Ian Meakins
Chair of the Board
Dominic Blakemore
Group Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
Palmer Brown
Group Chief Financial Officer (CFO)
Nationality: USA
Appointment: Appointed to the Board in October 2021, having joined the Group in 2001. Assumed the role of Group CFO in November 2021.
Committee Membership: Corporate Responsibility, Disclosure, Executive, General Business
Key skills and competencies: Palmer joined Compass in 2001. During his tenure, he has held a variety of senior finance, strategy and legal positions and played a central role as a member of the executive team in North America. He also coordinated many of the acquisitions and disposals for the Group. Palmer has a degree in business and law and is a certified public accountant.
Current external appointments: None.
Previous experience: Palmer is a former Group Commercial Director and Chief Strategy Officer, Compass Group North America. Prior to that, he served as General Counsel and Executive Vice President of Corporate & Legal Affairs for the Group’s US business.
Gary Green
Group Chief Operating Officer (COO), North America
Nationality: UK / USA
Appointment: Joined the Board in January 2007. Appointed Group COO, North America, in April 2012.
Committee membership: Executive and General Business.
Key skills and competencies: Gary brings strong business and operational leadership, business development, and wide-ranging sales experience. Gary is a chartered accountant and has an honorary doctorate from Johnson & Wales University in the US.
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 US in 1994 as CFO of the Group’s North America business and, in 1999, became its CEO.
John Bryant
Senior Independent Director (SID)
Carol Arrowsmith
Non-Executive Director
Nationality: UK
Appointment: Appointed to the Board in June 2014.
Committee membership: Audit, Corporate Responsibility, Nomination and Remuneration.
Key skills and competencies: Carol brings extensive advisory experience, especially in 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 a director and trustee of Northern Ballet Limited.
Previous experience: Carol is a former partner and advisor of Deloitte LLP and Vice Chair of their UK business, a director of the Remuneration Consultants Group and Arrowsmith Advisory Limited, a non-executive director of Vivo Energy PLC and TMF Group Limited, and a member of the Advisory Group for Spencer Stuart.
Stefan Bomhard
Non-Executive Director
Nationality: Germany
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 in the operation, sales and marketing of well-known consumer food and drink brands.
Current external appointments: CEO of Imperial Brands PLC.
Previous experience: Stefan is a former CEO of Inchcape plc. Before joining Inchcape, he was President of Bacardi Limited’s European region and was also responsible for its global commercial organisation and global travel retail. Previous roles have included a number of worldwide senior positions at Cadbury Plc, Unilever PLC, Diageo plc, Burger King and Procter & Gamble.
Arlene Isaacs-Lowe
Non-Executive Director
Nationality: Jamaica / USA
Appointment: Appointed to the Board in November 2021.
Committee membership: Audit, Corporate Responsibility, Nomination and Remuneration.
Key skills and competencies: Arlene brings over 20 years’ executive experience in sustainability, finance, strategy and sales across the US, Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
Current external appointments: Non-executive director of Equitable Holdings, Inc. and Xenia Hotels & Resorts, Inc., member of the advisory board of Agbanga Karite LLC and member of the advisory board of Howard University School of Business.
Previous experience: Arlene is a former Global Head of CSR of Moody’s Corporation, where she developed and implemented their global CSR strategy. She joined Moody’s Corporation in 1998, where she held various senior leadership, analytical, commercial and relationship management roles. Prior to joining Moody’s, Arlene was CFO of Equinox Realty Advisors LLC, and before that, she was a portfolio manager with MetLife Realty Group, Inc.
Anne-Francoise Nesmes
Non-Executive Director
Nationality: France / UK
Appointment: Appointed to the Board in July 2018. Appointed Chair of the Audit Committee in February 2021.
Committee membership: Audit (Chairman), Corporate Responsibility, Nomination and Remuneration.
Key skills and competencies: Anne-Francoise has a wealth of experience in finance and accounting in international organisations with a strong focus on strategy, M&A and governance. Anne-Francoise is a chartered management accountant.
