Bletchley Park announces new Chair of the Board of Trustees

Bletchley Park Trust announced on 1 October 2024 that Jacqueline de Rojas, CBE, is to take up the role of the Chair of the Board of Trustees.
A board member and President Emeritus at techUK, she also chairs the Institute of Coding and is a Non-Executive Director at Rightmove plc, FDM Group PLC and global enterprise software company IFS. Jacqueline is a business mentor at Merryck offering board and executive level coaching.

Jacqueline is the first-ever female to take on the role for the Trust, the charity that looks after Bletchley Park, the once top-secret hub for Allied codebreaking during World War Two and now open as a heritage attraction and independent museum.

Jacqueline joins the Trust Board on 1 October and will take over the role of Chair on 12 October 2024, from Sir David Brown, a leading British engineer and industrialist, who is retiring from the role after nearly six years.

Iain Standen, Chief Executive Officer of the Bletchley Park Trust, comments:
“I am delighted that Jacqueline will be joining the Board and taking on the role of Chair. Jacqueline’s deep experience in the technology sector, strategic mind, and engaging leadership style will be enormous assets to the Trust as it continues the journey to restore and develop the Bletchley Park site, and share the continuing relevance of the Bletchley Park story.
I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the outgoing Chair, Sir David Brown. Sir David joined the Board in early 2019 and quickly made his mark. His great experience was invaluable to the board and the executive team and helped the continual improvement of the Board’s process and procedures.
Sir David also had to lead the Board through the challenging COVID years where his sensible, sensitive, and pragmatic style helped greatly in allowing the Trust to navigate that difficult time. Sir David can look back on his time as Chair as one where the Trust was put under pressure but, with his calm hand on the tiller, successfully navigated the troubled waters. I wish him the very best in his retirement.”

Jacqueline de Rojas comments:
“It is a privilege to join the Bletchley Park Trust. Helping to guide this important heritage attraction and charity is an honour, and being the first woman in this role feels especially significant in light of its history.
Promoting diversity and inclusion in the technology sector has always been at my core. It is the only real way to ensure we design a world that works for the many, not just the few.
After 30 years in the technology industry, arriving at the home of codebreaking feels like coming full circle. It is an opportunity to learn from the past while ensuring the history and significance of Bletchley Park remains today. I am inspired by the extraordinary codebreakers—many of them women and minority voices—who shaped Bletchley Park’s legacy and I’m also excited by the opportunity to inspire the next generation as they embrace technology at pace.
Working with the executive team and the board of trustees, I’m looking forward to contributing to the Trust’s Mission, sharing the powerful legacy of what happened here and ensuring its impact continues to inspire future generations.”

By 1945, 75% of the nearly 9,000 people working for the Government Code & Cypher School at Bletchley Park (the predecessor of today’s GCHQ) were women and played a significant role in the war effort.

Employed in large numbers in important areas, including as codebreakers, operators of cryptanalytic and communications machinery, translators of Axis documents, traffic analysts and clerical workers, women not only provided the bulk of the people power but filled many junior and middle-ranking managerial positions. They were, however, under-represented in high levels of leadership.

Jacqueline de Rojas is a passionate advocate for diversity and inclusion and has held prominent leadership positions in industry, guided national organisations through periods of fundamental disruption and advised the government on the scale and importance of digital transformation. She is active in government circles and the Department for Culture Media and Sport helping to create conditions for the technology industry to thrive.

In 2018, Jacqueline was acknowledged in the Queen’s New Year Honours list with a CBE for Services to International Trade in Technology.

Happily married to Roger Andrews, they have three children, three grandchildren and two dogs. Yoga is how she finds her balance.

Photo credit – Kurt Rebry