Board of Directors
Board of Directors of Standard Life plc
Gerry Grimstone
Chairman, Age 60
Appointed Chairman in May 2007, having been Deputy Chairman since March 2006. He became a director of The Standard Life Assurance Company in July 2003. He is also Chairman of Candover Investments plc and was appointed as one of the UK’s Business Ambassadors by the Prime Minister in January 2009. Gerry held senior positions within the Department of Health and Social Security and HM Treasury until 1986. He then spent 13 years with Schroders in London, Hong Kong and New York, and was Vice Chairman of Schroders’ worldwide investment banking activities from 1998 to 1999.
David Nish
Chief Executive, Age 49
Appointed Chief Executive in January 2010, having been Group Finance Director since November 2006 when he was appointed a Director. David is also a non-executive director of Northern Foods plc. He was previously a partner with Price Waterhouse, and then Group Finance Director and Executive Director, Infrastructure Division at Scottish Power plc.
Kent Atkinson
Non-executive Director, Age 64
Appointed Director in March 2006, having been a director of The Standard Life Assurance Company since January 2005. He is also Senior Independent Director and Chairman of the Audit Committee of Coca-Cola HBC S.A., a non-executive director and Chairman of the Audit Committee of Northern Rock plc, and a non-executive director of Gemalto N.V. and Millicom International Cellular S.A. From 1994 to 2002, Kent was Group Finance Director at Lloyds TSB Bank plc and then a non-executive director until 2003.
Lord Blackwell
Non-executive Director, Age 57
Appointed Director in March 2006, having been a director of The Standard Life Assurance Company since June 2003. He is the Company’s Senior Independent Director and Chairman of Standard Life Assurance Limited. Lord Blackwell is also Chairman of Interserve plc, Senior Independent Director of SEGRO plc, a board member of the Office of Fair Trading, a non-executive director of the Centre for Policy Studies and an active member of the House of Lords. From 1995 to 1997, he was Head of the Prime Minister’s Policy Unit and, subsequently, was Director of Group Development at National Westminster Bank until 2000.
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Colin Buchan
Non-executive Director, Age 55
Appointed Director in January 2008, he is Chairman of Standard Life Investments Limited. Colin is also a non-executive director of The Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc and Blackrock World Mining Trust plc. He was formerly Global Head of Equities at UBS Warburg and a member of the group management board of UBS AG.
Crawford Gillies
Non-executive Director, Age 53
Appointed Director in January 2007. He is also Chairman of Scottish Enterprise and Control Risks Group Holdings Limited. Crawford spent 22 years with Bain & Company Inc, the international management consultants, and was retained by them as a special adviser until early 2009. He was an independent member of the DTI's Management Board and Strategy Board from 2002 to 2007, and chaired the DTI's Audit and Risk Committee from 2003 to 2007.
David Grigson
Non-executive Director, Age 55
Appointed Director in November 2009. He is also a non-executive director and Chairman of the Audit Committee of The Carphone Warehouse Group PLC. David has spent much of his career in senior financial executive positions, firstly with EMAP where he served as Group Finance Director from 1989 to 2000, and more recently with Reuters Group plc, where he was Chief Financial Officer from 2000 to 2008 when Reuters Group became Thomson Reuters Group Limited.
Baroness McDonagh
Non-executive Director, Age 48
Appointed Director in March 2007. She is also a non-executive director of TBI plc and Care Capital Group plc. Margaret is a business consultant, having previously been General Manager of Express Newspapers and she was appointed a Life Peer in 2004. From 1998 to 2001, she was both the first female and the youngest General Secretary of the Labour Party.
Keith Skeoch
Executive Director, Age 53
Appointed Director in May 2006, having been a director of The Standard Life Assurance Company since March 2006. He is Chief Executive of Standard Life Investments Limited. Keith joined Standard Life Investments Limited in 1999 after nearly 20 years’ investment experience at James Capel & Co. Limited in a number of roles, including Chief Economist and Managing Director International Equities. He is also a director of the Investment Management Association, director and Chairman of the Investment Committee of the Association of British Insurers, and a member of the Advisory Board of Reform Scotland.
Sheelagh Whittaker
Non-executive Director, age 62
Appointed Director in September 2009. She is also a non-executive director of Imperial Oil Limited in Canada, where she chairs the corporate governance and nominations committee. Sheelagh held various senior executive positions with Electronic Data Systems from 1993 to her retirement in 2005. Prior to this, she was Vice President, Planning and Corporate Affairs at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and then President and CEO of Canadian Satellite Communications Inc.