Current external appointments: CFO of Smith+Nephew plc.
Previous experience: Anne-Francoise is a former CFO of Merlin Entertainments PLC and Dechra Pharmaceuticals PLC, and also held a number of senior finance roles during her 16 year tenure at GlaxoSmithKline.
Sundar Raman
Non-Executive Director
Nationality: USA
Appointment: Appointed to the Board in January 2022.
Committee membership: Audit, Corporate Responsibility, Nomination and Remuneration.
Key skills and competencies: Sundar brings over 20 years’ experience as an executive in the US, operating in highly competitive markets and successfully growing global consumer brands.
Current external appointments: Global CEO of Procter & Gamble’s Fabric and Home Care business.
Previous experience: Sundar is a former Chair of the American Cleaning Institute and a former President, Home Care and P&G Professional with Procter & Gamble. Sundar started his career with Procter & Gamble in 1998 as a market analyst and has held a number of senior leadership roles in business intelligence, marketing and innovation across a variety of product lines and market segments. Sundar is a former member of the board of the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center.
Nelson Silva
Non-Executive Director
Nationality: Brazil / Portugal
Appointment: Appointed to the Board in July 2015. Appointed Chair of the Corporate Responsibility Committee in February 2017.
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 an adviser to Appian Capital Advisory LLP and HSB Solomon Associates LLC.
Previous experience: Nelson is a former executive director of Petróleo Brasileiro S.A., CEO of BG Group in South America, non-executive director of Cosan Limited, Managing Director of Embraer for Europe and Africa, CEO of All Logistica in Argentina and President of BHP Billiton’s Aluminium business unit. Prior to joining BHP Billiton, Nelson held a number of senior positions at Vale S.A., including Sales and Marketing Director.
Ireena Vittal
Non-executive director and Designated NED for workforce engagement
Nationality: India
Appointment: Appointed to the Board in July 2015. Designated NED for workforce engagement in October 2019.
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 Diageo plc, Godrej Consumer Products Limited, WIPRO Limited and Housing Development Finance Corporation Limited and an independent director of UrbanClap Technologies India Private Limited.
Previous experience: Ireena is a former non-executive director of Titan Company Ltd, The Indian Hotels Company Limited, Cipla Limited, Tata Global Beverages Limited, Tata Industries, Zomato Media Private Limited, GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare and Axis Bank Limited; and Head of Marketing and Sales at Hutchinson Max Telecom and partner at McKinsey and Company.
Leanne Wood
Non-Executive Director
Nationality: UK
Appointment: Appointed to the Board in May 2023.
Committee membership: Audit, Corporate Responsibility, Nomination and Remuneration.
Key skills and competencies: Leanne has a wealth of experience in people and organisational strategy and also has wider strategic and operational experience in global organisations, including in the food and beverage, retail and technology sectors. Leanne holds an MBA from INSEAD and a Master of Arts from the University of Cambridge.
Current external appointments: Leanne is Chief Human Resources Officer of Vodafone Group Plc and is the lead Vodafone Non-executive Director for Vodacom Group Limited, a publicly listed company in South Africa
Previous experience: Before joining Vodafone, Leanne was the Chief People, Strategy and Corporate Affairs Officer for Burberry Plc. Prior to that, she worked for Diageo plc for 15 years in a variety of roles, latterly as their Group HR Director. She has also worked in strategy and finance for Allied Domecq Plc, LEK Consulting and United Distillers. Leanne is a former non-executive director of The Go-Ahead Group Plc.
Alison Yapp
Group General Counsel and Company Secretary
Nationality: UK
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 has 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. Alison is a solicitor.
Current external appointments: None.
Previous experience: Alison is the former 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 Adviser of Charter plc. Prior to joining Charter, Alison held a number of senior legal roles at Johnson Matthey plc and was a corporate and commercial lawyer at Turner Kenneth Brown.
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