Biographies

Appointed: May 2012

Independent: Yes

Skills and experience: Dame Helen Alexander was appointed as Chairman of the Board at the 2012 AGM. She began her publishing career at Gerald Duckworth and Faber & Faber, moving to The Economist in 1985 as Marketing Manager. She became Managing Director of The Economist Intelligence Unit in 1993 and in  1997 became Chief Executive of The Economist Group. Dame Helen was Chief Executive for 11 years until  she stepped down in June 2008. In addition to her experience at the helm of an international business,Dame Helen also has extensive board experience across a range of sectors. She was a non-executive director at Northern Foods plc from 1994 to 2002, at BT plc from 1998 to 2002 and at Centrica plc from 2003 to 2011. Helen was President of the confederation of British Industry (CBI) until June 2011 and continues as Deputy President until June 2012. She was awarded a CBE for services to publishing in 2004 and in June 2011 was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the Queen's Birthday Honours List for her services to business and for being President of the CBI. She is involved in other not-for-profit organizations in education, media, the internet and the arts and has an MBA from INSEAD.

Committee Membership: Chairman of the Nomination Committee. Member of the Remuneration Committee

External appointments: Chairman of the Port of London Authority, non-executive director at Rolls-Royce Group plc, Senior Adviser to Bain Capital, Chancellor of the University of Southampton and Honorary Fellow of Hertford College, Oxford.

Appointed: April 2005

Skills and experience: David has been involved in the information, technology and media sectors since 1994, holding senior positions at the international business publishing group Euromoney Institutional Investor PLC, as Group COO, Group CFO, and as President of Institutional Investor magazine group in New York. Between February 1999 to April 2002 he was CEO of Psion plc, the handheld computing company, and between April 2002 and April 2005 he was CEO of Symbian, a mobile phone software licensing company. Prior to that David also worked for the private equity group Apax Partners, based in the UK, as MD of a number of engineering companies, and with the consultancy firm Bain and Company, mostly in Asia and the USA.

Committee membership: None

External appointments: Trustee, Leader’s Quest Foundation (UK)

Appointed: September 2009

Skills and experience: Robert joined UBM’s Board as Chief Financial Officer in September 2009 from Codere S.A. in Spain where he was Chief Financial Officer from February 2004. He has over 30 years’ experience in finance and banking. He began his career at J.P. Morgan and subsequently worked at Deutsche Bank where he served in a number of senior positions, including Managing Director, Latin American Investment Banking. Robert has extensive experience in mergers and acquisitions, capital-raising across a broad range of markets, industries and geographies, building businesses in international markets, notably in Latin America, and in transforming corporate financial functions to support growth and access to capital markets.

Committee membership: None

External appointments: Advisory Board Member, Codere S.A. (Spain)

Appointed: April 2008
Independent: Yes

Skills and experience: Alan has extensive experience in both the private and the public sector, with a background in investment banking and financial services. He spent ten years at Citibank, followed by 13 years at Goldman Sachs as a partner, with responsibility for corporate finance and mergers and acquisitions in the UK and Ireland. He jointly led the firm’s financial services practice in Europe and in 1996 established Goldman Sachs’ presence in South Africa. Alan has worked in the UK, USA, Europe and South Africa. From 2001 to 2008 he was Chairman of The Ulster Bank Group. He is currently the Senior Independent Director at Old Mutual plc. Within the public sector, Alan is Chairman of the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), and Chairman of the International Finance Facility for Immunization (IFFIm), an intergovernmental organisation established to fund vaccination programs for children in many of the world’s poorest countries. He has been Chief Executive of the Commonwealth Development Corporation and the Chair of The Northern Ireland Industrial Development Board.

Committee membership: Member of the Audit Committee. Member of the Nomination Committee.

External appointments: Chairman of the Economic and Social Research Council (UK). Chairman of the International Finance Facility for Immunization (UK).  Senior Independent Director of Old Mutual plc (UK).

Appointed: August 2006
Independent: Yes

Skills and experience: Pradeep has extensive experience in Information Technology and internet services, particularly in India. He is the Founder, Chairman and Managing Director of Microland, India’s leading provider of outsourced IT infrastructure management services. A serial entrepreneur, Pradeep Kar founded Planetasia.com (India’s leading internet professional services company), Indya.com (India’s leading portal, acquired by News Corporation) and Net Brahma (a telecom software company). Pradeep’s deep understanding of the Asian market is crucial to the Board’s strategy in Emerging Markets.

