► About UsOur Board of Directors

Our Board of Directors

Find out more about our Board of Directors - click a photo to read a short biography...

 

Colin Day

Group Chair

Appointed to the Board: Appointed Non-Executive Group Chair and Chair of the Nomination Committee in August 2019.

Skills and experience: Colin retired as Chief Executive of Essentra plc in 2017, was previously Chief Financial Officer at Reckitt Benckiser plc for over 10 years and, prior to that, at Aegis Group plc. He has served as a non-executive director on the boards of major UK plcs, including Amec Foster Wheeler, WPP, Cadbury, Imperial Brands, easyJet, Meggitt, and Euromoney Institutional Investor.

Colin is currently a board member of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and chairs the Defra Audit and Risk Assurance Committee. He is a non-executive director and Audit Committee Chair at S4 Capital plc, and a non-executive director of FM Global. He is also a member of the Board and Finance Committee of Cranfield University.

Colin is a Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants and has an MBA from Cranfield School of Management.

Committee memberships: Colin is Chair of the Nomination Committee.

Alex Whitehouse

Chief Executive Officer

Appointed to the board: Appointed Chief Executive Officer and member of the Board in August 2019.

Skills and experience:  Alex joined the Company in July 2014 and was appointed Managing Director of the Grocery Strategic Business Unit in September 2014. He was promoted to UK Managing Director in April 2017. Alex has significant senior international, marketing, sales, strategy, innovation and general management experience gained across multiple geographies. He spent 18 years with Reckitt Benckiser plc, where he held senior leadership roles, including Managing Director, New Zealand and Worldwide Head of Shopper & Customer Marketing. Earlier in his career, he held a number of retail management positions with Whitbread plc.

Duncan Leggett

Chief Financial Officer

Appointed to the board: Appointed Chief Financial Officer and member of the Board in December 2019.

Skills and experience: Duncan joined the Company in September 2011 and has held a number of senior roles within finance, including Group Financial Controller and, most recently, Director of Financial Control and Corporate Development. Prior to joining the Company, Duncan spent nine years at KPMG working with clients across a variety of industries. Duncan’s responsibilities include operational and corporate finance, corporate development, investor relations and pensions. He is a qualified Chartered Accountant.

Richard Hodgson

Senior Non-Executive Director

Appointed to the Board: Appointed Non-Executive Director in January 2015 and Senior Independent Director in May 2019.

Skills and experience: Richard is Chief Executive Officer of The SnowFox Group and has over 20 years' experience in the food industry. He was previously Chief Executive Officer at Pizza Express, a role he held for four years until May 2017. In 2010, he was appointed Commercial Director at Morrisons, a newly created role, combining Trading and Marketing. Richard joined Waitrose in 2006, as Commercial Director, and prior to that spent 10 years at Asda holding a number of senior roles culminating in his appointment as Marketing & Own Brand Director.

Committee membership: Richard is Senior Independent Director and a member of the Remuneration and Nomination Committees.

Roisin Donnelly

Non-Executive Director

Appointed to the Board: Appointed Non-Executive Director in May 2022.

Skills and experience: Roisin has over 30 years’ marketing and brand building experience, gained at Procter and Gamble, where she was responsible for a large portfolio of leading consumer brands within the UK, Europe, EMEA and the Americas, during a varied career. Most recently, she spent twelve years as Chief Marketing Officer, UK and Ireland and then two years in the same role for Northern Europe, before leaving the Company in 2016. Roisin has served as a non-executive director of Just Eat plc, Holland & Barrett Ltd, Homeserve plc and Bourne Leisure Ltd. She is currently a non-executive director of NatWest Group plc and Sage Group Plc, and also a member of the Digital Advisory Board of Coca-Cola Europacific Partners.

Committee membership: Roisin is a member of the Audit and Remuneration Committees.

Tim Elliott

Non-Executive Director

Appointed to the Board: Appointed Non-Executive Director in May 2020 and Chair of Audit Committee in July 2023.

