Board of Directors
Sir John Collins, Chairman
1		 John Clare, Group Chief Executive
2
3		 Jeremy Darroch, Group Finance Director
4
David Gilbert, Chief Operating Officer
5 		David Hamid, Chief Operating Officer
6 		David Longbottom, Group Human Resources Officer
7 		Karen Cook, Non-Executive Director
8
Lord Blackwell, Non-Executive Director
9 		Count Emmanuel d'Andre, Non-Executive Director
10 		Andrew Lynch, Non-Executive Director
11 		John Whybrow, Non-Executive Director
12

1 Sir John Collins, Chairman   
Sir John Collins (61) joined the Board in September 2001 as Deputy Chairman and was appointed Chairman in September 2002. He joined Shell in 1964 and was Chairman and Chief Executive of Shell UK, 1990 to 1993. He was Chief Executive of Vestey Group from 1993 to 2001. He is a director of NM Rothschild & Sons and of the Peninsular and Oriental Navigation Company. Sir John has been Chairman of National Power plc, Chairman of Cantab Pharmaceuticals, a director of BSkyB, Stoll Moss Theatres and the London Symphony Orchestra. He has also been Chairman of the Advisory Committee on Business and the Environment, Chairman of the DTI’s Energy and Advisory Panel and a governor of Wellington College.
back to top

2 John Clare, Group Chief Executive
John Clare (52) joined the Group as Marketing Director of Dixons in 1986. He was appointed Managing Director of Dixons Stores Group in 1988, when he also joined the Group Board. He became Group Managing Director in 1992 and Group Chief Executive in 1994. He is a non-executive director of Hammerson plc, Chairman of the Government’s Ambition Retail taskforce, a member
of the National Employment Panel and the Edinburgh University Development Board. Before joining Dixons he held senior posts at Ladbroke Group plc and Mars Inc.
back to top

3 Mark Souhami, Deputy Chairman
Mark Souhami (67) joined Dixons in 1970 as Group Marketing Director, becoming Joint Managing Director in 1973, Managing Director in 1978 and Group Managing Director in 1986. He was appointed Deputy Chairman in 1992. He is Chairman of Codic and is a former Chairman of the British Retail Consortium. He will retire from the Board on 1 September 2003, remaining Chairman of Codic until 1 May 2004.
back to top

4 Jeremy Darroch, Group Finance Director
Jeremy Darroch (40) was appointed Group Finance Director in March 2002. He joined the Group in January 2000 as Retail Finance Director. He qualified as a Chartered Accountant with Deloitte Haskins & Sells. In his earlier career he worked for Procter & Gamble for 12 years in the UK and Europe, latterly, as European Finance Director for their Health Care businesses.
back to top

5 David Gilbert, Chief Operating Officer
 David Gilbert (49) joined the Group in 1981. He was appointed to the Group Board in 1997 and became Joint Chief Operating Officer in January 2000. He was previously Group Managing Director of Currys Group and Deputy Managing Director of Dixons Stores Group.
He joined the Group from Boots. He will step down from the Board on 1 September 2003.
back to top

6 David Hamid, Chief Operating Officer
David Hamid (51) joined Dixons Group in 1986. He was appointed to the Group Board in 1997 and was Joint Chief Operating Officer from January 2000 until he left the Board and the Group in May 2003.
back to top

7 David Longbottom, Group Human Resources Director
David Longbottom (59) was appointed to the Board on 5 November 2002. He joined the Group as Management Development Director in 1987 and held senior roles in Currys, Retail Operations and Mastercare before being appointed Group Human Resources Director in 1996. He is the Board member responsible for corporate social responsibility, health and safety and environmental matters. He is a member of the Royal College of Science and of the Institute of Personnel and Development. He joined the Group from Lloyds of London having previously held positions at Courtaulds plc and British Gas.
back to top

8 Karen Cook, Non-Executive Director   
Karen Cook (49) joined the Board in 1997. She is a managing director of Goldman Sachs International. She has previously worked for J Henry Schroder & Co Limited and the First National Bank of Chicago. She will retire from the Board on 2 September 2003 upon the expiry of her term of office.
back to top

9 Lord Blackwell, Non-Executive Director   
Lord Blackwell (50) joined the Board in 2000. He is Chairman of Smartstream Technologies Group Ltd, a non-executive director of Slough Estates plc and of CSG plc, and an adviser to KPMG Corporate Finance. He is a Board member of the Office of Fair Trading and Chairman of the Centre for Policy Studies. He has also been director of group development at NatWest Group, a partner at McKinsey & Co. and was Head of the No 10 Policy Unit from 1995 to 1997. He was created a Life Peer in 1997. He will retire from the Board on 1 September 2003 upon the expiry of his term of office.
back to top

10 Count Emmanuel d’André, Non-Executive Director   
Count Emmanuel d’André (65) joined the Board on 1 February 2002. He is a non-executive director of Robert Bosch France and a member of the Board of La Mondiale (Insurance). His previous positions have included member of the advisory committee of Banque
de France, Chairman of Trois Suisses International Group, Chief Executive of Lapaud International, senior consultant with Arthur D. Little, Paris, Development Director of the Express Group and a senior international manager with Camping Gaz. He was a non-executive director of Auchan for six years.
back to top

New directors
11 Andrew Lynch, Non-Executive Director
Andrew Lynch (46) joined the Board on 20 May 2003. He has been Group Finance Director of Compass Group PLC
since 1997 and was previously Finance Director of Compass Group’s UK division from 1994 and Finance Director of Travellers Fare Limited from 1989. His earlier career included positions with KPMG and Prudential Corporation plc. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants. He will succeed Lord Blackwell as Chairman of the Audit Committee.
back to top

12 John Whybrow, Non-Executive Director
John Whybrow (56) joined the Board on 24 June 2003. He is Chairman of Wolseley plc and was a non-executive director of Wolseley between 1997 and 2002. He joined Philips in 1970 and was Executive Vice President of Royal Philips Electronics from 1998 to 2002. He received the Polish Order of Merit in 2002. He will succeed Sir John Collins as Chairman of the Remuneration Committee.
back to top

From 1 September 2003
Rita Clifton, Non-Executive Director
On 22 July 2003 Rita Clifton was appointed a non-executive director with effect from 1 September for a three year term.
A resolution to reappoint her as a director will be proposed at the annual general meeting on 10 September. Biographical details are given on page 2 of the notice of meeting.

 Member of the Audit Committee
Member of the Executive Directors’ Remuneration Committee
Member of the Nominations Committee
back to top