Shatish Dasani
Non-Executive Director
Chair of the Audit Committee
Lisa Scenna
Senior Independent Director
Louise Brooke-Smith
Non-Executive Director
Bronagh Kennedy
Non-Executive Director
Shatish Dasani
Non-Executive Director
Chair of the Audit Committee
Shatish Dasani is an experienced former FTSE Chief Financial Officer and current Audit Committee Chair of UK publicly listed companies, with a career in financial roles spanning over 30 years. He was previously Chief Financial Officer of TT Electronics plc, a global manufacturer of electronic components and Forterra plc, a manufacturer of building products for the UK construction industry. Shatish was previously Non-Executive Director of Camelot Group plc and at Network Rail, and his historic and current experience within the construction industry, manufacturing, and engineering sectors as well as finance expertise brings further invaluable knowledge, experience and skills to the Board. Shatish is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales and has an MBA. He is currently Senior Independent Director of Renew Holdings plc and Non-Executive Director at SIG plc and Speedy Hire plc, and chairs the Audit & Risk Committee of each of these companies. He is also a Trustee and Board Chair at UNICEF UK, the children's charity. Shatish is Chair of the Audit Committee.
Lisa Scenna
Senior Independent Director
Lisa Scenna has over 20 years’ business experience working at executive director level in large private and publicly listed multinational corporations with a strong background in strategic and financial business change, with her most recent executive role being with the Morgan Sindall Group as Managing Director of MS Investments. Prior to this, she held executive roles with Laing O’Rourke, Stockland Group and Westfield Group in Australia. She is a Non-Executive Director of Harworth Group plc, Gore Street Energy Storage Fund plc, and Cromwell Property Group (an Australian listed company) and Ingenia Communities (an Australian listed company). Lisa is also an Independent Non-Executive Director and Chair of the Audit, Risk and Compliance Committee for Dexus Capital Funds Management Limited. Lisa has a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of NSW, and is a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and a Fellow of Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia. Lisa is Chair of the Remuneration Committee and was appointed Senior Independent Director on 7 March 2023.
Louise Brooke-Smith
Non-Executive Director
Louise Brooke-Smith has extensive expertise of the property, construction and infrastructure industries, being an experienced property and planning advisor, past Global President of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and member of the Royal Town Planning Institute. She was formerly a partner at Arcadis LLP and is currently Global Development and Strategic Planning Advisor for Consilio Strategic Consultancy Limited. She is currently a Governing Board member of Birmingham City University, Chair of the Board of All We Can (International Relief & Development Agency), a regional Board member of the CBI, a Board Trustee of The Land Trust and a Trustee of Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery, and a Board Member of L&Q Group. Louise holds a Bachelor of Science from the Sheffield Hallam University and honorary doctorates from Wolverhampton, Sheffield Hallam and Birmingham City Universities. She is a Freeman of the City of London and was awarded an OBE in 2019 for services to the built environment and diversity. Louise is our nominated workforce engagement NED.
Bronagh Kennedy
Non-Executive Director
Bronagh Kennedy was the Group General Counsel and Company Secretary of Severn Trent Plc from 2011 to 2022, and as part of her role she was also responsible for compliance and regulatory assurance and the group’s corporate sustainability programme. During her career she has worked across several sectors including finance, leisure and hospitality and she has a very broad range of corporate experience, including as HR Director of Mitchells & Butlers plc. Bronagh was previously a Non-Executive Director of Wolseley (Ferguson plc carve-out prior to its disposal), and is currently a Non-Executive Director and Chair of the Remuneration Committee of Treatt plc.
The Committee comprises five Non-Executive Directors, being Kevin Boyd, Mark Hammond, Louise Hardy, Lisa Scenna and Louise Brooke-Smith.
All Committee members are considered to be independent. In accordance with the requirements of the Corporate Governance Code (2018), Kevin Boyd is designated as the Committee member with recent and relevant financial experience. All other members of the Committee are deemed to have the necessary ability and experience to understand the financial statements. The Committee as a whole has competence relevant to the sector in which the Group operates. The Committee discharges its responsibilities through a series of scheduled formal meetings during the year. Each meeting has a formal agenda which is linked to the events in the financial calendar of the Group. Attendees at each of the meetings include the Committee members as well as, by invitation, the Chairman, the Chief Executive Officer, the Chief Financial Officer, the Chief Operating Officer, the Group Financial Controller, the external auditor and internal auditor to the Group. The Committee is supported by a strong Secretariat function and has the full support and advice of the Company Secretary at all times, ensuring it is kept up to date with all recommended guidance, and that it reviews and implements such guidance as appropriate.
The full responsibilities of the Committee are set out in its latest Terms of Reference which can be found here, in the Useful Documents section of our Website. The Terms of Reference are reviewed each year to ensure they remain appropriate and any relevant updates made accordingly.
To find out more about the activities of the Audit Committee during the latest financial year, you can read the full Audit Report in the relevant published Annual Report and Accounts.