Appointed Chairman of the Board and of the Nomination Committee on 1 July 2001. He joined the Company as a non-executive Director on 1 July 1998 and became Deputy Chairman on 11 November 1999. Educated at Cambridge University, Mr Lawson is a qualified engineer with an MBA. His career has spanned several United Kingdom and continental groups, including three years as Managing Director of Vitec Group plc and 10 years as Chief Executive of Electrocomponents plc. On 1 June 2008, he joined the Board of Barratt Developments PLC and became their non-executive Chairman on 1 July 2008.

Appointed to the Board on 1 September 2007 and became Chief Executive on 15 November 2007. His career began at British Aerospace before moving to Schlumberger in 1982. He is a Chartered Engineer and has an MBA from the Stanford Business School in California. He previously worked for McKinsey & Company before joining Blue Circle Industries (latterly called Lafarge Group) in 1994, where he was Group Strategy Director before being appointed as Regional Director for Asia. He was previously Chief Executive at Xansa plc. He joined the board of 3i Group plc as a non-executive director on 1 October 2009.

Appointed Group Finance Director on 2 May 2006. A Chartered Accountant, he joined the Company from DHL Logistics, a division of Deutsche Post World Net. Prior to the acquisition of Exel plc by Deutsche Post in December 2005, he was Deputy Group Finance Director, a member of the executive board of Exel plc and Chairman of their Acquisitions and Projects Review Board. During 13 years with Exel he held a number of senior finance and operational roles, including Finance Director of Exel’s european and global operations. He joined the board of Wincanton plc as a non-executive director on 2 September 2009.

Appointed non-executive director on 30 April 2002, she is Chairman of the Remuneration Committee, a member of the Audit and Nomination Committees and is Senior Independent Director for the purposes of the Combined Code. She graduated in law from Cambridge University and worked in the UK and US. Subsequently she went on to a career in merchant banking at Kleinwort Benson where she became a group director and was also head of Institutional Asset Management. In 1999, she co-founded British Linen Advisers (a specialist corporate finance adviser) and remained as a director until 2002. She is Chairman of the Alliance Trust plc, a non-executive director of HMV Group plc and a Governor of the Museum of the Port of London and Docklands.

Appointed non-executive director on 24 November 2004, he is a member of the Audit, Nomination and Remuneration Committees. He was Chairman and Chief Executive of BBDO Europe where he was responsible for all BBDO advertising, direct marketing, digital and public relations agencies in 44 countries. Prior to that he was Chairman and CEO of Young & Rubicam EMEA and Wunderman EMEA and held senior executive roles at McKinsey & Company where he was also a Partner. In September 2009 he became President and Chief Executive of Clear Channel International.

Appointed non-executive director on 8 May 2007, he is Chairman of the Audit Committee and a member of the Nomination and Remuneration Committees. He is a Chartered Accountant and a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales. He joined The Sage Group plc as Group Financial Controller in 1997 and became their Group Finance Director in April 2000. Prior to that he served as a Senior Manager in Price Waterhouse, now PricewaterhouseCoopers, and was responsible for the provision of audit and advisory services to larger private and public sector companies.

Appointed non-executive director on 15 November 2007, he is a member of the Nomination and Remuneration Committees. He holds a degree in Psychology from Leeds University, is a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development and has an MBA from the London Business School. With over 20 years experience in HR management, he was Group Human Resources Director of Carphone Warehouse Group plc until he joined Northern Rock plc as Group Human Resources Director in September 2008.

Appointed non-executive director on 24 November 2004, he is a member of the Audit, Nomination and Remuneration Committees. He is currently Chief Executive Officer of ghd Group Holdings Ltd, a professional hair care company backed by Montagu Private Equity. He was formerly President of Global Business Development at Colgate-Palmolive Co where he was responsible for leading the Oral Care, Personal Care and Home Care global categories. Prior to that he was Managing Director of Boots Healthcare International and a member of the Boots PLC Executive Committee.

Appointed Company Secretary and General Legal Counsel on 30 January 2006. Her career as a solicitor began in practise at Turner Kenneth Brown advising corporate and commercial clients before moving in-house. She has in excess of 15 years experience in industry within a number of international groups. She was previously Company Secretary and Group Legal Adviser of Charter plc, an international engineering company, and prior to that held senior legal and secretarial positions in Johnson Matthey plc and Cookson Matthey Ceramics plc.