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Key management biographies

Executive directors

George Weston(b. 1964)

George Weston is Chief Executive. He is a graduate of New College Oxford and has an MBA from Harvard Business School.

In his former roles as Managing Director of Westmill Foods, Allied Bakeries and George Weston Foods Ltd (Australia) he has been a member of the ABF board since 1999. He took up his current appointment in April 2005. He is also a non-executive director of Wittington Investments Limited and a trustee of the Garfield Weston Foundation.

Mr Weston is married with four children.

John G Bason (b. 1957)

Appointed Finance Director in May 1999, he was previously the finance director of Bunzl plc and is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.

Non-executive directors

Charles Sinclair(b. 1948)

Appointed a director on 1 October 2008 and Chairman on 21 April 2009, Charles is a non-executive director of SVG Capital plc. He was Chief Executive of Daily Mail and General Trust plc from 1989 until he retired from that role and the board on 30 September 2008.

Mr Sinclair is a member of the Nomination Committee and the Remuneration Committee.

WG Galen Weston OC(b. 1940)

A director since 1964, he is chairman and president of George Weston Limited, Canada. He is also chairman of Selfridges & Co. Limited, a non-executive director of Wittington Investments Limited and a trustee of the Garfield Weston Foundation.

Timothy Clarke ('09)(b. 1957)*

Appointed a director on 3 November 2004, he was the chief executive of Mitchells & Butlers plc, following the demerger from Six Continents PLC in 2003, until May 2009. He joined Bass PLC in 1990 having previously been a partner of Panmure Gordon & Co.

Mr Clarke is a member of the Audit Committee, the Nomination Committee,and the Remuneration Committee.

Lord Jay of Ewelme GCMG(b. 1946)*

Appointed a director on 1 November 2006, he was British Ambassador to France from 1996 to 2001 and Permanent Under Secretary at the Foreign & Commonwealth office from 2002 to 2006. He is a non-executive director of Candover Investments plc, Valeo, the French-based automobile parts company, of Credit Agricole, the French-based international banking group and of Electricité de France (EDF). He has been an independent member of the House of Lords since 2006 and is Chairman of the House of Lords Appointments Commission.

Lord Jay is a member of the Audit Committee, the Nomination Committee and the Remuneration Committee.

Javier Ferrán(b. 1956)*

Appointed a director on 1 November 2006, he spent his earlier career with Bacardi Group, his last position being president and chief executive officer. He is currently a partner at Lion Capital LLP, a London-based private equity firm.

Mr Ferrán is a member of the Nomination Committee and the Remuneration Committee.

Peter Smith(b. 1946)*

Appointed a director on 28 February 2007, he is chairman of Savills plc and Templeton Emerging Markets Investment Trust plc, and a non-executive director of N M Rothschild & Sons Limited, Templeton Emerging Markets Investment Trust plc and The Equitable Life Assurance Society. Formerly, he was senior partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), served for two years as chairman of Coopers & Lybrand International and as a member of the global leadership team of PwC and was chairman of RAC plc.

Mr Smith is Chairman of the Audit Committee and a member of the Nomination Committee and the Remuneration Committee.

* Independent non-executive director