SCISYS, the specialist IT group with a base in Bristol, has appointed Natasha Laird to its board as an executive director and general counsel with immediate effect.
Natasha, pictured, joined the Chippenham-headquartered group as general counsel in 2014 and has been company secretary since September 2016. She is the daughter of SCISYS chairman and major shareholder Dr Mike Love. 
During her four years at SCISYS, Natasha has been involved in a wide range of commercial matters at board level within both the group’s UK and German arms and, most recently, successfully led the process of creating a new Irish holding company for the group and listing it on the London Stock Exchange’s AIM market and on the Enterprise Securities Market of Euronext (ESM).
SCISYS chief executive officer Klaus Heidrich said: “I am delighted to welcome Natasha to the board of SCISYS Group. As general counsel and company secretary, Natasha has consistently made valuable contributions to the entire SCISYS Group over a number of years.
“Her widespread skills and personal capabilities are impressive, and she will greatly add to the Group’s management at board level.”
SCISYS said Dr Love was not involved in any meetings or decisions concerning the appointment. The entire process of the nomination, evaluation and appointment of Natasha as a director was initiated and managed by independent non-executive director David Coghlan.
Natasha qualified as a solicitor in 1998 and, prior to joining SCISYS, practised as a commercial litigation lawyer with Hammonds (now Squire Patton Boggs) and as general counsel in industry.
SCISYS supplies bespoke software systems, IT and support services to the media and broadcast, space, government, defence and commercial sectors. The group employs around 580 staff across its offices in Chippenham, Bristol, Leicester and Reading and two in Germany.