Skills and experience: Tim has nearly 40 years’ experience in investment banking and corporate finance, advising a wide range of companies and industries, particularly those in the consumer and retail sectors. During his career, Tim held Managing Director roles at both Barclays Capital and JP Morgan and, more latterly, was a Partner and Consultant at KPMG. Tim has deep knowledge and experience of capital markets and is currently Senior Adviser at Alvarez & Marsal LLP.

Committee memberships: Tim is Chair of the Audit Committee and a member of the Remuneration Committee.

Tania Howarth

Non-Executive Director

Appointed to the Board: Appointed Non-Executive Director in March 2022.

Skills and experience: Tania has extensive senior executive experience from her roles across global FMCG businesses. Until 2017, she was Chief Operating Officer of Nomad Foods, a European frozen foods business listed on the NYSE, with household brands such as Birds Eye, Findus and Iglo. During her 10-year tenure, she had responsibility for Supply Chain, Quality, HR, IT and M&A integration. Prior to this, Tania was CIO for Coca-Cola's European and African businesses and spent nine years at Walkers Snack Foods, latterly as CIO. Tania is currently an advisor to the Private Equity business within Goldman Sachs Asset Management; and a member of the Technology Advisory Board at NatWest Group plc.

Committee memberships: Tania is a member of the Audit and Nomination Committees.

Helen Jones

Non-Executive Director

Appointed to the Board: Appointed Non-Executive Director in May 2020, Workforce Engagement NED in September 2020, and Chair of the Remuneration Committee in July 2022.

Skills and experience: Helen brings 35 years of commercial and general management experience for FMCG and multi-site consumer businesses. During her executive career, Helen was previously Group Executive Director of Caffe Nero Group Ltd and Managing Director of Zizzi restaurants. Prior to this, Helen spent nine years at Unilever and was the successful architect for the launch of the Ben & Jerry’s brand in the UK and Europe. Helen is currently non-executive director and Remuneration Committee Chair of THG PLC, Fuller, Smith & Turner plc and Virgin Wines UK PLC.

Committee memberships: Helen is Chair of the Remuneration Committee.

Yuichiro Kogo

Non-Executive Director

Appointed to the Board: Appointed Non-Executive Director in March 2021.

Skills and experience: Yuichiro is General Manager, Corporate Development Division, of Nissin Foods Holdings Company Limited (“Nissin”) and is responsible for devising Nissin's M&A strategy, as well as originating and executing business alliance and investment transactions. Prior to joining Nissin, in September 2016, he was Vice President at the Investment Banking Division of Goldman Sachs Japan Co., Ltd. During his nine years at the firm, his key responsibilities included execution of global equity / debt financing transactions, as well as coverage of corporate clients across multiple industry sectors, including technology, steel, and natural resources. Yuichiro received a BA in Economics from Keio University in 2001 and an MBA from the University of Chicago in 2007.
 

Lorna Tilbian

Non-Executive Director

Appointed to the Board: Appointed Non-Executive Director in April 2022.

Skills and experience: Lorna has extensive experience, as an equity analyst covering the media sector, and an investment banker, with strong financial analysis and leadership skills. During her career, Lorna was executive director and Head of the Media Sector at Numis Corporation PLC until her retirement in 2018. She was a founder of Numis, when it launched in 2001, having previously worked at Sheppards, as a director at SG Warburg, and an executive director of WestLB Panmure. Lorna is executive Chair of Dowgate Capital Ltd, sits on the Board of Dowgate Wealth Ltd and is a non-executive director of Rightmove plc, Finsbury Growth & Income Trust plc and ProVen VCT plc.

Committee memberships: Lorna is a member of the Nomination Committee.

Company Secretary

Simon Rose

General Counsel, Company Secretary

Appointed to the Board: Simon joined the Company in August 2018 as General Counsel & Company Secretary. He sits on the plc Board in his capacity as Company Secretary.

Skills and experience: Simon was previously Head of Corporate Legal Affairs and Group Property at pladis, a global branded biscuits, confectionery and snacks business (incorporating United Biscuits, Ülker, Godiva and DeMet’s Candy Company) having originally joined United Biscuits in 2003. He is a qualified solicitor and spent 12 years in private practice at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and then as a Partner at Burges Salmon.

Key responsibilities: Simon is responsible for legal, intellectual property and corporate governance.