The Port of London Authority has strengthened its board with the appointment of two new Non-Executive Directors, Port Technology International reported on 25 August 2026.
The appointments announced by the industry publication name Fabienne Viala and Cordi O'Hara OBE FEI as the incoming non-executive members of the PLA board. The report gives a clear succession date for one appointment and confirms that both have been added to the authority's governing body.
Board succession and timing
Fabienne Viala is recorded as joining the board on 1 September 2026 and is set to succeed Toril Eidesvik, whose term is noted as ending on 31 August 2026. That single-day transition establishes the immediate change in membership at the close of August and the commencement of September.
Cordi O'Hara OBE FEI is also named among the new appointees; the report does not specify a differing start date for her role, instead listing her alongside Viala as a new non-executive director. Both appointments therefore represent fresh additions to the PLA's non-executive cohort as published by Port Technology International.
Appointment route
The report states that Fabienne Viala's appointment was made by the Secretary of State for Transport, indicating a ministerial role in at least one of the appointments to the PLA board. The published note links that ministerial action to the authority's arrangements for filling non-executive seats.
The Port Technology International item serves as the source of the announcement and is dated 25 August 2026; it sets out the names involved and the specific succession timing for the departure of Toril Eidesvik. The published timing shows a planned and immediate handover between the two named non-executive directors at the end of August and the start of September.
The PLA now lists two new non-executive directors by name in the public record reported by the industry title, and the documented succession of Fabienne Viala for Toril Eidesvik provides a concrete timetable for the change in board membership. The appointments complete the brief notice given in the publication and place both new directors on the authority's board as described in the report.
Port Technology International is credited with publishing the report in which the PLA appointments are recorded; that item appeared on 25 August 2026 and is the basis for the details summarised here. The authority's updated board composition and the specified dates for the change of membership are therefore those presented in the industry account.