Board
Find out more about our Matters Reserved for the Board and role descriptions.
Andrew Cosslett
Board Chairman, Chairman of the Nomination Committee
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.
External appointments:
Andrew joined the board of the Rugby Football Union in 2012, before being appointed chairman in 2016.
Appointed:
April 2017
Chairman:
June 2017
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:
No external appointments.
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
Mark Seligman
Senior Independent Director
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
Claudia Arney
Chairman 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 held previous non-executive roles, including chair of the remuneration committee at Halfords plc, senior independent director of Telecity 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 non-executive director and remuneration committee chair at Derwent London. She also serves as interim chair of the Premier League and is a non-executive director at Ocado Group plc.
Appointed:
November 2018
Jeff Carr
Chairman 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 CFO of Reckitt Benckiser Group plc, the British multinational consumer goods company.
Appointed:
June 2018
Sophie Gasperment
Chairman 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 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
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 Travelopia.
Appointed:
February 2016
