapiro
Guardian Trustee

Gillian is a leadership and organisational development coach and consultant, with thirty years of expertise in complex change, diversity and inclusion. She founded Shapiro Consulting Ltd in 2003 with a mission to help build high-performing, relational organisations where people from all backgrounds feel a strong sense of belonging. She has worked with client organisations globally spanning sectors including finance, law, manufacturing, media, science, engineering and technology, NGO/third sector, local and central Government. She joined Scott Bader Commonwealth as an External Guardian Trustee in 2023.

Previously Gillian led pan-European action research programmes on innovation and engagement at the Centre for Research in Innovation Management. She has worked with the International Labour Organisation on one of the first large scale global diversity and inclusion studies involving low, medium as well as high income economies. Following a business degree, her doctorate research focused on the career development of women working in leadership in the technology sector. She has published and is a regular international speaker on her research work.

Gilly enjoys and is firmly committed to lifelong learning, personal and professional development. She is a member of the Institute for Applied Behavioural Science (NTL), the Human Systems Dynamics Institute and the Organisational Development Network Europe. She is a graduate and faculty member of the International Gestalt, Organisational Development and Leadership (iGOLD) programme.

Sonia Davies
Guardian Trustee

Sonia is a seasoned finance leader and Chartered Accountant with extensive experience in commercial finance, governance, and strategic planning within the tech and engineering sectors. Her career includes roles at PwC, IMI plc, and Nexperia, and she now works as a consultant, advising growth-focused businesses on developing and executing robust financial strategies.

 Sonia is also a Board Member at InnovateHer, an organization dedicated to increasing diversity in the tech industry. As a Non-Executive Director, she applies her expertise in ethical governance, risk management, and compliance to support transparent decision-making and sustainable growth.

Renowned for her collaborative approach and strong stakeholder relationships, Sonia is a passionate advocate for accountability and sustainable business practices.

Harry Manning
Bader Family Nominated External Guardian Trustee

Harry is a Medical Doctor, having graduated from the University of Southampton in 2021 completed a general 2-year post-graduate training programme in East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust and holds a full licence to practice medicine with the General Medical Council.

He currently works on a locum basis within the same trust, supporting the Emergency Department, Medical and Surgical Team. His time outside the hospital is spent perusing Academic Interests in Urology, preparing for a professional move to Germany to work as a doctor and most recently holding the position of Guardian Trustee on the Scott Bader Commonwealth Board.

Harry is the Great-Grandson of Ernest Bader, the founder of Scott Bader, and spent his childhood with Godric Bader and his endless tales of this beloved company. He is excited to learn what makes the company tick and to help keep it accountable to the founding ethical principles as laid out by Ernest.

David Black
Internally Elected Director

David has been at Scott Bader UK for six years and is the Quality and IMS Manager, looking after our quality, environmental and health and safety management systems to maintain our ISO, Halal and customer certifications and approvals.

David trained as an engineer at British Steel before moving into quality and has been a Quality Manager for over 20 years working in the Aerospace, Defence and Automotive industries. Having spent three years as a member of the UK Community Council and being the UK Board representative for the Council, David joined the Commonwealth Board in October 2020 to help ensure the guiding principles are being maintained across the business and to gain a greater understanding of the group and the charitable aspects of the Scott Bader Commonwealth.

Ben Penney
Internally Elected Director

Ben joined Scott Bader in 2016, having previously worked in a sales and marketing role for 4 years after qualifying with a BA (Hons) in Business Studies in 2012.

Having joined as the Marketing Assistant, he progressed to the role of Group Marketing Manager in 2019 where he continues to lead Scott Bader’s marketing activities globally. In this role Ben led Scott Bader’s Centenary celebrations in 2021 and played a significant role in the Constitution review and relaunch of Scott Bader’s Constitution in 2023. Those projects helped further his knowledge and passion for Scott Bader and particularly the social impact the Commonwealth makes around the world.

Ben joined the Commonwealth Board to help ensure Scott Bader’s Core Values and Guiding Principles are maintained globally and to utilise his 10+ years of marketing and commercial experience.

Juliette Delprat
Internally Elected Director

Juliette joined Scott Bader France in 1991on an interim basis and moved into a permanent role in March 1992. Juliette has held a number of roles across the organisation, including Receptionist/ Sales Assisant, Quality Assistant and Learning and Development Manager for France. Juliette's current role within Scott Bader is Group L&D Advisor. 

In addition to these roles Juliette has also been the Commonwealth Coordinator in France for over fifteen years. Juliette enjoys seeing the success of our colleagues and is keen to rise to any challenges faced to make our company successful.

John Brenchley
Former Employee Guardian Trustee

John is a strategic commercial leader with over two decades of experience driving growth, profitability, and market expansion in the global speciality chemicals and advanced materials sectors. His executive career spans leadership roles at multinational organisations, including Infineum (a Shell & ExxonMobil joint venture), spearheading EMEA marketing strategies, Basic Chemical Industries, in Saudi Arabia, where he served as Group Commercial Director, overseeing the GCC region and Univar Solutions where he was the Industry Leader for the Coatings, Adhesives, Sealants & Elastomers Business.

During his tenure as Northern European Sales Manager at Scott Bader, John aligned the teams with industry best practices focused on customer-centric strategies. His expertise in commercial transformation, negotiations, and P&L management was further honed through an Executive MBA from Cranfield University while at Scott Bader.

With extensive experience leading multicultural teams across Europe, the Middle East, and Asia, John brings a global perspective to governance. He is particularly committed to sustainable business models where his approach blends commercial acumen with Scott Bader’s distinctive Commonwealth values.