SJP Directors
Executive Directors
Caroline Waddington
Date of appointment: September 2024
Experience, skills and contribution to the Board:
Caroline is currently serving as Chief Financial Officer of St. James’s Place Plc, where she brings a strong track record of leadership, financial literacy and technical skill to both the Group and Board setting. Caroline has extensive experience in senior regulated roles across the financial services and banking industry. Most recently she was chief financial officer for UBS Group’s UK Credit Suisse entities, as well as chief operating officer for Credit Suisse International. Caroline began her career at Coopers & Lybrand and subsequently held various senior finance roles at Barclays Capital, RBS and Deutsche Bank before becoming chief financial officer for UK and EMEA at Credit Suisse. Caroline is a chartered accountant. Her deep experience in senior regulated roles across the financial services and banking industry enable her to contribute to the Board and successfully operate as a chief financial officer in a complex Group setting.
External appointments
- Trustee and member of the Board and the Finance & Audit Committee, St Giles Trust.
Non-executive Directors
John Hitchins
Date of appointment: November 2021. Chair of the Group Audit Committee. Member of the Group Risk Committee and Group Nomination and Governance Committee.
Experience, skills and contribution to the Board:
John has extensive experience of the financial services industry gained through his career as a senior audit partner and his non-executive directorships. John spent 38 years with PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, specialising in financial services auditing and advisory services, before retiring in 2014. Since retiring from PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, he has undertaken a number of non-executive director roles with financial services companies alongside a role as a senior adviser to the Financial Reporting Council. John’s understanding of the complexity of financial reporting in the financial services sector, combined with his extensive experience of governance acquired through his positions as an external auditor and as a non-executive director, underpin the value he delivers not only to the Board, but also to the Audit, Risk and Nomination & Governance Committees.
External appointments
- None
Paul Manduca
Date of appointment: Chair May 2021. Non-executive Director January 2021. Chair of the Nomination and Governance Committee.
Experience, skills and contribution to the Board:
Paul has been chair of Prudential plc, Aon UK Limited, JP Morgan European Diversity Trust plc (formerly the JP Morgan European Smaller Companies Investment Trust plc), Templeton Emerging Markets Investment Trust plc, W.A.G Payment Solutions plc, Bridgewell Group plc and Henderson Diversified Income Limited. He was the senior independent director of Wm Morrison Supermarkets Plc and a non-executive director of KazMunaiGas Exploration & Production. He served as founding chief executive officer of Threadneedle Asset Management, director of Eagle Star and Allied Dunbar, chief executive officer, Europe of Deutsche Asset Management, global chief executive officer of Rothschild Asset Management, and director of Henderson Small Companies Investment Trust plc. Paul’s extensive experience in leadership roles and comprehensive technical knowledge helps guide the Board and Company as it continues to grow and evolve. Paul has led the refresh of the Board’s membership and future succession planning, whilst also overseeing the strengthening of the compositions of subsidiary boards.
External appointments
- None
Simon Fraser
Date of appointment: Senior Independent Director July 2024. Non-executive Director April 2024. Member of the Group Remuneration Committee, Group Audit Committee and Group Nomination and Governance Committee.
Experience, skills and contribution to the Board:
Simon started his career as a stockbroker, at Barclays de Zoete Wedd, after which he set up an institutional stockbroking business Gerrard Vivian Gray. He then joined Bank of America Merrill Lynch for the rest of his executive career (managing director and co-head of corporate broking from 2004 until 2011). Simon has been senior independent director and chair of the nomination committee at Derwent London plc, senior independent director and chair of the remuneration committee at Lancashire Holdings Ltd and, most recently, non-executive director at Legal & General Investment Management Ltd. Simon’s extensive experience across a number of sectors, including a considerable amount of time in regulated financial services businesses, means he brings a depth and breadth of knowledge to the Board.
External appointments
- Chair, Grainger plc
- Chair of the remuneration committee and member of the audit committee, SEGRO plc
Rooney Anand
Date of appointment: January 2025. Member of the Group Remuneration committee and Group Risk Committee.
