The Greencore Group plc Board is made up as follows:
Leslie Van de Walle
Non-Executive Director & Board Chair
Leslie joined Greencore in December 2022 bringing a wealth of extensive leadership and non-executive and chair experience across multiple sectors. Leslie has a deep knowledge of the food industry having held previous positions at Danone, Cadbury Schweppes and United Biscuits, where he served as group chief executive officer.
Leslie has held multiple non-executive roles throughout his career including currently serving as the chair of the Robert Walters Group and chair of their nomination committee, having previously served as chair between 2012 and 2018.
He has held various non-executive roles and was previously chair of Euromoney Institutional Investor plc and SIG plc, as well as deputy chair and a non-executive director and chair of the nomination committee at Crest Nicholson Holdings plc, a non-executive director of HSBC UK Bank plc and senior independent director and chair of the remuneration committee of DCC plc.
Dalton Philips
Chief Executive Officer
Dalton joined Greencore on 26 September 2022.
Dalton started his career with Jardine Matheson followed by Walmart before moving into roles including chief executive of daa plc, the global airports and travel retail group, chief executive of Wm Morrison plc, then a FTSE 100 company and the UK’s fourth largest supermarket chain, chief executive of luxury goods retailer Brown Thomas Group, and chief operating officer of Canadian retailer Loblaw Companies Limited. Dalton has also previously served as a senior advisor to the Boston Consulting Group.
Dalton is currently serving as a non-executive director of IBEC CLG. Dalton has a BA from University College Dublin, an MBA from Harvard University, and an honorary Doctorate of Management from Bradford University.
Catherine Gubbins
Chief Financial Officer
Appointed as Chief Financial Officer with effect from 6 February 2024.
Catherine is an experienced CFO with a strong track record of successfully leading all finance, legal and procurement functions while at daa plc. Catherine joined Greencore from daa plc, the global airports and travel retail group, having worked there for nine years in various finance roles including as Director of Finance and since March 2021, as Group CFO.
Before moving to daa plc, Catherine spent 16 years as a Senior Manager in assurance and business advisory with PwC Ireland, working with a broad range of the firm’s most significant clients.
Linda Hickey
Non-Executive Director
Appointed as Non-Executive Director with effect from 1 February 2021.
Linda brings extensive corporate experience and knowledge to the Board having spent her executive career in stockbroking and investment banking. Linda previously worked at NCB Stockbrokers and Merrill Lynch, before serving as head of corporate broking at Goodbody Stockbrokers for 15 years.
Linda is a non-executive director of Kingspan Group plc, a global leader in insulation and building envelope solutions, where she serves as senior independent director, worker relations director, chair of the remuneration committee and a member of the nominations committee. Linda is also a non-executive director of Cairn Homes plc where she is remuneration committee chair and a member of the audit and risk committee. She is also currently acting as vice chair of Quanta Capital’s advisory board and has previously served as chair of the Irish Blood Transfusion Service.
Alastair Murray
Non-Executive Director
Appointed as Non- Executive Director with effect from 1 February 2023.
Alastair brings extensive food industry and financial experience having previously held the role of chief financial officer and director of Premier Foods plc until September 2019. Alastair is a chartered management accountant having financial, property, and IT experience across a number of listed companies including Premier Foods plc, Dairy Crest plc and The Body Shop International plc.
In addition to the above Alastair has a proven track record in corporate strategy, restructuring and M&A. Alastair is a non-executive director and chairs the audit and risk committee of McBride plc, a British-based business manufacturing own brand household goods. Alastair is also serving as an independent member of the audit and risk committee for the Department for Education in England.
Anne O’Leary
Non-Executive Director
Appointed as Non- Executive Director with effect from 1 February 2021.
Anne brings extensive experience across a variety of sectors including digital integrations, data analytics, cultural change programmes, and strategic acquisitions and partnerships. Anne previously served as chief executive officer of Vodafone Ireland for nine years before joining Meta in her current role as vice president of the mid-market business division for the EMEA region. Prior to this she acted as managing director of BT Ireland.
Anne previously served as a non-executive director of Vodacom Group Ltd. She also served as chair of Goal Global and as president of the Dublin Chamber of Commerce. Anne is currently a board member of IBEC CLG, a business and employer association for organisations based in Ireland and Ludgate, an Irish non-profit enterprise facilitating job growth via digital technology and remote working hubs, and the Economic and Social Research Institute, an Irish research institute focusing on the areas of sustainable economic growth and social progress.
Helen C Rose, FCA
Non-Executive Director
Appointed as Non- Executive Director with effect from 11 April 2018.
Helen has significant operational, financial, risk and UK retail experience and previously held senior finance roles at Dixons, Forte, Safeway and Lloyds Banking Group over a 30-year executive career.
Helen brings significant change leadership and transformation experience gained from her roles as retail integration director at Lloyds Banking Group and as chief operating officer at TSB Banking Group plc. Helen has a probing focus on cyber security, risk matters, and internal controls. She is a qualified executive coach and mentor and understands the importance of building a diverse talent pipeline. Helen has an ongoing interest in sustainability, her leadership and appetite to drive the Group’s agenda in this area has been integral to the establishment of the Sustainability Committee. Helen is non-executive director and audit committee chair designate of WH Smith plc and deputy chair of Compton Varney, where she is a member of their finance and audit committee.
Helen is a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, having trained with Coopers & Lybrand.
Hetal Shah
Non-Executive Director
Appointed as Non- Executive Director with effect from 1 April 2023.
Hetal has a strong record as a senior finance professional with significant experience gained in large, international groups and has proven leadership credentials. Hetal has held several finance roles in both publicly listed and private organisations, including a 17-year career at Cadbury plc where he held finance director roles spanning the UK, US, Asia and Africa, and where he was also responsible for leading transformational projects across supply chain, finance, IT and strategy in various locations.
Hetal is currently serving as the chief financial officer for Europe at Belron International, a portfolio company of Clayton, Dubilier & Rice. In addition to his financial experience, Hetal brings experience in corporate strategy and M&A and operational improvements.
Damien Moynagh
General Counsel & Group Company Secretary
Damien joined Greencore in November 2022 and leads our Legal and Company Secretariat functions.
Damien brings over 20 years’ experience as a corporate lawyer and senior executive across Europe, the US and Asia. Damien was responsible for the legal and corporate secretarial functions, as well as the risk, sustainability, quality and compliance functions, in his previous role as general counsel and company secretary of FTSE 250 listed UDG Healthcare plc. Prior to this, Damien acted as chief operating officer and general counsel at Sysnet Global Solutions (now Viking Cloud), a fast-growing global technology business.
Damien trained and practiced as a corporate/M&A lawyer with Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer in their London, Tokyo and New York offices before moving to Maples and Calder’s Dublin office and has extensive experience advising global clients on public and private large-scale multi-jurisdictional transactions. He has also completed executive education programmes most recently at Cambridge University (in sustainability management) and Columbia University (in leading strategic change).
