Our Board

Appointment: Joined the Board in January 2007. Appointed Group Chief Operating Officer, North America in April 2012.

Committee membership: Executive and General Business.

Key skills and competencies: Gary brings strong business and operational leadership as well as business development and wide ranging sales experience. Gary is a chartered accountant and in 2001 received an honorary doctorate from Johnson & Wales University in the USA.

Current external appointments: None.

Previous experience: Gary joined the Group in 1986 in a senior finance role in the UK and became a UK director in 1992. He relocated to the USA in 1994 as Chief Finance Officer of the Group’s North American business and in 1999 became Chief Executive Officer, North America.

Appointment: Joined the Board as Group Chief Financial Officer in April 2019.

Committee membership: Corporate Responsibility, Disclosure, Executive, General Business.

Key skills and competencies: Karen is an experienced Chief Financial Officer with a strong background in finance and management across a variety of sectors in global organisations. Karen is a chartered accountant.

Current external appointments: None.

Previous experience: Karen joined Compass from Kingfisher PLC where she was Group Chief Financial Officer and a member of the board of directors for over six years. Prior to working at Kingfisher, Karen held senior finance positions at Vodafone Group PLC and BT PLC and is a former non-executive director of Imperial Brands PLC and Wolseley plc. Karen’s early career included finance roles at Mars, Paribas, Grand Metropolitan and Ernst & Whinney.

Appointment: Appointed to the Board on 1 September 2020. Will succeed Paul Walsh as Chairman of the Board on 1 December 2020.

Committee membership: Corporate Responsibility and Nomination. Will succeed Paul Walsh as Chairman of the Nomination Committee on 1 December 2020.

Key skills and competencies: Ian is an experienced Chairman and former CEO with a strong background in B2B and B2C companies in global organisations across a variety of sectors.

Current external appointments: Ian is non-executive Chairman of Rexel SA. He is also non-executive Chairman of The Learning Network BV from which he will step down later in the year on a date to be confirmed.

Previous experience: Ian is former chief executive of Ferguson plc (formerly Wolseley plc), Travelex Holdings Ltd and Alliance UniChem plc (until its merger with Boots). Prior to that he held positions at Diageo PLC, Bain & Company and Procter & Gamble, and was a founding partner at Kalchas Group management consultants. Ian was previously a non-executive director of O2 and the senior independent director at Centrica plc. 

Appointment: Appointed to the Board in June 2014.

Committee membership: Remuneration (Chairman), Audit, Corporate Responsibility and Nomination.

Key skills and competencies: Carol brings extensive advisory experience, especially of advising boards on executive remuneration across a range of sectors. Carol is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.

Current external appointments: Non-executive director of Centrica plc and Vivo Energy PLC, director and trustee of Northern Ballet Limited and director of Arrowsmith Advisory Limited. Member of the Advisory Group for Spencer Stuart.

Previous experience: Carol is a former partner and advisor of Deloitte LLP and was Vice Chairman of their UK business and former director of the Remuneration Consultants Group and non-executive director of TMF Group Limited.

Appointment: Appointed to the Board in May 2016.

Committee membership: Audit, Corporate Responsibility, Nomination and Remuneration.

Key skills and competencies: Stefan brings extensive experience of working in international environments, particularly relating to the operation, sales and marketing of well-known consumer food and drink brands.

Current external appointments: Chief Executive Officer of Imperial Brands PLC.

Previous experience: Stefan is the former Chief Executive Officer of Inchcape plc and before that was Regional President, Europe, Geneva at Bacardi Martini for five years and held a number of worldwide senior positions at Cadbury Plc, Unilever PLC, Diageo plc, Burger King and Procter & Gamble.

Appointment: Appointed to the Board in September 2018.

Committee membership: Audit, Corporate Responsibility, Nomination and Remuneration.

Key skills and competencies: John brings over 30 years’ experience to the Board with a particular focus on finance, operations, M&A, strategy and portfolio transformation.

Current external appointments: Non-executive director of Ball Corporation and Macy’s Inc.

Previous experience: John is the former Executive Chairman and CEO of global consumer goods company Kellogg. Prior to joining Kellogg in 1998, John held strategic and operational roles in several companies, worldwide.

Appointment: Appointed to the Board in July 2018.

Committee membership: Audit, Corporate Responsibility, Nomination and Remuneration.

Key skills and competencies: Anne-Francoise has a wealth of experience in finance and accounting gained in international organisations with a strong focus on strategy, M&A and governance. Anne-Francoise is a chartered management accountant.

Current external appointments: Chief Financial Officer of Smith+Nephew plc.

Previous experience: Anne-Francoise is the former Chief Financial Officer of Merlin Entertainments Ltd and Dechra Pharmaceuticals PLC and also held a number of senior finance roles during her 16 year tenure at GlaxoSmithKline.

Appointment: Appointed to the Board in July 2015.

Committee membership: Corporate Responsibility (Chairman), Audit, Nomination and Remuneration.

Key skills and competencies: Nelson has considerable executive management experience in a variety of senior leadership roles within major international companies, with a particular focus on Brazil.

Current external appointments: Non-executive director of Nutrien Ltd, Altera Infrastructure L.P. (private company) and Cosan Limited and an advisor to Appian Capital Advisory LLP and HSB Solomon Associates LLC.

Previous experience: Nelson was formerly an executive director of Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. and President of the Aluminium business unit at BHP Billiton, based in the UK. Prior to joining BHP Billiton, Nelson held a number of senior positions at Vale, including Sales and Marketing Director based in Belgium, Japan and Brazil. Nelson was also Managing Director of Embraer for Europe and Africa, based in France, and Chief Executive Officer of All Logistica in Argentina.

Nelson previously held the position of Senior Vice President of BG Group plc responsible for Brazil, Bolivia and Uruguay. He is a former board member of the Brazilian Institute of Oil and Gas, the Brazilian Association of Petroleum Companies and of the Social and Development Council of Brazil’s Presidency. Nelson was formerly a senior consultant to BHP Billiton Brazil and a board member of the Brazilian Symphonic Orchestra.

Appointment: Appointed to the Board in July 2015. Designated NED for workforce engagement, effective October 2019 for a period of two years.

Committee membership: Audit, Corporate Responsibility, Nomination and Remuneration.

Key skills and competencies: Ireena brings strong advisory, business and operational experience across a variety of retail businesses, with a particular focus on India.

Current external appointments: Non-executive director of Godrej Consumer Products Limited, WIPRO Limited, Titan Company Limited and Housing Development Finance Corporation Limited.

Previous experience: Ireena was formerly a non-executive director of The Indian Hotels Company Limited, Cipla Limited, Tata Global Beverages Limited, Tata Industries, Zomato Media Private Limited, GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare and Axis Bank Limited, Head of Marketing and Sales at Hutchinson Max Telecom and partner at McKinsey and Company.

Appointment: Joined the Group in August 2018. Appointed Group General Counsel and Company Secretary in October 2018.

Committee membership: Audit (Secretary), Corporate Responsibility (Secretary), Disclosure, Executive, General Business (Secretary), Nomination (Secretary) and Remuneration (Secretary).

Key skills and competencies: Alison is a solicitor with more than 25 years’ international experience in FTSE and NYSE listed companies across the services, industrial and engineering sectors. She has significant experience in strategic M&A, crisis and change management.

Current external appointments: None.

Previous experience: Alison was formerly Chief General Counsel and Company Secretary of Amec Foster Wheeler plc, Company Secretary and General Legal Counsel of Hays plc and Company Secretary and Group Legal Advisor of Charter plc. Prior to joining Charter, Alison held a number of senior legal roles at Johnson Matthey plc.