Board of directors

Became Chairman on 23 July 2009 after joining the Board in February 2009. Formerly Chief Executive of the Office of Government Commerce, Managing Director of Marconi Electronic Systems and a member of the GEC plc board. Currently Chairman of Premier Farnell plc, GHG Limited (General Healthcare Group) and Vertex Data Science Limited; and a member of the Advisory Board of the UK Defence Academy and the Court and Council of Imperial College.
Aged 63.

Joined the Group as Chief Executive on 1 October 2009 from Reckitt Benckiser plc. Started his career with Procter & Gamble and then spent five years with Bain & Co. Joined Benckiser (later Reckitt Benckiser plc) in 1992. Subsequently held a number of senior positions, both in the UK and internationally, including Senior Vice President, Northern Europe; President, North America; Executive Vice President, North America, Australia and New Zealand; and Executive Vice President, Europe.
Aged 50.

Joined the Group in 1988 and joined the Board in December 2008 as Group Finance Director. Has held a number of senior operational and financial roles, both in the UK and internationally, including Managing Director of Zambia Sugar; Group Financial Controller; Finance Director of the Food & Industrial Ingredients, Europe division; and Director of Investor Relations. He is an Associate of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants.
Aged 45.

Joined the Board in January 2007. Formerly Finance Director of Monument Oil and Gas plc (1990-1999). Currently Chairman of the JP Morgan European Fledgeling Investment Trust PLC and the Unilever UK Pension Fund, Senior Independent Director of Jupiter Fund Management plc, and a non-executive director of Dunedin Enterprise Investment Trust PLC.
Aged 51.

Joined the Board in September 2000. A Chartered Accountant, he has held a number of senior operational and financial positions including partner of Arthur Andersen & Co; Managing Director of JP Morgan’s London offices; Director, Group Finance, Midland Bank plc; Group Finance Director, HSBC Holdings plc; and Director and Group Chief Financial Officer, National Westminster Bank Plc. Currently a non-executive director of Standard Chartered PLC.
Aged 68.

Joined the Board in December 2003. Worked for Shell for 30 years before retiring in 2003 and held a number of senior management positions in Europe and Asia Pacific culminating in Chief Executive of Shell Chemicals in 1998. Currently a non-executive director of Outokumpu OYJ, Air Products and Chemicals Inc, and SembCorp Industries Ltd.
Aged 66.

Joined the Board on 10 March 2010. A Chartered Accountant, he is currently Finance Director of IMI plc. Before joining IMI plc in 2006, he held a number of financial and operational roles, including US and European senior management positions at GlaxoSmithKline.
Aged 53.

Joined the Board on 1 May 2010. Worked for 22 years for Archer Daniels Midland Company, before retiring in 2007, and held a variety of management positions including Executive Vice President, Asia Strategy; Executive Vice President, Processing; and Senior Vice President, Global Oil Seeds, Cocoa and Wheat Milling. Based in the USA and currently serves on the boards of Chiquita Brands International Inc, Grain Storage Inc and Oasis Foods Company.
Aged 61.

Joined the Board in January 2006. He spent over 30 years with Procter & Gamble, McKinsey and finally, PepsiCo, where he was responsible for the company’s beverage operations in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. He is currently Chairman of Travis Perkins PLC, WH Smith PLC and Americana International Holdings Limited; he has also served on a number of FTSE 100/250 boards, including Wolseley, Severn Trent, BAA, Signet, and Thomson Travel.
Aged 65.

Joined the Board in May 2005. Worked for Hershey Foods Corporation for 27 years before retiring in 1997 and held a number of positions, culminating as Corporate Vice President of Science and Technology. Based in the USA and currently the Alan R. Warehime Professor of Agribusiness and Professor of Food Science and Nutrition at Penn State University, USA and also Global Chairman of the International Life Sciences Institute.
Aged 67.

A solicitor, Robert joined Tate & Lyle in 1990 as a commercial lawyer. Previously worked for City law firms Wilde Sapte and Herbert Oppenheimer. Graduated from Wadham College, Oxford in Oriental Studies (Chinese) in 1984. Appointed General Counsel in 1997 and Company Secretary in 2001.
Aged 47.