Our team are from different cultural and professional backgrounds. They lead our talented people in action-oriented teams that give us competitive edge.
Click on each name or scroll through text for profile
Bart Becht (51, Dutch) #
Joined the Board in 1999 on his appointment as Chief Executive Officer of the Company. He was appointed Chief Executive of Benckiser Detergents, subsequently Benckiser N.V., in 1995 and Chairman of Benckiser’s Management Board from May 1999. He holds no external directorships.
Adrian Bellamy (66, British) ‡ #
Was appointed a Non-Executive Director of the Company in 1999 and became Non-Executive Chairman in May 2003. He is Chairman of The Body Shop International Plc and a Director of The Gap and Williams-Sonoma, Inc. He was formerly a director of Gucci Group NV and The Robert Mondavi Corporation.
Colin Day (52, British)
Joined Reckitt Benckiser in September 2000 from Aegis Group plc where he was Group Finance Director from 1995. He was formerly a Non-Executive Director of Vero plc, the Bell Group plc, easyJet plc and Imperial Tobacco plc. He is currently a Non-Executive Director of WPP Group plc.
Dr Peter Harf (61, German) #
Joined the Board as a Non-Executive Director in 1999 and is the Deputy Chairman. He served as Chairman of the Remuneration Committee until June 2004. He is Chairman of Coty Inc. and InBev and was until May 2007 a Director of the Brunswick Corporation. He is Chief Executive Officer of Joh. A. Benckiser SE.
Kenneth Hydon (63, British)* #
Was appointed a Non-Executive Director in December 2003 and Chairman of the Audit Committee in November 2006. He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants and the Association of Corporate Treasurers. He was the Senior Independent Non-Executive Director between February 2005 and November 2006. He retired as Financial Director of Vodafone Group plc in July 2005 and is currently a Non-Executive Director of Tesco plc, Pearson plc and the Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust.
Graham Mackay (58, British/South African) ‡
Was appointed a Non-Executive Director in February 2005 and the Senior Non-Executive Director in November 2006. He is the current Chief Executive of SABMiller plc, one of the world’s largest brewers with brewing interests or major distribution agreements in over 60 countries across six continents. He joined the then South African Breweries Limited in 1978 and has held a number of senior positions within that group.
Dr Gerard Murphy (52, Irish) *
Was appointed a Non-Executive Director in June 2005. From February 2003 until February 2008 he was Chief Executive Officer of Kingfisher plc. He was previously Chief Executive Officer of Carlton Communications plc, Exel plc and Greencore Group plc. Earlier in his career, he held various senior positions within food and drink group, Grand Metropolitan (now Diageo plc) in Ireland, UK and USA. He was appointed a Senior Managing Director (partner) of The Blackstone Group’s corporate private equity practice in March 2008.
Judith Sprieser (54, American) ‡#
Was appointed a Non-Executive Director in August 2003 and has been Chair of the Remuneration Committee since June 2004. She was previously Chief Executive Officer of Transora, Inc., an e-commerce software and service company and Executive Vice President (formerly Chief Financial Officer) of Sara Lee Corporation. She is a Director of Allstate Insurance Company, USG Corporation, InterContinental Exchange, Inc., and Royal Ahold, NV.
David Tyler (55, British) *
Was appointed Non-Executive Director in February 2007. He is Chairman of Logica plc and of 3i Quoted Private Equity Limited, and also a Non-Executive Director of Experian Group Limited and Burberry Group plc. His executive career from 1974 to 2006 was spent in financial and general management in Unilever plc, County NatWest Ltd, Christie’s International plc and GUS plc.
Peter White (66, British)
Was appointed a Non-Executive Director in December 1997. He was previously Group Chief Executive of Alliance & Leicester Plc. He was Chairman of the Audit Committee between May 1998 and November 2006. He resigned as a member of the Audit Committee in November 2007 and will retire from the Board at the conclusion of the AGM to be held in May 2008.
* Member of the Audit Committee
‡ Member of the Remuneration Committee
# Member of the Nomination Committee