The NEDs will join the MCA Board to provide challenge and support to the agency, overseeing strategy and operational performance

The Secretary of State for Transport, the Rt Hon Heidi Alexander MP, has appointed three new Non-Executive Directors to join the Board of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA), effective 1 January 2026. They are:

• Vice Admiral Sir Martin Connell, the outgoing Second Sea Lord in the Royal Navy.
• Britt Pickering from the Shipowners Protection and Indemnity Club and the International Group.
• Kevin Daffey from Rolls Royce, and chairman of the Institute of Marine Engineering, Science and Technology.

MCA Chairman Lord Simon Stevens said: “Our new directors bring deep expertise and extensive leadership experience covering many of the MCA’s wide-ranging responsibilities, both in the UK and internationally.

“I am delighted we’ve been able to make these high-calibre appointments to the MCA Board at a time when the agency is both modernising its operational delivery and increasingly supporting innovation across the wider maritime sector.”

The new non-executives join a further recently appointed MCA NED and chairman of the Audit and Risk Committee, Andre Katz. He took up post in September 2025 and is a Chartered Accountant and Certified Member of the Institute of Risk Management, with over 25 years’ experience as a leader in risk management, assurance and audit.

These roles were all publicly advertised, and appointed following open competition.

The MCA Board and its non-executive directors provide challenge and support to the agency, overseeing strategy and operational performance across the MCA’s wide-ranging maritime roles including running HM Coastguard, regulating shipping, seafarer training, and maritime environmental protection.

More information on the MCA’s 2025/26 priorities can be found in the 2025-26 Business Plan.