The Board of Directors
The Company and the Group are committed to high standards of corporate governance and the Board is accountable to the Company’s shareholders for good corporate governance.
The Board currently comprises the non-executive Chairman, the Chief Executive, four other executive directors and five other independent non-executive directors. The roles of the Chairman and the Chief Executive are quite distinct from one another and are clearly defined in written terms of reference for each role adopted by the Board and available by clicking on the link in the documents table below. The Board meets formally not less than six times a year, reviewing trading performance, ensuring adequate funding, setting and monitoring strategy, examining major acquisition opportunities and reviewing regular reports to shareholders.
Paul Walker, Chief Executive Paul joined Sage as company accountant in 1984 having previously trained as a chartered accountant with Arthur Young. He was appointed Finance Director in 1987 and became Chief Executive in 1994. In May 2002, Paul was appointed to the Board of Diageo plc as a non-executive director.
Paul Harrison, Group Finance Director
A chartered accountant, Paul moved from Price Waterhouse where he was a senior manager responsible for the provision of audit and advisory services to larger private and public companies, to become Group Financial Controller of Sage in 1997. He joined the Board as Group Finance Director in April 2000. In May 2007, Paul was appointed to the Board of Hays plc as a non-executive Director.
Paul Stobart, Regional CEO, UK & Ireland
After qualifying as a chartered accountant with Price Waterhouse, Paul spent five years in corporate finance with Hill Samuel before joining Interbrand, an international marketing services consultancy, in 1988. He joined Sage in 1996 as Business Development Director becoming Managing Director of UK and Ireland in June 2003. In July 2003, Paul was appointed to the Board of Capital & Regional plc as a non-executive director.
Guy Berruyer, Regional CEO, Mainland Europe & Asia
Guy was a director of Bull and Claris before joining Intuit as Country Manager and then European Director. He joined Sage in 1997 to run its French business and was appointed to the Board in January 2000. As well as Mainland Europe, Guy is also responsible for our operations in Asia.
David Clayton, Group Strategy & Mergers and Acquisitions Director
After a career in senior executive roles at a number of international technology companies, David joined BZW in 1995 where, after its merger with CSFB in 1997, he was Managing Director and Head of European Technology Research until 2004 He previously joined the Sage Board in June 2004 as a Non -Executive Director before taking up his current executive role in October 2007.
Tim Ingram, Senior Independent Non-Executive Director
Tim is Chief Executive of Caledonia Investments plc. He was formerly Managing Director of Business to Business Banking at Abbey National plc. He is a non-executive director of Savills plc, ANZ Bank(Europe) Ltd and Collins Stewart plc and was appointed to the Group Board in March 2002, becoming Senior Independent Director in July 2007.
Tony Hobson, Chairman and Non-Executive Director
Tony is the Chairman of Northern Foods plc and a non-executive director of Glas Cymru (Welsh Water) and esure. He is also Chairman of the Trustees of Changing Faces, the leading UK disfigurement charity. He is a Chartered Accountant and an MBA and was previously Group Finance Director of Legal & General Group plc for 14 years retiring in 2001. He joined the Board in June, 2004 and became Chairman in May, 2007.
Tamara Ingram, Independent Non-Executive Director
Tamara, who joined the Board in December 2004, is responsible for WPP plc's Procter & Gamble business worldwide. She is also Executive Vice President, Executive Managing Director of Grey Global, Chairman of Visit London and sits on the development board for the Almeida Theatre.
Ruth Markland, Independent Non-Executive Director
Ruth is a non-executive director of Standard Chartered plc and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of WRVS. She was formerly Managing Partner Asia for the international law firm, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and was appointed to the Group Board in September 2006.
Ian Mason, Independent Non-Executive Director
Ian joined the Board in November 2007. After working with McKinsey & Co. and The Boston Consulting Group, he joined Electrocomponents Plc in 1995 as Director of Business Development, becoming Group Chief Executive in July 2001. He holds an MBA from INSEAD.
Mark Rolfe, Independent Non-Executive Director
Mark joined the Board in December 2007. After qualifying as a chartered accountant with Coopers and Lybrand, Mark joined Gallaher Group plc in 1986, where he was Finance Director for seven years retiring in 2007. He is also a Non-executive Director of Hornby plc and Barratt Developments Plc and Chairman of Lane, Clark and Peacock LLP.
| Date | Document |
|---|---|
| 30th June 2008 | Matters Reserved for the Board (adopted June 2008) |
| 11th June 2008 | Terms of Reference for the Executive Commitee |
| 23rd November 2006 | Role of the Chairman and Chief Executive |