Experience, skills and contribution to the Board:
Rooney is Chairman of RedCat Pub Company Limited, the pub company he founded in 2021 with backing from Oaktree Capital, which today has over £100m turnover and 3,000 employees and is the operator of the award-winning Coaching Inn Group and RedCat Independent Pubs. He served as chief executive officer at Greene King plc and has held non-executive positions as chair of Casual Dining Group, Away Resorts and Purity Soft Drinks. He was also senior independent director for Wm Morrison Supermarkets Plc until its sale to private equity. Rooney has extensive experience in the consumer sector having held executive and non-executive roles at retail and hospitality organisations. As a former FTSE 250 CEO and FTSE 100 senior independent director, he has broad commercial and financial experience to benefit both the Board and the wider organisation. Rooney brings a consumer lens to the Board, gained from his experience of both running and being a non-executive director of customer-focused organisations, rooted in brands, data and insight.
External appointments
- Chair, RedCat Pub Company and Purity Soft Drinks
- Visiting professor, Aston Business School
Penny James
Date of appointment: Non-executive Director July 2025. Chair of the Risk Committee and member of the Audit and Nomination and Governance Committees.
Experience, skills and contribution to the Board:
Penny has over 30 years’ experience in financial services in both executive and non-executive roles in FTSE 100 and 250 companies. As an executive she has served as both chief executive officer and chief financial officer for Direct Line Group, and as global chief risk officer for Prudential plc. She has held a variety of finance and strategy roles in Zurich Financial Services and Omega Holdings. As a non-executive she was senior independent director at Hargreaves Lansdown and on the board of Admiral plc. She has been chair of the FCA Practitioner Panel and a member of the board of the Association of British Insurers. Penny is a chartered accountant. Penny brings a deep understanding of the financial services market and risk-expertise.
External appointments
- Non-executive director and chair of audit and risk committee, Mitie Group plc
- Non-executive director, QBE Insurance Group Ltd
- Co chair, FTSE Women Leaders
- Chair of the audit committee, Vitality UK
Helen Beck
Date of appointment: July 2025. Nominated Non-executive Director for Workforce Engagement. Chair of the Group Remuneration Committee. Member of the Group Risk Committee and Group Nomination and Governance Committee.
Experience, skills and contribution to the Board:
Helen has over 30 years of leadership and consultancy experience from non-executive and executive roles in the financial sector. She was previously head of the financial services remuneration practice at Deloitte, specialising in reward structures for FTSE 100, FTSE 250 and private companies. Prior to that, she held executive roles at Standard Bank and McLagan Partners (part of AON PLC). She has been nonexecutive director and chair of the remuneration committee of Ashmore Group PLC and non-executive director of Irwin Mitchell. For 7 years she was governor and committee chair at the University of Bedfordshire. Helen is our workforce engagement non-executive director and chair of the Group Remuneration Committee. She brings deep remuneration knowledge and a passion for stakeholder-focused outcomes.
External appointments
- Senior independent director and chair of remuneration committee, Funding Circle Holdings PLC
- Chair of remuneration committee, Picton Property Income Limited and Hampshire Bank Trust
- Independent member of the remuneration committee, the British Olympic Committee.
Group Executive Committee
The Group Executive Committee includes the Executive Directors shown above, Mark FitzPatrick and Caroline Waddington.
Tom Beal
Date of Appointment
Group Investment Director - September 2022.
Experience
Tom joined St. James’s Place in 2008 and has been working in financial markets since 2000. He was appointed as SJP’s Group Investment Director in September 2022. For over 2 years prior to this, he held the role of Chief Investment Officer and Chair of the Investment Committee, and is also CEO of the Unit Trust Group. He has also more recently been appointed CIO of Rowan Dartington.
External Appointments
Tom has no external appointments.
Ian MacKenzie
Date of Appointment
Appointed to the Executive Board 2014.
Joined St. James’s Place 1999.
Experience
Ian has over 30 years experience in financial services and is currently Chief Operations Officer.
He is a Fellow of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries as well as being a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, of The Institute of Leadership and Management and of BCS, the Chartered Institute of IT.
Ian is responsible for:
- St. James’s Place’s Client and Partner operations
- Financial planning advice and support to the St. James’s Place community
- Product manufacturing and technical support across the St. James’s Place Group including overseeing governance of product provider subsidiaries
External Appointments
Ian’s external appointments include his posts as a trustee and director of the Holiday Homes Trust, director of the Scout Association Trust Corporation and governor of the University of the West of England, where he is chair of the Finance, Estates and IT Committee.
