Board of Directors

Dr Gerry Murphy was appointed as Chairman of the Board on 12 July 2018 having joined the Board as Chairman designate on 17 May 2018. He is also Chairman of the Nomination Committee. Gerry has been Chairman of Tate & Lyle plc since April 2017 and Chairman of The Blackstone Group International Partners LLP, Blackstone's principal European entity, since 2008. Prior to joining Blackstone as a senior managing director in its private equity group, Gerry served as CEO of several UK-listed companies including Kingfisher plc from 2003 to 2008, Carlton Communications plc (now ITV) from 2000 to 2003, Exel plc from 1995 to 2000 and Greencore Group plc from 1991 to 1995. He has also previously been a non-executive director of Intertrust N.V., British American Tobacco plc, Merlin Entertainments plc, Reckitt Benckiser plc, Abbey National plc and Novar plc.

Marco Gobbetti became Chief Executive Officer on 5 July 2017. Marco joined Burberry from French luxury brand Céline where he was Chairman and CEO from 2008 to 2016. Prior to this, he served as Chairman and CEO of Givenchy and CEO of Moschino. He has also worked at Bottega Veneta and Valextra.

Julie Brown became Chief Operating and Financial Officer on 18 January 2017. Julie was Chief Financial Officer of Smith & Nephew from 2013 to 2017. Prior to this Julie was with ICI and AstraZeneca plc from 1987, where she held the positions of Interim Group CFO, Vice President Group Finance, VP Corporate Strategy and Regional Vice President Latin America. She is also a Non Executive Director and Audit Committee Chair of Roche Holding Ltd.

Fabiola Arredondo was appointed as a non-executive director in March 2015. Fabiola is currently the Managing Partner of Siempre Holdings, a private investment firm based in the US. She is also a non-executive director of Campbell Soup Company, National Public Radio (NPR), and a National Council Member of the World Wildlife Fund and Member of the Council on Foreign Relations. Prior to Siempre Holdings, Fabiola held senior operating roles at Yahoo! Inc., the BBC and Bertelsmann AG. She has also previously served as a non-executive director of Rodale Inc., Experian plc, Saks Incorporated, Intelsat Inc., BOC Group plc, Bankinter S.A., Sesame Workshop and the World Wildlife Fund UK and US.

Committee Membership:

Nomination Committee

Remuneration Committee

Ian Carter was appointed as a non-executive director in April 2007. Ian is President of Hilton Global Development and Chairman of Del Frisco’s Restaurant Group, Inc. Previously, he was CEO of Hilton International Company and Executive Vice President of Hilton Hotels Corporation. He was a director of Hilton Group plc until the acquisition of Hilton International by Hilton Hotels Corporation in February 2006. Ian previously served as an Officer and President of Black & Decker Corporation. 

Committee Membership:

Audit Committee

Nomination Committee

Jeremy Darroch was appointed as a non-executive director in February 2014 and is also the Senior Independent Director. He is CEO of Sky plc, a position he has held since 2007, having joined the company as CFO in 2004. Prior to Sky, Jeremy was Group Finance Director of DSG International plc (formerly Dixons Group plc) and spent 12 years at Procter & Gamble in a variety of roles in the UK and Europe. Jeremy also previously served as a non-executive director and Chairman of the Audit Committee of Marks and Spencer Group plc.

Committee Membership:

Audit Committee

Nomination Committee

Ron Frasch was appointed as a non-executive director in September 2017. Ron is currently CEO of Ron Frasch Associates LLC, an Operating Partner of Castanea Partners Inc., and is also a non-executive director of Crocs Inc. Ron previously held positions of President and Chief Merchandising Officer, and Vice Chairman of Saks Fifth Avenue Inc., between 2004 and 2013, and was Chief Executive of Bergdorf Goodman Inc., between 2000 and 2004.

Committee Membership: 

Remuneration Committee

Nomination Committee

Audit Committee

Stephanie George was appointed as a non-executive director in March 2006. She is an adviser to Penske Media Corporation and was recently Vice Chairman of Fairchild Fashion Media Inc. (parent of Women’s Wear Daily). Stephanie also sits on the Board of Lincoln Center. Previously, she was Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer at Time Inc., and spent 12 years at Fairchild Publications.

Committee Membership:

Nomination Committee

Remuneration Committee

Matthew Key was appointed as a non-executive director in September 2013 and is Chairman of the Audit Committee since Februaury 2019. Matthew was a non-executive director of OSN (a leading pay TV operator across the Middle East) between 2015 and 2018 and a member of the advisory board of Samsung Europe between 2015 and 2017. Previously, Matthew was Chairman and CEO of Telefónica Digital, the global innovation arm of Telefónica. He also previously served as Chairman and CEO of Telefónica Europe plc (formerly O2 plc), CEO and CFO of O2 UK and CFO for Vodafone UK. Prior to this, he held various financial positions at Kingfisher plc, CocaCola & Schweppes Beverages Limited and Grand Metropolitan Plc. Matthew has been Chairman of the Dallaglio Foundation, which is a charity focused on disengaged youth, since 2014.

Committee Membership:

Audit Committee (Chairman)

Nomination Committee

Remuneration Committee

Dame Carolyn McCall was appointed as a non-executive director in September 2014. Carolyn is Chief Executive of ITV plc, a position she has held since January 2018. Prior to ITV, she was Chief Executive of easyJet plc and held a number of roles at Guardian Media Group plc, including Chief Executive from 2006 to 2010. She has also previously served as a non-executive director of Lloyds TSB, Tesco PLC and New Look plc. Carolyn was awarded the OBE for services to women in business in June 2008, and a Damehood for services to the aviation industry in January 2016. 

Committee Membership:

Audit Committee

Nomination Committee

Orna NiChionna was appointed as a non-executive director in January 2018 and is Chair of the Remuneration Committee. Orna is currently Senior Independent Director at Saga plc and Royal Mail plc, where she also chairs the Remuneration Committee, as well as Deputy Chairman at the National Trust. She is also Chair of Client Service at Eden McCallum. Orna has previously served on the Boards of Bupa, HMV, Northern Foods and Bank of Ireland UK, and has been advisor to Apax Partners LLP. She spent 18 years at McKinsey & Company, where she co-led their European Retail Practice.

Committee membership:

Remuneration Committee (Chair)

Nomination Committee