For two years, cricket’s most powerful boardroom had no female voice. Since Indra Nooyi completed her term on the ICC’s Board of Directors in 2024, the governing body’s designated Independent Director position for a woman had remained vacant. That changed in May 2026 when Dr. Ros Rivaz was appointed to the role, restoring female representation in the most influential decision-making body in global cricket. The seat, created as part of the ICC’s governance reforms in 2017, is intended to ensure independent expertise and diverse perspectives at the highest level of the game.

Rivaz joins the ICC with one of the strongest governance résumés of anyone to enter cricket administration from outside the sport. Two months before her ICC appointment, she was named Chair of Companies House, the United Kingdom’s registrar of companies, which oversees the incorporation and statutory records of more than five million businesses and plays a central role in maintaining the integrity of the country’s corporate framework. She also chairs Anglian Water, one of Britain’s largest water and wastewater companies, placing her at the helm of organisations responsible for critical national infrastructure and public trust.

Her executive career culminated as Global Chief Operating Officer of Smith & Nephew, the FTSE-listed global medical technology company, where she led worldwide manufacturing, supply chain, engineering, procurement, regulatory affairs, cybersecurity and health and safety. Before that, she held senior leadership positions at ExxonMobil, Diageo, ICI and Tate & Lyle, building deep expertise in leading complex international businesses operating in highly regulated, high-accountability environments.

Equally distinguished has been her board career. Rivaz chaired the UK’s Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, overseeing one of the country’s most challenging public-sector organisations responsible for the safe cleanup of Britain’s civil nuclear sites. She has also served on the Ministry of Defence’s Defence Equipment & Support Board and held senior independent director roles with major international listed companies, earning a reputation for expertise in governance, strategic oversight and risk management.