Our Board

Our Board has overall responsibility for setting and implementing strategy to deliver long-term sustainable success for the business, generating value for its shareholders, with due regard to all stakeholders.

Our Board provides leadership and direction over the control of the business, ensuring it operates within a framework of strong internal controls and risk management. It also establishes the Company’s purpose and values and satisfies itself that these and the strategy are aligned to its culture.

Our Board remains committed to maintaining the highest standards of governance and discloses in the Company’s Annual Report its compliance with the UK Corporate Governance Code.

Our Board has collectively a range of skills and experience that are complementary and relevant to the business.

Gerard Ryan
Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer

Gerard Ryan – Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer

Appointed: January 2012

Responsibilities: Group strategy, operational management, leadership of the executive and senior leadership team. Ensuring good relations with employees, customer representatives, customers, regulators and investors.

Key skills: Inspirational leadership and effective, objective implementation of strategy; over 30 years’ multi-country experience in consumer financial services.

Contributions: Acute market insight which provides a real advantage in driving the implementation of the strategy, and identifying and pursuing growth opportunities.
Gary Thompson
Executive Director and Chief Financial Officer

Gary Thompson – Executive Director and Chief Financial Officer

Appointed: April 2022

Responsibilities: Financial performance and reporting; Group funding and debt investor relations, equity investor relations; Board accountability for internal audit and taxation; the executive relationship with the external auditor; leadership of the Group finance team and other corporate functions; and Chair of the Disclosure Committee.

Key skills: Strong financial leadership with over 20 years’ financial experience spent in both the accounting and corporate sectors.

Contributions: Establishment and owner of the Group’s financial model; effectively supporting the Board, the CEO and executive management in driving optimum financial performance; diversifying the funding base; and developing a more proactive investor relations programme to increase confidence and shareholder value.

There is a formal schedule of matters reserved specifically for decision by the Board which is reviewed regularly. Other matters are delegated to four principal Board committees, which support the Board in discharging its duties. Each of these committees operates within written terms of reference, setting out the duties which have been delegated to them by the Board, and each of which are reviewed annually and approved by the Board.

View the schedule of matters reserved to the Board

The roles of our board members are clearly defined and agreed by the Board.

Click here to view the Board role profiles

Click here for the Governance Report