Sharon Thorne

Appointment

July 2024; Senior Independent Director Rio Tinto plc (May 2025)

Committee membership

• Audit & Risk Committee (Chair)
• Nominations & Governance Committee

Experience

Sharon has extensive experience of auditing and advising clients across a broad range of sectors throughout her 36-year career with Deloitte. During her tenure, where she became an audit partner in 1998, she also held numerous Executive and Board roles, including on the Global Risk and Ethics Committee, Global Board Composition Committee and Global CEO Nominating Committee. She became Deputy CEO Deloitte North-West Europe in 2017, where she championed the organisation’s globalisation strategy, and Global Chair from 2019 where she advanced efforts to strengthen global governance. Sharon is an advocate for collective action on environmental sustainability and climate change and is a strong believer in the need for greater diversity, equity, and inclusion in business and civil society, particularly in senior leadership roles.

Select Board skills and competencies

• Extensive audit, financial reporting, transactions and risk expertise through a global, multi-sector lens.
• Direct experience in governing a complex multinational organisation and managing stakeholder relationships across diverse global jurisdictions.
• Meaningful insight into global sustainability challenges and opportunities with a focus on decarbonisation.

Current external appointments

Director, Chapter Zero Alliance; Governor, London Business School; Trustee, Royal United Services Institute; Director, Common Goal.