Board
Find out more about our Matters Reserved for the Board and role descriptions.
Andrew Cosslett
Chair of the Board, Chair of the Nomination Committee
Appointed:
April 2017
Chair of the Board:
June 2017
Skills and experience:
Andrew’s early career was with Unilever in a variety of branding and marketing roles. He then spent 14 years at Cadbury Schweppes in senior international roles before becoming Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG). Andrew was at IHG for six years, creating value by leveraging the power of its brands alongside executing a programme of significant transformational and cultural change. He served as CEO for Fitness First, where he was instrumental in successfully repositioning the business and brand. Andrew served as a non-executive director of the Rugby Football Union from 2012, where he was appointed chairman from 2016 until 2021.
External appointments:
None.
Thierry Garnier
Chief Executive Officer
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:
Thierry is a non-executive director of Tesco plc and is a member of its remuneration committee.
Appointed:
September 2019
Bernard Bot
Chief Financial Officer
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
Catherine Bradley
Senior Independent Director
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, where she chaired its audit committee. Catherine also served as an independent member of the supervisory board of PEUGEOT S.A. where she chaired its finance and audit committee. 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 serves on the board of the International Integrated Reporting Council, based in the UK which has announced its merger with the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) and is 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
Claudia Arney
Chair of the Remuneration Committee, Non-Executive Director
Skills and experience:
Claudia brings a wealth of experience of business transformation and building digital capabilities to the Board having previously held non-executive roles, including interim chair of the Premier League, senior independent director of Telecity Group plc, chair of the remuneration committee at Halfords plc, non-executive director at Ocado Group plc, and governance committee chair at Aviva 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 plc, and non-executive director and remuneration committee chair at Derwent London. She also serves as a member of the Panel on Takeovers and Mergers
Appointed:
November 2018
Tony Buffin
Non-Executive Director
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 chief executive officer 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 has a track record of delivering change and digital growth, building new services businesses, and expanding international retail operations in both public and private businesses.
External appointments:
Tony is the founder of The Tecsa Group; strategic data and analytics consultants. Tony also serves as a non-executive director of Weybourne Limited (Dyson) and Tyrefix.
Appointed:
December 2020
Jeff Carr
Chair of the Audit Committee, Non-Executive Director
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 chief financial officer of Reckitt Benckiser Group plc, the British multinational consumer goods company.
Appointed:
June 2018
Sophie Gasperment
Chair of the Responsible Business Committee, Non-Executive Director
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 Givaudan S.A., the D’Ieteren group, and is 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
Rakhi Goss-Custard
Non-Executive Director
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 Tim Holdco Limited.
Appointed:
February 2016
