Board

Board committee memberships:

• Member of the Management Engagement Committee 
• Member of the Audit & Risk Committee
• Member of the Nomination Committee

Relevant skills and experience:

• Over 20 years of board level experience in public and private organisations
• Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales

Significant previous external experience:

• Non-Executive Director of Whitworth Holdings Limited from 2012 to 2022, when the business was sold
• Non-Executive Director and Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee of Pets at Home Group plc until May 2021
• Various operational, strategic and commercial roles at J Sainsbury’s PLC, from 2007 to 2018, ultimately becoming a member of the Commercial Board and Director of Non-Food Grocery and New Business for the last three years
• Supervisory member and Audit Committee member of GS1 UK Limited from 2013 to 2018.
• Managing Director at Whitworth Corporate Holdings Limited from 2005 to 2007
• Chairman’s Advisor/Finance Director at BGS Holdings Limited (trading as ‘Tunetribe’) from 2005 to 2007
• Various roles at Intercontinental Hotel Group plc from 2000 to 2005, including Senior Vice President of Strategy and Transformation and Senior Vice President of Investor Relations
• Senior Manager at PricewaterhouseCoopers from 1997 to 2000

Principal external appointments:

• Non-executive director and member of the audit committee and corporate responsibility committee of Tesco plc since December 2020
• Non-executive director and audit committee chair of The Rank Group Plc since November 2019 and senior independent director since January 2022
• Non-Executive Director of Nuffield Health since September 2023
• Independent adviser to Growup Farms Limited since 2019

Board committee memberships:

• Chairman of the Audit & Risk Committee
• Member of the Management Engagement Committee

Relevant skills and experience:

• Experienced non-executive director and non-executive chairman of quoted and unquoted businesses
• In-depth knowledge of financial matters through his previous roles as finance director and chief executive of CDC Group plc; as finance director of De La Rue plc; as financial analyst and manager at Bookers Group plc; and from five years at PricewaterhouseCoopers
• Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales

Significant previous external experience:

• Non-executive director and chairman of the audit and risk committee of JP Morgan Emerging Markets Investment Trust plc from January 2015 to February 2024
• Chief Executive of CDC Group plc from 2004-2011, having joined the organisation in 2000 as Finance Director
• Group Finance Director of De La Rue plc, where he held a number of positions over 15 years, in the UK and internationally
• Member of the Board of Trustees of Plan International UK, the international children’s charity
• Non Executive Director of Development Works Limited, a trading subsidiary of Plan International UK
• Non Executive Director of Murray Income Trust plc
• Chairman of Perpetual Income and Growth Investment Trust plc from 2017-2022
• Chairman of Miro Forestry Limited from 2014-2021 having joined the board in May 2012
• Deputy Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Leeds Castle 2012-2024

Principal external appointments:

• Chairman of 3i Infrastructure plc since January 2016
• Trustee of the Leeds Castle Retirement Benefit Scheme since September 2012

Board committee memberships:

• Member of the Nomination Committee
• Member of the Management Engagement Committee

Relevant skills and experience:

• Over 30 years’ experience in the UK and international real estate markets both at an operational and strategic level
• Former director and global executive board member of Jones Lang LaSalle Inc (“JLL”) 
• Fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors

Significant previous external experience:

• Executive board member and Chief Executive for Asia Pacific at Jones Lang LaSalle Inc. for eight years; previously Chief Executive for Europe, Middle East and Africa and formerly UK Managing Director of JLL

Principal external appointments:

• Chair of Schroder Real Estate Investment Trust Limited since October 2021, non-executive director since April 2017
• Non-executive director of The British Land Company plc since January 2018
• Non-executive director of QuadReal, a Canadian Property Group, since October 2019

Board committee memberships:

• Member of the Audit & Risk Committee
• Member of the Management Engagement Committee

Relevant skills and experience:

• A strong strategic and financial advisory background and a wealth of international experience, gained from a career of over 25 years in investment banking in Asia and Europe

Significant previous external experience:

• Senior Advisor at Rothschild & Co Hong Kong Limited from January 2019 to January 2023
• Set up and led the European investment banking team at CLSA Securities, the international investment Banking platform of CITIC Securities, from 2015 to January 2019
• Prior to CLSA Securities, Wu Gang was head of M&A and General Industrials at ICBC International
• Held senior level positions at The Royal Bank of Scotland, HSBC and Merrill Lynch in Hong Kong and London
• Served as a Non-Executive Director of Laird Plc from January 2017 to June 2018

Principal external appointments

• Non-executive director of Ashurst LLP and IG Group Holdings Plc since April 2019 and October 2020 respectively

Board Committee memberships:

• Member of the Audit & Risk Committee
• Chair of the Management Engagement Committee

Relevant skills and experience:

• Brings a clear focus on consumer trends and market insights, identifying growth opportunities and translating these into value-creating strategies
• More than 20 years’ experience in strategy and M&A

Significant previous external experience:

• Group Strategy Director at Diageo from 2019 to 2023
• Strategy Director from 2016 to 2017 and Head of Corporate Development from 2013 to 2017 at Currys (formerly Dixons Carphone)
• Investment director at the RBS Special Opportunities Fund from 2005 to 2012
• Associate consultant at L.E.K Consulting from 2002 to 2005

Principal external appointments:

• Chief Strategy Officer at Inchcape plc since February 2023

Board Committee memberships:

• Member of the Audit & Risk Committee
• Member of the Management Engagement Committee

Relevant skills and experience:

• More than 20 years’ finance and operational experience, gained from various roles in the real estate industry
• Qualified Chartered Accountant

Significant previous external experience

• Non-Executive Director of Real Estate Balance from 2022 to 2024
• Chief Operations Officer at Federated Hermes Ltd from 2023-2024
• Responsibility for co-ordinating all legal, compliance, finance and operations support for private credit and real estate portfolios, business strategy and supporting the fund managers at Hermes Fund Managers from 2010-2023
• Previous roles at Lloyds Banking Group, Ernst & Young LLP and Kingston Smith LLP between 2002-2010