Appointments to Industrial Development Advisory Board, 2020

The IDAB advises government on strategically important investment projects to support businesses undertaking major capital investments to increase competitiveness and productivity as well as create additional employment, boosting the local and national economy.

Gail Lumsden

Gail has significant experience in driving profitable growth and leading major change in large and small businesses in emerging and developed markets across Europe, US, Asia, Africa and Latin America. Over 20 years, Gail held senior executive roles in strategy, finance and business development; at Diageo, she took the lead on several mergers and acquisitions transactions and, as Group Strategy Director, helped transform SABMiller from a multi-local brewing business to a globally integrated branded beer business. Gail is a senior adviser to a variety of listed and private companies and is an independent non-executive director of Real Good Food plc.

Appointed: 23 January 2020
Term ends: 22 January 2023

Sacira Coric

Sacira Coric is a global Infrastructure and Project Finance advisory executive with a 19 years’ track record in economic and social infrastructure, advising public sector authorities, equity investors and lenders on infrastructure procurement, development, operation & maintenance, privatisations, acquisitions and contract management. Sacira leads Project Finance advisory offering at Turner & Townsend LLP, an independent, global professional services company specialising in programme and cost management and advisory on major capital programmes in infrastructure, real estate and natural resources.

Sacira’s expertise builds upon the knowledge of public sector value for money drivers, investors’ and lenders’ interests and concerns, project sponsors’ drivers and most prevalent challenges arising on transactions involving private capital.

Appointed: 23 January 2020
Term ends: 22 January 2023

Ben Alexander

Ben Alexander has over 25 years of experience in the financial services sector. He was a director at Deutsche Bank in London where he was co-head of derivatives trading and subsequently a partner of Close Brothers Private Equity where he was involved in institutional fund raising and sat on the boards of a variety of UK companies. He is currently a partner of a strategic consultancy, a non-exec director of a virtual reality content business, a commercial adviser to the Cabinet Office and a member of the Finance Committee of Cambridge University.

Appointed: 23 January 2020
Term ends: 22 January 2023

To find out more about the board, including its current membership, visit the IDAB pages on GOV.UK.