Board of Directors

Nicholas Wrigley

Chairman (61)

Nicholas was appointed to the Board on 1 February 2006 and as Chairman of the Board on 21 April 2011. He is Chairman of the Nomination Committee and a member of the Remuneration Committee.

Nicholas Wrigley is an Executive Vice Chairman of Rothschild London. He has over 30 years’ mergers and acquisitions experience at Rothschild and is a qualified accountant. He was also Senior Steward of the Jockey Club from 2009 to 2014.

Nicholas’ leadership style encourages open and honest debate in the spirit of constructive challenge, which enables effective decision making by the Board in all areas of strategy, responsibility and governance.

Jeff Fairburn

Group Chief Executive (50)

Jeff was appointed to the Board on 1 June 2009 and as Group Chief Executive on 18 April 2013. He is the Chairman of the Risk Committee.

Jeff Fairburn joined the Group in 1989 and became North East Managing Director in 2000. He was promoted to North Division Chief Executive in 2006 and subsequently to Group Managing Director in 2012.

Jeff has 32 years’ experience in the construction industry, 28 of which have been in the housebuilding sector. He has an in depth knowledge of Persimmon having started as a quantity surveyor in our Yorkshire business. This, together with his progressive style and strong leadership skills, enables him to effectively direct and manage the delivery of our strategy.

Mike Killoran ACA

Group Finance Director (55)

Mike was appointed to the Board on 4 January 1999 and took over his present role in April that year. Mike is a member of the Risk Committee.

Mike Killoran joined the Company in 1996. A chartered accountant by profession, Mike worked in manufacturing, distribution and retail sectors before joining the Group.

Mike has extensive financial and operational skills and over 20 years’ experience and knowledge of both the industry and our business. These skills enable Mike to make a strong contribution to strategy development.

Dave Jenkinson

Group Managing Director (49)

Dave was appointed to the Board on 13 December 2013 and is a member of the Risk Committee.

Dave Jenkinson joined the Group in 1997. He was appointed Managing Director of the North East operating business in 2005 and was promoted to Regional Managing Director in 2007 and to North Division Chief Executive in January 2013. He was promoted to Group Managing Director on 7 January 2016.

Dave has extensive experience of the housebuilding industry. He has an in-depth knowledge of Persimmon, having worked for the Group for almost 20 years. He has particular strengths in land buying and development and is a qualified town planner.

Jonathan Davie

Senior Independent Director (70)

Jonathan was appointed to the Board on 1 January 2010. He is Chairman of the Remuneration Committee and a member of the Audit and Nomination Committees.

Jonathan Davie, a chartered accountant, is Non-Executive Chairman of First Avenue Partners LLP. He is also a Non-Executive Director of investment trusts Hansa Trust Plc and Gabelli Value Plus+ Trust PLC. Jonathan’s previous roles include Non-Executive Chairman of IG Group Holdings Plc, Vice Chairman of Credit Suisse, CEO of BZW Global Equities and Non-Executive Director of Credit Suisse UK Private Bank.

Jonathan’s experience has given him sound judgement and the ability to constructively challenge the Executive Directors. He has extensive experience of the financial markets and capital raising.

Marion Sears

Non-Executive Director (54)

Marion was appointed to the Board on 8 January 2013 and is Chairman of the Corporate Responsibility Committee and a member of the Audit, Nomination and Remuneration Committees.

Marion Sears is a Non-Executive Director of Dunelm Group Plc and of investment company WA Capital Limited. She is also a Non-Executive Director of investment trusts Fidelity European Values Plc and Aberdeen New Dawn Investment Trust PLC. Marion previously held executive positions at Glaxo, UBS, Baring Brothers and JP Morgan.

Marion has extensive retail industry knowledge and customer understanding together with an all-round view of the consumer markets. Her banking skills, financial background and current involvement in the investment industry enable her to provide sound advice and judgement on the implementation of the Company’s strategy.

Rachel Kentleton

Non-Executive Director (48)

Rachel was appointed to the Board on 24 June 2015 and is Chairman of the Audit Committee and a member of the Risk and Nomination Committees.

Rachel Kentleton, a qualified accountant, is the Finance Director at PayPoint plc. Prior to joining PayPoint in January 2017 Rachel was Group Director, Strategy & Implementation at EasyJet. She has previously held investor relations and finance roles at Unilever, Natwest, Diageo and SABMiller.

Rachel’s strategic, investor relations and financial experience adds to the balance of skills and experience of our Non-Executive Directors and greatly benefits the implementation of the Company’s strategy and the development of the business.

Nigel Mills

Non-Executive Director (61)

Nigel was appointed to the Board on 4 April 2016 and is a member of the Nomination and Remuneration Committees.

Nigel Mills is a Senior Advisor at Citigroup Global Markets and was previously Chairman of Corporate Broking at Citi between 2005-2015 and Chief Executive at Hoare Govett between 1995-2005. He has extensive experience in advising some of the UK’s largest companies.

Nigel has sound commercial judgement drawing on a 30 year career advising quoted companies. He has broad experience of financial markets, shareholder attitudes, corporate governance and compliance which enable him to provide sound advice to the Board.

Simon Litherland

Non-Executive Director (52)

Simon was appointed to the Board on 3 April 2017 and is a member of the Audit, Nomination and Remuneration Committees.

Simon Litherland is the Chief Executive of Britvic plc. He is a qualified accountant and has over 25 years’ experience in finance and leadership roles within the drinks manufacturing and distribution sector. Prior to joining Britvic in 2011 Simon worked for global drinks manufacturer Diageo plc, spending 20 years running several of the company’s international business units, ultimately becoming Managing Director of Diageo Great Britain.

Simon is an accomplished Executive with proven finance, leadership and business skills in a consumer facing industry. His strong understanding of branding and customer propositions adds to the skillset of the Board and will prove invaluable to the development and implementation of the Company’s strategy.