Hilde Tonne, former chief executive of Norway’s transmission system operator Statnett SF, will join as non-executive chair of the new Arup Group Limited board. She has previously served as executive director at Telenor Group and chief innovation officer at Ramboll. Tonne has also held non-executive board roles at Vattenfall, Danske Bank and Det Norske Veritas (DNV), and was the chair of Norwegian energy company Hafslund and the Norwegian Research Council. She has been a non-executive director on Arup’s group board since 2023.
The new structure, which takes effect from April 2025, will comprise:
- Arup Group Limited board (AGLB): appointed by the trustees and led by Hilde Tonne as non-executive chair. The board’s role will be to provide oversight of strategy execution, the firm’s performance, compliance, and leadership appointments.
- Executive management board (EMB): led by Jerome Frost as chief executive. The board will be responsible for Arup’s leadership, operations and implementing strategy.
- Arup trustees: Mahadev Raman will continue as chair of Trustees, maintaining the trustees’ role of safeguarding the firm’s independence, long-term success and culture on behalf of Arup’s employee-owners.
Since its trust-owned structure was first established in the late 1970s, Arup has grown into a global consultancy working more than 140 countries. Today, it has more than 18,000 staff – from engineers and architects to economists and ecologists.
The firm said that these governance changes reflected its “continued growth and the demand for its services, enabling it to respond more swiftly to market opportunities”.
Jerome Frost said: “As a proudly independent, trust-owned firm, we focus entirely on our clients and consistently invest in research and technical expertise. Whether it’s designing more resilient rail infrastructure or using AI to protect people from rising urban heat, our autonomy enables us to deliver the greatest impact for our clients’ projects. I look forward to working closely with Hilde Tonne, whose leadership and experience will significantly enhance our efforts in shaping a better world.”
Hilde Tonne said: “Arup is globally renowned for its independent thinking and innovative problem-solving. The company’s commitment to helping clients with decarbonisation, building resilience, and deploying innovative technology solutions significantly enhances the quality of life for people around the world. In an era of AI and digital advances, there is immense potential for Arup to play an even greater role in addressing the challenges faced by communities, cities, and countries.”
Mahadev Raman added: “These changes will ensure we preserve our unique ownership structure – a firm owned in trust, for the benefit of our members. Arup has transformed and grown over the decades, with over 18,000 members today – from engineers, planners and economists to psychologists, material scientists and ecologists. This is the natural next step in evolving our governance to meet the needs of a business of our scale, operating in an increasingly complex world. In Jerome and Hilde we have leaders that embody Arup’s values and culture and have the diversity of skills and experience needed to take Arup forward.”
