Fellows' day 2026

Sir John Lazar CBE FREng

Sir John is a software engineer and entrepreneur with experience of building and managing successful global businesses. He 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. He is also 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 and previously served as the Chair of What3words. He was awarded a CBE for services to engineering in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list in 2016 and was knighted for services to engineering and technology in the His Majesty The King’s New Year Honours List 2025. Sir John was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering in 2011 and chaired the Academy’s Enterprise Committee, which supports startups and scaleups across the UK and globally through the Enterprise Hub. He has also been a member of the Academy’s Education and Skills Committee and played an active role in developing the programme of study for England’s school Computer Science curriculum. Sir John has also been a judge and mentor for the Academy’s Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation, which trains and backs early-stage African engineering companies.  He has spent many years working on tech-related non-profit initiatives in Africa, especially building “digital blacksmiths” and maker labs. He has been an active angel investor and technology start-up mentor in the UK and Africa, with more than 40 individual pre-seed/seed investments. He graduated from Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar with an MSc in Computation and a DPhil in History, following an undergraduate degree in Computer Science at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg. Sir John was elected as President of the Royal Academy of Engineering at its 48th AGM in 2024.

Dame Tamara Finkelstein DCB

Professor Nick Jennings CB FREng FRS

Andrew Hosty FREng

Dr Andrew Hosty FREng is an international leader with over 15 years of non-executive board experience and 30 years of executive and management experience, spanning private equity, UK Plc and global blue-chip corporates. He is non-executive director of a companies including: RHI-Magnesita, the global leader in the manufacture and supply of refractories; James Cropper Plc, who create some of the world’s most distinctive and technically advanced paper products; and Rights and Issues Investment Trust Plc, a fund that focuses on small cap UK industrials. 

Andrew is Non-Executive Chairman of mOm Incubators ltd, a pre-revenue startup developing low-cost baby incubators for crisis zones. He is also Non-Executive Chairman of Nexeon ltd, a company developing next-generation cathode materials for lithium-ion batteries. From 2016 to 2018 Andrew was the CEO of the Sir Henry Royce Institute, the UK's home of advanced materials research and innovation. He was Chief Operating Officer of Morgan Advanced Materials, and served on the Plc Board as an Executive Director from 2010 to 2016. 

From 2013 to 2016 he served on the board of Consort Medical Plc, a healthcare company focused on developing advanced delivery technologies, formulation and manufacturing solutions for drugs. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Materials, holds a PhD from the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Sheffield and is a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering (2011).

James Roberts

CEO and Co-Founder, mOm Incubators Ltd. James Roberts is a product designer by training. In 2014 he was awarded the global Sir James Dyson award for innovation for his project, mOm the inflatable incubator. Since then, he has gone on to complete the Royal Academy of Engineers’ Enterprise Fellowship, named as a MD-DI MedTech rising star as well winning the Princess Royal Silver Medal. James created a company based off his university degree project and has gone on to raise the funds to develop and commercialise the device, having received an MDR CE mark with the help of an A-list team. The incubator is now impacting children's lives in the NHS and overseas.

Faith Wainwright CBE FREng

Faith is a former Director of Arup. With a strong project track record in iconic buildings as an engineer, she also led strategic work for Arup in developing the network of knowledge and innovation across the firm, and establishing Arup University. Faith has contributed to academic/industry and innovation partnerships as a NED. She was a sub-panel member for Civil Engineering in REF2008 and 2014, is currently a panel member for UKRI's RED Fund, and a Council member of Brunel University. Faith has served in a variety of voluntary roles at the Academy. Faith holds an Honorary Doctorate from University of Bath, a recent Diploma in Strategy and Innovation (with distinction) from the Said Business School, University of Oxford. Faith brings a facilitating and enabling approach to her leadership roles, and is an Executive Coach. Editor-in-Chief for Ingenia 2020-2025.

Barbara Welch FREng

International business leader, engineer and construction professional, Barbara is an alumni of the Royal Academy of Engineering Leadership Scholarship. For nearly three decades, she has been pivotal in the delivery of landmark projects and programmes globally and since 2017, she has led the Buckingham Palace Reservicing Programme. Barbara was named on Cranfield's “Women to Watch" list in 2022, is a member of the Academy's Leadership Scholarship Steering Committee, an external member of Imperial College London's Property Committee and a Trustee of the Mace Foundation. She is strong advocate of ED&I, mentoring for a number of organisation in support of developing talent and helping them fulfil their potential.

Molly Fraser

Molly is a member of cohort 28 of the Academy’s Engineering Leaders Scholarship. She is a First-Class Honours graduate in Digital & Technology Solutions from the University of Hertfordshire and an IET Scholar.

Currently a Senior Software Engineer at MBDA, Molly specialises in software security and DevSecOps. She leads the development of the modernisation of some legacy tooling and designs critical security controls, including SBOM generation and vulnerability management within highly secure, air-gapped environments.

Beyond her technical role, Molly is a dedicated advocate for the engineering community. She has been the Peer to Peer Mentoring Lead for the Worshipful Company of Engineers and helps manage Code First Girls at MBDA, where she mentors and promotes women entering the technology sector.

Saad Mahtar

Saad Mahtar is the Founder & CEO of Xtract, a cleantech startup pioneering the recovery of critical minerals from end-of-life EV batteries. He is a Mechanical Engineering graduate from the University of Sheffield, and a proud GEEP alumnus. His career has been recognised through a series of national and international awards, including Winner of the AFBE Live 2024 Next Big Idea, 1st Place at the IEEE Region 8 Entrepreneurship Competition, and 3rd globally in the Siemens Tech for Sustainability Campaign. Saad led winning teams in two British Airways Better World Action4Impact incubator projects and has received accolades including the University of Sheffield’s Digital Innovation in Education Award, BAME Engineering Society Academic Excellence Trophy, and RS Grassroots Super Skills Ambassador.