Chief executive officer
Steve joined Sage on 3 January 2014 as Chief Financial Officer. He was appointed interim Chief Operating Officer on 31 August 2018 and Chief Executive Officer on 2 November 2018. Steve also serves as an independent non-executive director on the Board of J Sainsbury plc with effect from 3 July 2025.
Steve has previously been operating partner and co-head of the Portfolio Support Group at the private equity firm Apax Partners, which he joined in 2009. Prior to this Steve built over 10 years’ experience leading the finance function for three listed UK companies, culminating as chief financial officer for FTSE 100 company Invensys plc, the global technology-related business, from 2006 to 2009. Between 2004 and 2006 he was group finance director for Spectris plc, the FTSE 250 precision instrumentation and controls company, and from 1997 to 2003 he was with Marconi PLC, acting as chief financial officer from 2001.
Steve qualified as a chartered accountant in 1985 with Ernst & Whinney, now part of EY, and holds a bachelor of commerce degree from Liverpool University.
Chief financial officer
Jonathan joined the board as an independent non-executive director on 15 May 2013 and served as chair of the Audit and Risk Committee from November 2013 until December 2018. He was subsequently appointed as our chief financial officer on 10 December 2018, having stepped down from his role as group finance director of Close Brothers Group plc which he held for 10 years. Prior to that, Jonathan held the same position at the London Stock Exchange Group plc since 1999. He has also been a non-executive director of EMAP plc and chair of FTSE International. The early part of Jonathan’s career was at PwC where he qualified as a chartered accountant. Jonathan serves as a non-executive director on the board of Experian plc with effect from 1 May 2021 and chair of the audit committee with effect from 1 July 2022.
John joined the board on 31 May 2019 and is a member of the Nomination Committee and Remuneration Committee. He is currently the chief executive officer of the SER Group Holding GmbH and director and president of SER Group Inc.
Previously John pioneered the space of streaming analytics as co-founder, president and chief technology officer of Apama (now part of Software AG). He drove the evolution of platforms for digital business, while serving as executive vice president of corporate strategy and chief technology officer at NASDAQ-listed Progress Software, head of industry solutions and chief marketing officer at Frankfurt-listed Software AG and chief executive officer of Terracotta, Inc. (a subsidiary of Software AG). As chief executive officer at Plat.One (acquired by SAP in 2016) he drove the commercial development of platforms to support internet of things applications. John was also chief executive officer of the Eggplant Group, part of Keysight Technologies Inc., which specialises in AI-powered software test automation.
John holds a doctorate in computer science from Cambridge University and is the author of the book "Thingalytics: Smart Big Data Analytics for the Internet of Things”.
Independent non-executive director
Jonathan Bewes was appointed to the board on 1 April 2019 and is chair of the Audit and Risk Committee and a member of the Nomination Committee. Since October 2016, Jonathan has served on the board of Next plc, and was appointed chair of the audit committee in May 2017 and senior independent director in May 2021. He is also a member of the remuneration committee and nomination committee. Jonathan was appointed non-executive director and chair of the audit and risk committee of the Court of the Bank of England on 1 October 2023. Jonathan was appointed as chair of MONY Group plc on 1 January 2025, having joined the MONY Group plc board on 1 July 2024 as independent non-executive director and chair designate.
Jonathan qualified as a chartered accountant with KPMG and spent 25 years in investment banking, with Robert Fleming, UBS and Bank of America Merrill Lynch and was vice-chairman, corporate and institutional banking at Standard Chartered Bank between April 2017 and March 2023. As a senior banker, he provided advice to the boards of many UK and overseas companies on a wide range of financial, strategic and governance issues. Jonathan is a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales.
Independent non-executive director
Maggie joined the Board on 1 December 2022. Maggie has deep international marketing and brand experience gained from her time spent at some of the world’s largest technology companies. She was SAP's first woman chief marketing officer, responsible for driving the software provider's global marketing effort across more than 180 countries. In this role, she led SAP’s brand transformation effort, which led to the company being recognised as one of the world’s most valuable brands.
Maggie is recognised as an industry thought-leader in the marketing and technology sector and was previously named as one of the 'Most Influential CMOs' in the world by Forbes. She is the founder and former CEO of Tenshey, a tech-enabled executive coaching company that helps women advance into leadership roles and the boardroom. Maggie was previously a non-executive director of Avast plc and is currently a non-executive board advisor to Ontinue. She was appointed as non-executive director and member of the nomination and responsible business committees of BT Group plc in March 2023. In January 2023, she was appointed director at large and, more recently, vice president, Chair of the Compensation Committee and a member of the Budget Committee and Strategic Investment Committee of the US Tennis Association.
Annette Court was appointed to the board on 1 April 2019 and is a member of the Remuneration Committee, the Audit and Risk Committee and Nomination Committee. She was appointed as chair of WH Smith PLC on 1 December 2022, having joined the WH Smith PLC board on 1 September 2022 as non-executive director and chair designate. Annette is also director of Admiral Europe Compañía de Seguros.
Previously, Annette was a board member of Admiral Group from 2012, becoming chair in 2017 until April 2023. Between 2013 and 2017, Annette was a non-executive director of Foxtons Group plc. Her other prior roles include chief executive officer of the Direct Line Group (formerly known as RBS Insurance) and Europe General Insurance for Zurich Financial Services, senior independent director of Jardine Lloyd Thompson Group and a member on the board of the Association of British Insurers (ABI).
Independent non-executive director
Roisin joined the board on 3 February 2023 and is chair of the Remuneration Committee. Roisin brings extensive customer, marketing and branding experience to the board, gained during her long executive career at Procter & Gamble. She has a strong background in digital transformation and data, and significant knowledge and experience of developing ESG strategies at board level.
Roisin also brings practical board and committee experience to the role, having previously served as a non-executive director of Just Eat plc, HomeServe Limited and of two privately owned businesses: Holland and Barrett Limited and Bourne Leisure Limited. Roisin is currently a non-executive director and member of the Group Performance and Remuneration Committee and Group Sustainable Banking Committee of NatWest Group plc, a non-executive director and member of the Nomination Committee and Audit Committee of Premier Foods plc, and on the Board of Trustees of the British Heart Foundation.
Independent non-executive director
Derek Harding was appointed to the board on 2 March 2021 and is a member of the Audit and Risk Committee.
Derek served on the board of Spectris plc as chief financial officer since March 2019, and became president of Spectris Scientific on 1 September 2024. He has held several senior financial leadership roles during his career, including chief financial officer at Senior plc, group finance director at Shop Direct and finance director of Wolseley UK. He also has broad experience across a range of commercially focused financial and operational roles, including strategy, investor relations, and mergers and acquisitions. Derek qualified as a chartered accountant with PwC.
Independent non-executive director
Lori Mitchell-Keller was appointed to the Board on 7 February 2025. Lori is a board member and member of the audit committee and compensation committee of XTANT Medical Holdings Inc, a NYSE listed company. Lori also serves as a board member of Mitratech Holdings Inc, and as a non-executive director of OneStock. She holds an MBA from the J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University, a Master's degree in operations research from Stanford University, and a Bachelor's degree in industrial engineering from Iowa State University.
Lori is a global technology leader and strategic advisor who has over 30 years of experience of scaling, differentiating, and advancing businesses through technology transformation. She has held a number of global executive leadership roles at Google Cloud, SAP, JDA Software, Manugistics Software, and Allegiance Healthcare, and has built a strong track record of spearheading industry focussed product solutions and growth strategies.