Committee membership: Member of the Remuneration Committee.

External appointments: Founder, Chairman and Managing Director of Microland Limited (India). Advisory Board Member of Leaders’ Quest (UK). Board Member of Trinity College Dublin’s South Asia Initiative (Ireland). Board Member of Telstra Telecommunications Pvt Limited (India).

Appointed: February 2010
Independent: Yes

Skills and experience: Greg has more than 38 years’ experience in the technology, software and computer services industry. In a 30-year career at IBM Greg held a wide range of senior roles including a member of IBM’s Worldwide Management Council and Governor of the IBM Academy of Technology. As Global General Manager, Industrial sector, he had worldwide responsibility for IBM’s business with companies in the Automotive, Aerospace, Electronics, Chemical, Petroleum and other manufacturing industries. During his career at IBM he lived and worked in the United States, France, Germany and the UK. Greg is Chairman of Computacenter plc, the IT services business, and Chairman of Kofax plc, the leading provider of document-driven business process automation solutions. He also spent four years as Chairman of technology company SurfControl Plc.

Committee membership: Member of the Audit Committee. Chairman of the Remuneration Committee.

External appointments: Chairman of Computacenter plc (UK). Chairman of Kofax plc (UK).

Appointed: September 2009
Independent: Yes

 
Skills and experience:
Terry spent over 30 years working at Accenture/ Andersen Worldwide, between 1970 and 2001 and has vast experience of working on large-scale design and delivery projects, and managing change in a global business. Working in London, Dublin and Chicago, he was the worldwide Managing Partner of Andersen/Accenture’s Change Management Practice and a senior partner in Accenture until August 2001, when he was part of the team that successfully developed and executed the strategy for transforming Accenture into a public company. Terry was also Chairman of Andersen Worldwide from 1996 to 2000. Between 2004 and 2010 Terry was a non-executive director of Bank of Ireland Group and a non-executive director of CRH plc.

Committee membership: Member of the Audit Committee. Member of the Nomination Committee.

External appointments: Chairman of the Camerata Ireland Orchestra (Ireland). Governor of the London Business School and Finance Committee Chairman (UK). Member Trinity College Dublin Foundation Board and Chair of Humanities Advisory Board.

Appointed: September 2001
Independent: Yes

 
Skills and experience: Jonathan has wide ranging experience of the publishing and data industries. He was Chairman and CEO of Simon & Schuster, one of the world’s largest book publishers and providers of educational and training materials, from 1994 until 2002, having been President and Chief Operating Officer from 1991. Prior to joining Simon & Schuster, Jonathan was president of the McGraw-Hill financial information group, where he was responsible for Standard & Poor’s and Data Resources. From 2002 to 2004 he was a principal with Leeds Equity Partners, a New York-based private equity firm that invests primarily in information, education and training businesses, and in 2006 and 2007 he was President and CEO of Cambium Learning, an educational services provider. Jonathan is currently the Chairman of Swets, one of the world’s leading information services company for academic, corporate, government and medical institutions, and managing director of the New York-based investment firm Coady Diemar.

Committee membership: Chairman of the Audit Committee. Member of the Nomination Committee.

External appointments: Managing Director of Coady Diemar (US). Board member of Journal Communications (US). Chairman of Swets (The Netherlands). Board member of the Columbia Graduate School of Business (US).

Appointed: August 2006
Independent: Yes

Skills and experience: Karen brings to the Board a wealth of experience of the online world. She launched AOL in the UK in 1995 and served as CEO of AOL UK from 1999 to 2006 and President of AOL Europe in 2006, developing both the telecoms and advertising lines of business. As Online Business Director of Vodafone UK, between April 2007 and June 2008, Karen was responsible for developing Vodafone UK’s Internet operations and fixed line telecoms business. She has a particular interest in developing female talent in organisations and the building of strong organisational cultures. Since 2009 she has been an active investor in early stage Internet-focused businesses such as MT Mobility Ltd and Return to Glory, addressing the mobility and beauty/health industries respectively.

Committee membership: Member of the Audit Committee. Member of the Nomination Committee.

External appointments: Chairman of Outplay Entertainment Ltd (UK). Director of The Senior Clothing Company Ltd (UK).