Board of directors

Chair

Andrew joined the board on 1 May 2021 as an independent non-executive director and became chair on 1 October 2021. He is also chair of the Nomination Committee.

Previously, Andrew served as chair of Severn Trent plc from 2010 until 2020 where he also chaired the Nomination Committee and was a member of the corporate responsibility and Remuneration Committees. More recently, he chaired Elementis plc and its Nomination Committee from 2014 to 2021. Andrew was a senior independent director and chair of the Remuneration Committee at Wolseley plc between 2004 and 2013. From 2003 until 2009, he served as chief executive officer of npower, leading its transformation following its demerger from National Power in 2000. Currently, Andrew is a non-executive director of UK Government Investments Ltd.

Andrew holds a BSc (Honours) degree in Mechanical Engineering and is a fellow of the Energy Institute.

Chief executive officer

Steve joined Sage in January 2014, having 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.

You can follow Steve on @SteveHare

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. He has been appointed as non-executive director to the board of Experian plc with effect from 1 May 2021.

Independent non-executive director

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 been serving 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 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. On 1 July 2024, Jonathan was appointed to the board of MONY Group plc as an 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. Maggie 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. Maggie 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, a member of the audit and strategic investment committees of the US Tennis Association.

Independent non-executive director and senior independent director

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 of NatWest Group plc and 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.

Since March 2019, Derek has been the chief financial officer at Spectris plc, and will be appointed as 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.