Our governance
Mahadev Raman
Arup Trustee Chair
Since 1979, Arup has been owned by trusts, with the directors of our trustee companies collectively referred to as the Arup Trustees. The role of the trustees is to act as stewards, securing our independent ownership and ensuring the firm is managed in the interests of its members. I took up the post of Trustee Chair in April 2024, succeeding David Whittleton.
Our trustees represent the interests of our whole global business and membership, rather than a specific part of Arup
Ensuring diversity, representing collective interests, and driving governance improvements for effective leadership
Arup trustees are current or former members of the firm, drawn from two sources in broadly equal proportion. Some trustees are former directors of our group board, one of whom is elected Trustee Chair. This is my current role. Other trustees are current or – by exception – retired members with senior management responsibilities. These trustees are nominated by Arup’s membership, which today exceeds 18,000.
As a group, our trustees reflect Arup’s diversity and global reach. In their work, each trustee represents the interests of the whole business and its membership rather than a specific part of the firm. Appointment terms are managed on a staggered basis to ensure continuity of membership and enable stability and efficiency.
During the year ending 31 March 2024, Arup’s trustees and the group board agreed to work together to review and evolve our corporate governance. The intention of this initiative has been to clarify leadership roles and the separation of responsibilities, enabling independent oversight and effective execution.
Our work to evolve Arup’s governance has been fruitful and in November 2024 we announced a new board structure for implementation from April 2025. Our current group chair, Jerome Frost, will step into a newly created global CEO role and will lead a new executive management board. At the same time, existing non-executive director of our group board, Hilde Tonne, will become chair of Arup Group Limited Board.