High Society
Sandy Gray, elected chairman of SCI's board of trustees in July 2007, outlines how he intends to implement the Society's new governance procedures |
 Sandy Gray, who was elected chairman of SCI’s board of trustees at the annual general meeting in July 2007, is the first chairman to serve under the Society’s new Royal Charter, by-laws, and rules. He brings to the position a record of service to SCI and significant experience in the chemical manufacturing and chemistry-using industries, both of which have prepared him for the new challenges ahead.
The chair’s position is now a three-year term, compared with two in the past, which also applies to members of the board of trustees, and Gray sees this as an important change which will allow increased continuity in the way the Society is governed, making it easier to get things done more efficiently. The new structure is more streamlined, making it quicker to make changes in a fast-changing world.
‘Churn in the membership of the board of trustees is very important to ensure a rolling continuity' in the way the trustees govern the Society over an extended period of time,’ Gray says. ‘This is something that I will address as a priority in our first year of operation.’
‘I do not anticipate any fundamental change in the strategy that SCI has adopted over the past three years, which I believe is well known and understood. Change will largely be evolutionary, rather than revolutionary, with underlying activity improving the efficiency with which the centre operates while allowing any cost savings to be re-invested in the Society’s delivery priorities.’
The Society’s four primary strategic aims are to better understand members’ needs, deliver high value benefits to members, build the Society’s international membership and extend SCI’s reputation as a leading charity.
‘Specifically, during my tenure as chairman of the board of trustees, we must demonstrate to the Society that the new governance processes have settled in and are working effectively across the board of trustees, the membership and the central staff team,’ says Gray, ‘This may require the fine adjustment of processes as they are put into practice. Delivery of results is very important in demonstrating the benefits of the changes to our governance.’
Looking at achievements over the past two to three years, Gray points to the new governance structure, the much improved financial performance, and the offices that SCI has recently established in India and in Europe. ‘Over the next 12 to 18 months these will get up and running, developing their membership bases and individual activities. We are also looking at how best to align what is happening with our North American and Australian Groups with the remainder of the Society. Work on setting up an office in China is deliberately somewhat less advanced as we learn from our experiences in India and consider issues arising from the different ways businesses and research and development are structured there. SCI will become a truly international organisation.’
Gray believes SCI’s strengths derive from its charitable status as a non-lobby organisation providing a forum for industry and academia, and the ‘outside world’. As the Society’s reputation grows, he believes that it must establish new routes to allow more and more people to become involved. ‘Put simply, the underlying purpose of SCI is to encourage knowledge transfer and understanding for the purposes of innovation within a rational and multi-disciplinary perspective of chemistry and industry,’ he adds.
The Society, and other charities in the UK, have to be run under increasing scrutiny following the recent introduction of the new Charity Act and the reporting requirements of the Charities Commission. Gray believes that SCI will retain its position by achieving and consistently maintaining the high standards required of a top-of-the-range charity.
Gray says that the balance of the Charter, by-laws and rules has been shifted so that the board of trustees can change the operating rules more simply than it could in the past, leading to more efficient management of the Society. That efficiency has also been enhanced by reducing the number of committees, now advisory committees, from six to four.
In terms of servicing the membership, the membership advisory committee (MAC) will take on a very important role. ‘The new committee will be the main conduit for communication between groups, members, and the board of trustees,’ says Gray. ‘The chair of the MAC, Geoffrey Fowler, is also the honorary secretary of the Society and a trustee. Two-way communications between the board of trustees and members, as well as international, regional, and technical and business interest groups will largely be focussed through MAC. Groups are at the heart of Society activities for the membership both nationally and internationally.’
Overall, Gray believes that the level of transparency in the Society has been increased by the introduction of new governance processes. In particular, he points to the welcome introduction of more competition in elections to the board of trustees than in previous years. ‘This is very much a step in the right direction,’ he says, ‘I would like to encourage more people from the membership of SCI to participate in the running of the Society and this change adds greater opportunities for all.’
A chemist by degree, Gray spent 35 years working for a manufacturer of fast moving consumer goods, including detergent and personal care products, and speciality chemicals. His experience embraces research and development and supply chain roles. He worked on a series of five international assignments including five years in The Netherlands and three years each in Germany and Brazil.
Gray’s years in industry provide him with a track record ideally suited to the chair of the board of trustees at SCI and he admits that his ‘senior roles over the past ten years have provided excellent knowledge, experience and skills to take on the SCI leadership role.’
And what does he believe he will hand over to his successor at the end of his term? ‘A state-of-the-art charity organisation running efficiently and effectively for its members,’ he says. ‘A Society well on its way to being perceived as a worldwide Society of choice for an independent non-lobby membership linking industry to chemistry. We must remember that chemistry ultimately determines just about everything we do.’
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