Board

Skills and experience:

Thierry is an experienced retailer having spent 20 years in senior roles at Carrefour, the French multi-national retailer. In his previous role, Thierry was a member of the Carrefour group executive committee and the chief executive officer (CEO) of Carrefour Asia. From 2003 to 2008, Thierry was the managing director of Supermarkets for Carrefour France. Following this successful period, he became CEO of Carrefour International and a member of the group executive committee in 2008, with a broader remit including Asia, Latin America and various European countries.

External appointments:

N/A

Appointed:

September 2019

Skills and experience:

Bernard is a seasoned chief financial officer (CFO) having held the role at several international listed companies. Bernard also has significant experience of large-scale transformation programmes, logistics and supply chain management, and technology and digital services. He was CFO at Travelport Worldwide, a global NYSE-listed company providing a technology platform for the travel industry, until it was taken private in June 2019. Prior to that, Bernard was CFO of Aer Lingus and held various senior positions at TNT and TNT Express. Previously, he worked at McKinsey & Company where he rose to become a partner and leader of its worldwide Post and Logistics group.

External appointments:

Bernard is a non-executive director of A.P. Møller–Mærsk A/S. and is a member of its audit committee.

Appointed:

October 2019

Skills and experience:

Mark provides substantial expertise to the Board in the field of finance, having previously been a senior adviser at Credit Suisse. He began his career at Price Waterhouse and spent over 30 years in the City, including senior roles at SG Warburg, BZW and Credit Suisse First Boston. At Credit Suisse he was deputy chairman Europe and later chairman UK investment banking.

External appointments:

Mark currently serves as an alternate member of the Panel on Takeovers and Mergers. Mark is also a non-executive director of Smiths Group plc and senior independent director of The Royal Bank of Scotland plc.

Appointed: 

January 2012

Skills and experience:

Claudia brings a wealth of experience of business transformation and building digital capabilities to the Board having held previous non-executive roles, including chair of the remuneration committee at Halfords plc, senior independent director of Telecity Group plc, governance committee chair at Aviva plc, and non-executive director at Ocado Group plc. Claudia began her career at McKinsey & Company, before holding roles at Pearson, the Financial Times, Goldman Sachs, and HM Treasury. She was group managing director, digital at EMAP.

External appointments:

Claudia is currently chair of Deliveroo and non-executive director and remuneration committee chair at Derwent London. She also serves as interim chair of the Premier League. In addition, Claudia serves as a member of the Panel on Takeovers and Mergers. 

Appointed: 

November 2018

Skills and experience:

Jeff became chief financial officer (CFO) of Reckitt Benckiser Group plc on 9 April 2020. Reckitt Benckiser has operations in over 60 countries and a large number of globally trusted household brands and products. Jeff previously held an executive finance role with Reckitt Benckiser earlier in his career. Most recently, Jeff was CFO of Koninklijke Ahold Delhaize N.V. (Ahold Delhaize), one of the world’s largest retail groups. Jeff was previously group finance director at both FirstGroup plc and easyJet plc, and held a senior finance role at Associated British Foods plc. He was also previously a non-executive director at McBride plc.

External appointments:

Jeff is currently CFO of Reckitt Benckiser Group plc, the British multinational consumer goods company.

Appointed:

June 2018

Skills and experience:

Sophie brings to the Board expertise in strategy, brand and international retail markets as well as substantial experience in business transformation and digital capabilities, having held a number of senior leadership positions at L’Oréal, including executive chair and chief executive officer of The Body Shop International and managing director of L’Oréal UK & Ireland.

External appointments:

Sophie is a non-executive director of Accor, where she chairs the appointments, compensation and CSR committee. She is also a non-executive director of the D’Ieteren group, and the lead independent director on the board of Cimpress, a NASDAQ-listed technology company. In addition, Sophie is a senior advisor at the Boston Consulting Group.

Appointment:

December 2018

Skills and experience:

Rakhi is a highly experienced director in digital retailing, having spent 11 years at Amazon.com. Most recently she was director, UK media at Amazon, responsible for ranges such as books, music and DVDs. She was previously director, UK hardlines, where she was responsible for home, garden and DIY product ranges. Prior to joining Amazon, Rakhi held roles at TomTom and in management consultancy in the United States, and was previously a non-executive director of Intu Properties plc.

External appointments:

Rakhi is a non-executive director of Schroders plc, Rightmove plc, and Travelopia.

Appointed:

February 2016

Skills and experience:

Catherine provides substantial expertise to the Board in the field of finance, risk management and corporate governance, having previously been a non-executive director of the Financial Conduct Authority, the UK financial regulator. Prior to embarking on her non-executive career, Catherine had a 30-year career in investment banking based in the US, the UK and Asia. She has French and British citizenship and was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in June 2019.

External appointments:

Catherine currently serves as an independent member of the supervisory board of PEUGEOT S.A., where she also chairs its Finance and Audit Committee. She is also a non-executive director of Johnson Electric Holdings Limited, a Hong Kong listed company, and of easyJet plc where she chairs its Finance Committee.

Appointed:

November 2020

Skills and experience:

Tony brings a great deal to the Board including, his broad range of retail skills, particularly those gained in the home improvement and digital retail markets as well as a wealth of expertise in finance and transformation. Tony has previously been CEO of Holland and Barrett as well as group chief operating officer and chief financial officer at Travis Perkins PLC. Formerly, he was chief financial officer of Australian grocery retailer, Coles Group, and prior to that he was chief executive officer of The Loyalty Management Group. Tony was also a non-executive director of Dyson. Tony has a track record of delivering change and digital growth, building new service businesses, and expanding international retail operations in both public and private businesses.

External appointments:

N/A

Appointed:

December 2020