Introducing
Our Board
Dan O'Connor
Chairman
Appointed to the Board:
2 January 2015
Appointments and qualifications:
Dan was previously a non-executive director of CRH plc and Chairman of Allied Irish Banks plc. In addition, Dan spent 10 years as CEO of GE Consumer Finance Europe and was a Senior Vice President of General Electric. He was also a non-executive director of one of Turkey’s largest banks, Garanti Bank. Dan is a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland and has a Master’s Degree in Accounting. He is a non-executive director of Glanbia plc and Activate Capital Ltd.
Key strengths and contributions:
Dan has over 30 years’ experience in large international and financial services businesses and provides strong strategic leadership in his role as Chairman, promoting an effective Board by facilitating open and robust debate. He is committed to strong corporate governance and has regular constructive engagement with investors and other stakeholders.
Committees:
Nomination Committee, Remuneration Commitee
Gerard Ryan
Chief Executive Officer
Appointed to the Board:
17 January 2012
Appointments and qualifications:
Gerard was previously CEO for Citigroup’s consumer finance businesses in Western Europe, Middle East and Africa region. He was a director of Citi International plc, Egg plc and Morgan Stanley Smith Barney UK. Earlier in his career, Gerard was CFO of Garanti Bank, Turkey and CEO of GE Money Bank, Prague. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland.
Key strengths and contributions:
Gerard has over 25 years’ multi-country experience in consumer financial services and provides the Company with strong leadership. His acute market insight provides a real advantage in driving the implementation of the strategy, and identifying and pursuing growth opportunities for our business.
Committees:
Disclosure Committee, Executive Committee, Nomination Committee
Justin Lockwood
Executive director and Chief Financial Officer
Appointed to the Board:
23 February 2017
Appointments and qualifications:
Justin was the Company’s Group Head of Finance for seven years before being appointed to the Board as Chief Financial Officer. He previously held senior finance roles at Associated British Ports and Marshalls plc, having spent the first 10 years of his career working for PwC in the UK and Australia. He is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants and graduated from the University of Cardiff with a degree in Business Administration.
Key strengths and contributions:
Justin has over 15 years’ experience in a variety of senior financial management roles and has a detailed understanding of the Group’s businesses and its markets. He provides the Company with strong financial leadership, which, allied with a broad and deep understanding of the Group’s operations, enables him to be particularly effective in supporting the Board and the Executive Committee in driving optimum financial performance.
Committees:
Disclosure Committee, Executive Committee
Tony Hales CBE
Senior independent non-executive director
Appointed to the Board:
16 July 2007
Appointments and qualifications:
Tony was Chairman of Canal & River Trust, Workspace Group plc and NAAFI, Chief Executive of Allied Domecq plc. He was previously a director of Welsh National Opera Limited and a non-executive director of Provident Financial plc, Welsh Water plc, Aston Villa plc, HSBC Bank plc, and Reliance Security Group plc. He graduated in Chemistry from the University of Bristol and is currently Chairman of the Greenwich Foundation and the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music. He is also a non-executive director of Capital & Regional plc, a board member of The Services Sound and Vision Corporation and chairs NAAFI Pension Fund Trustees.
Key strengths and contributions:
Tony has strong business expertise, having been a chairman and non-executive director in profit and non-profit sectors. He has extensive knowledge of our business as well as having chaired and been a member of various committees since appointment.
Committees:
Audit and Risk Committee, Nomination Committee, Remuneration Committee
Deborah Davis
Independent non-executive director
Appointed to the Board:
18 October 2018
Appointments and qualifications:
Deborah is currently a nonexecutive director of The Institute of Directors and Which? Limited in the UK, IDEX Biometrics in Norway, and is a Trustee of Southern African Conservation Trust in South Africa. Deborah was previously Vice President of Global Partnerships, and Vice President of Global Risk Operations at PayPal based in London and Vice President of European Operations for eBay Marketplaces based in Germany.
Key strengths and contributions:
Deborah has wide ranging non-executive director experience in fintech, consumer and technology businesses undergoing digital transformation, growth and geographic expansion. Her experience provides the Board with valuable strategic and operational insights on growth and expansion of the digital business as well as customer experience and innovation throughout the Company.
