Board of Directors

Paul was executive chairman of Great Bear Distribution, a leading independent third-party logistics business which provides a range of warehousing, distribution and added value services to blue chip organisations. He stood down in February 2016 after having successfully sold the business to Culina to create a £400 million group.

Prior to Great Bear, he spent 13 years with Barclay Private Equity, latterly serving as MD of the UK business. In this role, he had responsibility for the UK’s investment team and shared responsibility for BPE Europe with the Heads of France and Germany. Prior to this, he held a number of senior investment and general management roles both with BPE and 3i after beginning his career with IBM as a Sales Representative.

He is a Non-Executive Director of DX (Group) plc.

Paul was appointed as a Director on 26 May 2016. He is Chairman of the Valuations Committee and a member of the Audit and Risk, Remuneration and Nominations Committees.

Neil is currently chairman of QinetiQ Group plc and senior independent director of Business Growth Fund. He was formerly chairman of Motability Operations plc, Centaur Media Plc and Synthomer plc, and CEO of the RAC. He chaired telematics company Cybit Plc through IPO and ultimate sale to a US private equity house in 2010 and was chairman of e2v plc until its takeover by Teledyne in 2016. After directing the European automotive interests of British Aerospace, he served a term as Director General of the Engineers Employers Federation and later set up a transatlantic trade and business promotion body, British-American Business, Inc. Following an early career in the Army, he began his business career with a series of roles within Lex Service Group, British Leyland, Jaguar and Land Rover. He was, until 2012, an Independent Member of the Metropolitan Policy Authority.

Neil was appointed as Non-Executive Chairman and Director of the Company on 12 May 2016. Since 1 March 2018, he has been Executive Chairman. He is also Chairman of the Nominations Committee.

Gavin joined the Company as Chief Financial Officer in August 2016. Prior to joining the Company, he was the finance director of Thomas Cook Group plc’s tour operator and hotels and resorts division. He joined Thomas Cook in 2013 from the FTSE 250 international electronic component distribution and software business, Premier Farnell PLC, where he was the finance director for five years. Before this, he worked at Merck GmbH group as the finance director for Seven Seas Ltd before becoming finance director of the Merck Consumer Healthcare division in UK and Ireland, and latterly leading the consolidation of the back-office activities of Merck’s four operating divisions across the UK and Ireland. Prior to joining Merck, Gavin trained as a chartered accountant with KPMG in Edinburgh and held finance director roles within Drambuie Group and Lees Group where he focused on the delivery of operating improvement and strategic change.

Gavin was appointed as a Director on 23 March 2017. He is a Director of a number of the Company’s portfolio companies.

Linda has extensive experience in the private equity investment and healthcare sectors. Having qualified as a Chartered Accountant with Ernst & Young, she worked in the private equity division of Mercury Asset Management from 1989 to 2001, rising to the position of Managing Director. She has served as a non-executive director (including as chairman) on the boards of a number of companies. She is currently a non-executive director of UDG Healthcare plc and BMO Commercial Property Trust Limited. She was a Non-Executive Director and latterly chair of Corin plc from 2006 to 2012 and was a non-executive director of Touchstone Innovations plc until 2017.

Linda was appointed a Director on 1 December 2016. She is Chair of the Audit and Risk and a member of the Remuneration, Nomination and Valuations Committees.

Baroness Kate Rock is Senior Independent Director of Keller Group plc and a Member of the House of Lords where she sits on the Science and Technology Select Committee, and was a director of Imagination Technologies Group PLC until November 2017. She brings significant experience in the development and application of business data, technology and skills.

Suki Thompson is Founder and Chief Executive Officer of the wellbeing and performance consultancy Let’s Reset, Chair of Xeim/Oystercatchers and a Non-Executive Director of Gateley Plc. She brings significant experience in the development and execution of marketing and digital transformation strategies across consumer sectors and has extensive experience of creating and implementing wellbeing programs.