This year the IOR will be appointing a President-Elect to support our current President, Graeme Fox, during the second year of his Presidency. The Board of Trustees is responsible for considering potential candidates and making a recommendation to the membership.   A Nominating Committee consisting of the Chairs of all IOR Committees, Past and Current Presidents considered 13 potential candidates against the role specification and proposed to the Board just one suitable candidate this year for the role, the Board would therefore like to recommend their candidate,  Lisa-Jayne Cook FInstR, to the membership.

With her wide experience within IOR membership, environment, STEM and WinRACHP groups, strong networking and high profile in the sector as well as her technical expertise the Board is confident that she will be an excellent President contributing to pursuing the IOR’s priorities, particularly in education and environment in the coming years.

Further details about Lisa-Jayne Cook FInstR are in her nomination statement below:

I am delighted to have been nominated by the IOR Board of Trustees as their recommendation for the IOR President-Elect.

The depth of my involvement in the IOR has gifted me with insight into our key activities and strategy along with a good working knowledge of the team and their roles and responsibilities within.  In the eight years I have been actively volunteering with the IOR I would like to think that I have built good working relationships with the Board, Staff and Volunteers alike.  

As a member of the IOR Board of Trustees I have represented the IOR at both ACRIB and INWIC and most recently have taken on the position of Women in RACHP Chair.  I have chaired several ACRIB meetings, taken the lead on cross-sector meetings and always contribute in a meaningful way.  I am on four IOR Committees, have represented the IOR at industry events and seminars as well as led several webinars, written articles for industry magazines and I am currently co-hosting the IOR Podcast – States of Matter.  I am currently a member of the membership committee, environment committee, STEM committee and co-host for the IOR States of Matter Podcast.

Since becoming active with the IOR I have built a strong network, both within our industry and in the wider engineering field.  One highlight was being awarded Fellow status at the Women’s Engineering Society.  I have won several awards in the past four years for my work raising the profile of cooling, increasing awareness around Diversity and Inclusion and of course, for sharing the joy of STEM in educational settings.  I have taken on additional voluntary roles such as UN Women UK Delegate, to help further our insights while growing my knowledge from others. 

As President I would use my skills, knowledge and passion to continue the good work of the previous presidents, and to help us reach our goals and strategic targets as a collective; increasing membership numbers and engagement, increasing our reach into the AC & HP sectors while simultaneously increasing our talent pool, focus on education not only through apprenticeships but through engagement with schools and colleges ensuring that we continue to be a leader in this field. 

I originally completed my Apprenticeship in Building Services Engineering specialising in Refrigeration while at Kelvion. I am currently employed by GEA HRT as Senior Sales Manager, Key Accounts.  In this role, I am responsible for ensuring that our product and delivery is of the very highest quality.    I am also involved in several key internal projects, some of a technical nature and some relating to people and culture.  Since joining the industry I have worked for industry leaders such as Kelvion Searle, J&E Hall and GEA I worked twilight shifts in the coil assembly section to support my studies.  In these roles, I have been lucky enough to see many areas of industry that others may not have.  While the bulk of my experience lies in Airside Product Design, I have gained significant experience in complete industrial system design for food storage and processing, as well as for process cooling applications.  I’ve worked on projects ranging from laser cutting and die casting to tunnel boring machines and face cream production.  

Having served on the Board for the past three years while also keeping my hand in a good number of committees and IOR-related activities it has allowed me to build a comprehensive knowledge of the IOR and our industry.  I am level-headed, fair, and straight talking, with the good of the industry at my heart.  I will utilise my passion, knowledge, and experience alongside my ability to network to continue our work as we move along the road to net zero, a more diverse and inclusive future, and building a better working environment for everyone. 

More details about the President-Elect nomination procedures are available at "Become an IOR Trustee" Members may propose additional candidates for President-Elect at any time up until noon on 3rd September and the forms are also on the above website page, if any additional candidates are put forward an election will take place.

IOR Board Trustee nominations 

Four nominations have been received this year for the two vacancies: 

• Dermot Cotter FInstR
• Craig Girdlestone FInstR
• Mike Gittoes MInstR
• Julie Murray MInstR

The online voting for the IOR Board Trustee vacancies will open in October. Voting Members (i.e. Fellow, Member, Associate and Technician grade) will receive an email with their voting code and a link to the voting website in October.  Detailed statements by all candidates will be clearly displayed on the election site when you log in to cast your vote.    

The results of the election and confirmation of the President-Elect will be announced at the AGM on 2nd November.