Make has appointed its first female board member more than a decade after the practice was founded.

Katy Ghahremani, who joined at a senior level from Foster & Partners in 2004, replaces Barry Cooke as a director.

Cooke, who has stepped down from the board, remains a trustee and partner.

The other directors are Sean Affleck, Jason Parker and Ken Shuttleworth, who said he was “absolutely delighted” by the appointment.

“Katy is highly respected by the partners at Make and brings a wealth of experience and judgement to the role,” he said.

“This is an exciting moment for Make as we look forward to the year ahead.”

Barry Cooke said: “I will still be very much involved in Make but the prime responsibility for finance has passed to Laura [Cooke, financial controller], and so it seems fitting to stand aside to allow Katy to step up to board level where her talents are needed, as the practice grows and expands.”

Ghahremani, who was born in Iran, moved to London with her family in 1979. She studied architecture at Edinburgh and the Bartlett and is also an interior designer.

She is currently working on two projects in China.

She also sits on the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea’s architecture appraisal panel and is also a part of the RIBA Breaking Barriers to Women in Architecture group.