Advisory Group

Prof. Josef Kittler FREng - Chairman, Advisory Board

Prof Josef Kittler

World famous for his expertise in pattern recognition, computer vision and image analysis, Professor Kittler is the author of more than 500 scientific and technical publications, including a Prentice Hall textbook on Pattern Recognition. Highly experienced in the management of complex scientific projects, he is the recipient of many awards for innovative research including the IEE Achievements Medal in 2002, the Bolzano Medal for Merit in the Mathematical Sciences from the Czech Academy of Sciences in 2003, and the KS Fu Prize 2006 from the International Association for Pattern Recognition, of which he was President from 1994-1996. In 2008 Professor Kittler was awarded the IEEE’s prestigious Faraday Medal.

Professor Kittler heads the Centre for Vision, Speech and Signal Processing at the School of Electronics and Physical Sciences, University of Surrey. He received his BA, PhD and DSc degrees from the University of Cambridge. His current research focus is on Machine Intelligence, with a special interest in Biometrics, and Video and Image Database Retrieval. He is consulted by many companies operating in his field including BT, BP, Mars and Qinetiq and also by state organisations as far apart as China and Cuba.

He is one of the founders of OmniPerception Ltd and served as Chairman of the Board of Directors from 2001-2005.

Dr John Forrest CBE FREng - Advisory Board Member

Dr John Forrest

Dr. Forrest holds degrees from Cambridge University and Oxford University. In 1984 he joined Marconi Defence Systems as Technical Director and later moved on to become Director of Engineering at the Independent Broadcasting Authority. He led the privatisation to create the communications company NTL, of which he was Chief Executive and later Deputy Chairman.

In 1996 he became a non-executive director of the international venture capital company, 3i plc, and was until 2004 on the board and a number of associated committees. He has held appointments as chairman or director of companies in the technology and financial services sectors and has taken a number through IPO on AIM and NASDAQ. In 2006 he was appointed Pro-Chancellor of the University of Surrey. He is a long-standing Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering and was the founder and Editor-in-Chief of the Academy's publication "Ingenia" from 1998 to 2004.

He was awarded a CBE in Her Majesty the Queen's Jubilee Honours in 2002 and the Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French Government.

Sir Roger Jackling KCB CBE - Advisory Board Member

Sir Roger is a recently retired Civil Servant with a wealth of experience at the top level in one of the largest and more executive government departments.

From 1991 to 2002, he was first the MOD’s Finance Director and subsequently the 2nd Permanent Secretary during a period of huge strategic adjustment and organizational change, including the introduction of resource accounting and budgeting, three Defence Reviews, and the creation of the Defence Academy of which he was the first Director from 2002 to 2005. He has led the implementation of a number of significant and successful PFI deals, and for five years chaired the Supervisory Boards of the Met Office and two other defence agencies.

He is currently chairman of IMS, a government owned company with interests in the Middle East. He is a Trustee of the RAF Museum and a member of the Advisory Board of Durham Business School, where he is a Visiting Professor. He is also a Visiting Professor in the Department of War Studies at Kings College London and Cranfield University at the Defence Academy. He recently became a non-executive director and vice chairman of Moorfields Eye Hospital.

Sir John Walker KCB CBE AFC FRAeS - Advisory Board Member

Sir John Walker

Sir John served for 41 years in the Royal Air Force starting as a fast-jet pilot and later commanding a number of major flying units including the RAF’s two largest operational bases and the Central Tactics and Trials Organisation. After attending the Royal College of Defence Studies he was appointed Director of Forward Policy in the MoD from where he progressed to be Senior Air Staff Officer at Strike Command.

Following a tour as Deputy Chief of Staff (Operations and Intelligence), Allied Air Forces, Central Europe in Germany he completed his service with six years in Intelligence, retiring in 1995 as Chief of Defence Intelligence and Deputy Chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee. A published author and media commentator he has been a volunteer with the Samaritans, Chairman of the Inkerman Group and of Structural Monitoring Systems plc and Deputy Chairman of Countermine plc.