Committees:
Audit and Risk Committee, Nomination Committee, Remuneration Committee
Richard Moat
Independent non-executive director
Appointed to the Board:
1 July 2012
Appointments and qualifications:
Richard is a non-executive director of Eir Limited, having previously served as Chief Executive Officer until April 2018. He was Deputy CEO and CFO of Everything Everywhere Limited, the UK’s largest mobile telecoms company. He was Managing Director of T-Mobile UK Limited and Chief Executive of Orange Romania SA, Orange Denmark A/S and Orange Thailand Limited. He holds a Diploma in Corporate Finance and Accounting from London Business School and has a Master’s (Honours) Degree in Law from St Catharine’s College, Cambridge. He is a Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants.
Key strengths and contributions:
Richard has more than 25 years’ telecoms experience in senior management roles, and provides financial and operational expertise along with international experience.
Committees:
Audit and Risk Committee, Remuneration Committee, Technology Committee
John Mangelaars
Independent non-executive director
Appointed to the Board:
22 July 2015
Appointments and qualifications:
John worked for Microsoft for over 20 years specialising, in more recent years, in the sales and marketing of online products, MSN Messenger, Hotmail and Bing. He graduated from the Higher School of Economics in The Hague, Netherlands, with a Bachelor in Information and Communication Technology (BICT) and is currently the CEO of online travel agency Travix International.
Key strengths and contributions:
John has considerable experience in sales and e-commerce, which will support expansion of our digital lending business and the Company’s objective to increase its technology capabilities.
Committees:
Nomination Committee, Technology Committee
Cathryn Riley
Independent non-executive director
Appointed to the Board:
12 February 2014
Appointments and qualifications:
Previously, Cathryn was Group Chief Operations Officer at Aviva plc. Other roles with Aviva included Group CIO, UK Commercial Director, COO and Customer Experience Director of UK Life, and chair of Aviva Healthcare UK Ltd, Aviva Global Services and Hill House Hammond. Her previous roles included general manager of transformation at BUPA and a principal consultant in the financial services division at Coopers & Lybrand. She has an MA in manpower studies, completed CeDEP’s general management programme, was a graduate of the Institute of Personnel/HR Management and is a non-executive director of Chubb European Group SE, Chubb European Group plc, AA plc, Chubb Underwriting Agencies Ltd, The Equitable Life Assurance Society and AA Insurance Holdings Limited. She is also a non-executive director and Chair of the Remuneration Committee at ReAssure Group Limited.
Key strengths and contributions:
Cathryn has over 20 years’ experience in insurance and financial services, together with international roles. She is an experienced non-executive director, having sat on the board of The Equitable Life Assurance Society since 2009 and also serving as chair of its remuneration committee. She brings a wealth of experience in major IT transformation programmes, implementing new distribution channels and customer service.
Committees:
Nomination Committee, Remuneration Committee, Technology Committee
Bronwyn Syiek
Independent non-executive director
Appointed to the Board:
18 October 2018
Appointments and qualifications:
Bronwyn is currently a Trustee of The SETI Institute, a US-based non-profit scientific research institute and significant contractor to NASA. Bronwyn was previously the executive president and a board member of QuinStreet Inc., having been its Chief Operating Officer. A NASDAQ-listed company, QuinStreet is a leader in online performance marketing products and technologies, serving a number of sectors including financial services. Bronwyn also served on the management committee of De La Rue, a major European provider of online and offline security products and services, and before that was a consultant with McKinsey & Company, Inc.
Key strengths and contributions:
Bronwyn has 15 years’ general management experience in high growth businesses in Silicon Valley, including executive director experience in online consumer marketing and technology development. She also brings experience as a non-executive director gained in non-profit scientific research organisation and education, and 14 years’ experience as a banker, consultant, focused on strategy and change in large international companies. Her contribution to Board discussions is extremely helpful, particularly given her knowledge of online marketing and technology, promoting the right balance for the Board between guidance and oversight.
Committees:
Audit and Risk Committee, Workforce and stakeholder engagement director, Technology Committee