About the author
Sir Martin Donnelly was appointed to the NAO Board by the Public Accounts Commission in January 2021 for an initial three-year term. The Commission reappointed him for a second and final three-year term commencing on 1 January 2024. Sir Martin is the NAO’s Senior Independent Director and Chair of the Remuneration and Nominations Committee.
Sir Martin has experience across a range of government departments and public bodies. He was a Permanent Secretary from 2010 to 2017, leading the Department for Business Innovation & Skills for six years, then setting up the Department for International Trade. He has worked as a senior civil servant in HM Treasury, Cabinet Office, Foreign & Commonwealth Office and Home Office, and served as a non-executive director of GCHQ for five years.
Sir Martin is a trustee of several charities including The Royal Anniversary Trust and the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies, and he continues to work to promote greater gender diversity in the workplace. He was president of Boeing International Europe from 2019 to 2022, and chairs the South Yorkshire Combined Authority business taskforce.