Dr Carol Bell (She/her/hers) is the Senior Independent Director of NPL with responsibilities that include supporting the Chair as necessary and leading periodic reviews of the performance of the board.
An experienced industrialist and financier, she sits on the board of the Development Bank of Wales and chairs its Investment Committee. She is also a member of the Council of Research England and a director of three international companies investing in the energy transition and mining sectors. Carol is a founder director of Chapter Zero, the network for non-executive directors to foster better discussion of climate risk and decarbonisation strategies on company boards. Carol is also the first woman to serve on the board of the Football Association of Wales and leads its Sustainability strategy.
Having read Natural Sciences as an undergraduate, Dr Bell has retained a passion for science and innovation throughout her working life and enjoys putting this into practice at the Development Bank of Wales through its early-stage technology investments. She also currently chairs Hafren Scientific, a company providing geochemical assays to energy and mining companies, where accurate standards are critical.
During her executive career, she was the Head of European Equity Research at JP Morgan and the Head of Energy Research in equities globally at the bank. She is a past member of the Council of Cardiff University and has served on listed company boards since 2005.
Dr Bell is an Honorary Senior Research Fellow of UCL and holds Honorary Fellowships at Swansea University and the University of Wales Trinity St David. She was elected a Fellow of the Learned Society of Wales in 2022 and she is also a Vice President of the Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion (the London- based Welsh Learned Society).