Directors, Officers & Advisers

Robert Blanchard*, 63, appointed in 2000. He was a Group Vice President of Procter & Gamble and President of its Global Skin Care and Cosmetics business until his retirement in 1999. He was a non-executive director of Bandag Inc. until he retired from that board in May 2006. He was also a non-executive director of Best Buy Co. Inc. until June 2005.

Terry Burman, 62, appointed Group Chief Executive in 2000. He was, until January 2006, also Chief Executive Officer of the Group’s US division. Mr. Burman was appointed to the Board in 1996. Prior to joining the Group in 1995 he was Chief Executive Officer of Barrys Jewelers, Inc. Mr. Burman was appointed a non-executive director of Yankee Holding Corp. in October 2007. Mr. Burman has indicated his intention to retire on January 29, 2011.

Dale W. Hilpert*, 65, appointed in 2003. He was Chief Executive of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. from April 2001 until his retirement in January 2003. Prior to this he was Chairman and Chief Executive of Foot Locker, Inc. which he joined as President and Chief Operating Officer in 1995.

Lesley Knox*, 55, appointed October 2008. Ms. Knox was a non-executive director of Signet Group plc during 2008, and has since 2004 been Chair of Alliance Trust PLC and is also a non-executive director of HMV Group PLC and of Hays PLC, positions she has held since 2002. Ms. Knox is also until February 2009 Interim Chairman of HMV Group PLC. Ms. Knox was in 1999 Founder Director of British Linen Advisers Limited, a specialist merchant bank providing strategic advice to growth companies, where she remained until 2003. Between 1997 and 1999 she was Deputy Governor and then Governor of British Linen Bank, the Bank of Scotland subsidiary. She had between 1981 and 1997 worked in the Kleinwort Benson Group, first as a corporate financier, then between 1991 and 1996 running their institutional asset management business. Ms. Knox was also a non-executive director of Galliform PLC between 2001 and 2007 and Glenmorangie PLC between 1999 and 2003.

Marianne Miller Parrs*, 64, appointed October 2008. Ms. Parrs has served on the Boards of The Stanley Works and CIT Group Inc as an independent director since April 2008 and 2003 respectively. Ms. Parrs retired in 2007 as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of International Paper Company having joined in 1974 as a Pension Trust Investment Manager and holding a number of positions before first being appointed Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer in 1995. This position she held until 1999 when she was appointed Executive Vice President with responsibility for Information Technology, Global Sourcing, Global Supply Chain and Investor Relations. She held this role for 6 years until she was reappointed Chief Financial Officer. Previously Ms. Parrs was a Security Analyst at a number of firms including Merrill Lynch.

Thomas Plaskett*, 64, appointed October 2008. Mr. Plaskett since 1991 has been Chairman of Fox Run Capital Associates, a private consulting firm. From 1999 until 2000 he served as the Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Probex Corp, an energy technology company, which filed for bankruptcy in 2003. He also served as Vice Chairman of Legend Airlines, from 1997 until 2001, which filed for bankruptcy protection in 2000. Mr. Plaskett served as Interim President, Chief Executive Officer, and Acting Chief Financial Officer of Greyhound Lines for two years before becoming Chairman from 1995 until 1999, when the company was sold. Previously, he was Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Pan Am Corporation from 1988 until filing for bankruptcy in 1991. Prior to that, Mr. Plaskett was President and Chief Executive Officer of Continental Airlines from 1986 to 1987. Mr. Plaskett also held several senior management positions at American Airlines and AMR Corporation between 1974 and 1986.

Russell Walls*, 64, appointed in 2002. He was Group Finance Director of BAA plc until his retirement in August 2002 and was the senior independent director of Hilton Group plc until May 2003 and Stagecoach Group plc until August 2006. Mr. Walls is a non-executive director of Aviva plc, non-executive Chairman of Delphic Diagnostics Limited and Treasurer of the British Red Cross Society. He is a Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants. Mr. Walls is nominated as the senior independent director of Signet, and is an "audit committee financial expert" as defined by the applicable SEC regulations.

* Independent directors, all of whom satisfied the definitions of independence in the revised UK Combined Code and are viewed as independent by the Board and have been affirmed by the Board as being independent in accordance with NYSE Listing Standards.

The Company By-laws specify that every director is required to retire at the annual general meeting in the third calendar year after they were last elected or re-elected. Similarly the UK Combined Code requires non-executive directors who have served longer than nine years, if they are to continue to serve, to do so subject to annual re-election. Such directors may, in these circumstances, seek re-election.

Committees

Compensation Committee: Robert Blanchard (Chairman), Dale Hilpert and Russell Walls.

Audit Committee: Russell Walls (Chairman), Dale Hilpert and Robert Blanchard.

Nomination and Corporate Governance Committee: Russell Walls (Chairman), Robert Blanchard and Dale Hilpert.

In accordance with the NYSE Listing Standards, the Board has extended the responsibilities of the Nomination Committee to include the consideration and recommendation of changes to corporate governance guidelines as appropriate.

Independent directors Terms of Reference
Click here to view the independent (non-executive) directors Terms of Reference.

Officers and divisional CEOs

 

Mark Jenkins, 50, Group Company Secretary, appointed in 2004. Previously he was a director and Company Secretary at COLT Telecom Group plc and Group Company Secretary at Peek plc. He is a barrister.

 

Rob Anderson, 50, appointed Chief Executive of the Group's UK division in January 2003 having joined the Group as Chief Operating Officer of the UK division in August 2000. Prior to joining the Group Mr. Anderson had worked at Marks & Spencer Plc for 19 years, latterly as Business Unit Director.

 

Mark Light, 47, appointed Chief Executive of the Group’s US division in January 2006 having been President and Chief Operating Officer of the US division from 2002. He joined the Group in 1978.

 

No director or officer has any family relationship with any other director or officer.

Advisers

Auditor
KPMG Audit Plc,
8 Salisbury Square, London EC4Y 8BB, United Kingdom.

Financial adviser
Lazard & Co., Limited,
50 Stratton Street, London W1J 8LL, United Kingdom.

Bermuda lawyer
Conyers, Dill & Pearman,
Clarendon House, 2 Church Street, Hamilton HM11, Bermuda.

Bermuda secretary
Codan Services Limited,
Richmond House, 12 Par-la-Ville Road, Hamilton HM08, Bemuda.

UK lawyer
Herbert Smith LLP,
Exchange House,
Primrose Street, London EC2A 2HS, United Kingdom.

US lawyer
Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP,
767 fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10153, USA.

UK Transfer Agent / Depositary
Capita Registrars / Capita IRG Trustees Limited,
The Registry, 34 Beckenham Road, Beckenham, Kent BR3 4TU, United Kingdom.

Registrar
Capita Registrars (Jersey) Limited,
12 Castle Street, St Helier, Jersey JE2 3RT, Channel Islands.

US Transfer Agent / Exchange Agent
American Stock Transfer & Trust Company,
Peck Slip Station, PO Box 2050, New York, NY 10272-2050, USA.

Principal Bankers
Barclays Bank PLC,
5 The North Colonnade, Canary Wharf, London E14 4BB, United Kingdom.

HSBC Bank plc,
8 Canada Square, Canary Wharf, London E14 5HQ, United Kingdom.

Royal Bank of Scotland plc,
135 Bishopsgate, London EC2M 3UR, United Kingdom.

Fifth Third Bank,
Fifth Third Center, 600 Superior Ave East, Cleveland, OH 44114, USA.