Hestie Reinecke
Date of Appointment
Chief Risk Officer - October 2024.
Experience
Hestie joined SJP following four years as chief compliance officer at Prudential plc, and prior to that in senior risk management roles in insurance at Prudential plc and in banking, wealth and investment management at Barclays. Her experience across three continents has included a strong focus on organisational transformation and conduct management.
She holds a PhD in Mathematical Statistics, and an Executive Masters in Clinical Organisational Psychology.
External appointments
Hestie has no external appointments.
Paul Loftus
Date of Appointment
General Counsel - December 2024.
Experience
Paul first qualified as a lawyer in Australia and joined Clifford Chance LLP on moving to the UK in 2001. He joined SJP from Barclays where over the course of his career he has led legal teams in the Wealth and Private Bank, Group Centre, Barclays Africa and Barclays UK businesses. Most recently he was Managing Director and Head of Legal for Barclays UK with coverage responsibility for the secured lending, savings, insurance, sustainability and transformation teams and bank wide subject matter responsibility for economic crime, litigation and contentious regulatory matters.
He holds degrees in Law and Politics and an LLM from King’s College London.
External appointments
Paul has no external appointments.
Rob Sanders
Date of Appointment
Chief Client Officer - March 2025.
Experience
Rob spent 10 years leading Aberdeen Asset Management’s marketing efforts around the world as Head of Group Marketing. Rob then went on to found and lead his own FinTech business, called Door, which simplifies data exchange between asset and wealth managers. He’s built both tech and a global client network - which included some of our largest peers in the US and Europe.
External Appointments
Rob is a Board Director of Door Ventures Inc.
Lisa Davis
Date of Appointment
Chief People Officer - April 2025
Experience
Lisa joins us with a 20-year career delivering large scale organisational transformation. She prides herself on developing high performing and inclusive corporate cultures that drive business success. Prior to SJP, Lisa was Chief People Officer at Skipton Building Society, Just Group, and most recently the Medical Protection Society. Lisa is a qualified accountant, starting her career at EY, before working in a number of senior leadership roles in Financial Services.
External Appointments
Lisa is Vice-Chair of the Women in Finance Charter, set up by HM Treasury.
Lyn Grobler
Date of Appointment
Chief Technology Officer - June 2025.
Experience
Lyn joined us from the Howden Group where she was Group Chief Information Officer (CIO) for over nine years and was instrumental in successfully delivering an IT strategy that supported the group’s growth ambitions. Before joining Howden, Lyn held multiple leadership positions at BP over a 10-year period, most recently as Vice President and CIO of Corporate Functions.
She’s passionate about the value diversity brings to a business and has been a judge on the Everywoman in Technology Awards.
External Appointments
Lyn is a non-exec on the Board of the Bank of Cyprus and Titan Cement.
James Rainbow
Date of Appointment
Chief Executive Officer of St. James’s Place Wealth Management Plc - April 2025
Experience
James spent 17 years at Schroders in a variety of leadership positions, including Head of UK and a member of Schroders’ Group Management Committee. His previous roles include responsibility for Schroders’ Latin America business across four countries, CEO of Schroders Personal Wealth, CEO of Schroder Unit Trusts and a Director of the advice and platform business, Benchmark Capital.
External Appointments
None
Company Secretary
Jonathan Dale
Read moreJonathan Dale
Jonathan was appointed Company Secretary in July 2021 having joined St. James’s Place in 2016 as the Deputy Company Secretary. Prior to joining St. James’s Place he was a director of Capita Company Secretarial Services (now Link Company Matters).
Contact Jonathan: [email protected]
Founder Presidents
Sir Mark Weinberg
Sir Mark founded the St. James's Place Group with Mike Wilson and Lord Rothschild in 1991 and was Chairman of the company until September 2004, when he resigned from the Board and was appointed President of the company. He chaired the Investment Committee until July 2011. Sir Mark originally practised as a barrister and was formerly Deputy Chairman of the Securities and Investments Board, the forerunner to the Financial Conduct Authority.
The late Mike Wilson CBE
Mike passed away in February 2018.
He had worked in the financial services industry since 1963 and founded the St. James's Place Group with Sir Mark Weinberg in 1991. He was Chief Executive until September 2004 and then Chairman until December 2011. Mike was also a director of the St. James's Place Charitable Foundation until December 2017.