Board of directors

Skills, competencies and experience:

Sir Roger De Haan is the son of Saga’s founder, Sidney De Haan. He joined the business in 1966, aged 17, as its 11th employee and worked here for 40 years. He became Managing Director in 1976 and Chairman and Chief Executive from 1984 until he sold the company in 2004. Sir Roger returned to the business as Non-Executive Chairman in 2020. Since selling Saga in 2004, Roger De Haan has focussed his energies on philanthropic activities and the development of Folkestone’s Harbour and its seafront. His main charitable interests are in education, regeneration, the arts, heritage, community, sport and healthcare. In 2014, Sir Roger was knighted for his services to education and to charity in Kent and overseas.

Other roles:

Director of Folkestone Harbour companies; and Chair of Friends of Folkestone Academy (appointed January 2004) and the two charities: Creative Folkestone (appointed January 2003) and The Roger De Haan Charitable Trust (appointed September 1978).

Committee membership:

Innovation & Enterprise and Nomination.

Skills, competencies and experience:

Mike joined Saga in October 2023. Mike is a chartered accountant and an established executive with a career spanning over 25 years across multiple industries, including the retail and consumer sectors. Prior to joining Saga, Mike served as Interim CFO for the Co-op Group, the retail, insurance and funeral care business. Before that, he held a number of leadership roles at department store group, Debenhams, including Group CFO and ultimately Group CEO. He trained at Pfizer before then spending time with New Zealand-based Fonterra Group and British media telco group, Sky.

Committee membership:

Operating Board.

Skills, competencies and experience:

Mark rejoined Saga in June 2023, having previously been at Saga for six years from January 2016. Mark is a chartered accountant and has held a series of senior roles across finance, strategy and investor relations in a 20-year career. Prior to joining Saga, Mark was CFO for Europe and Central Asia at Intertek and held senior roles at Bovis Homes, and the Canadian-based Secure Energy Services. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales and spent a number of years at Deloitte.

Other roles:

Director of Creative Folkestone (appointed September 2024).

Committee membership:

Operating Board.

Skills, competencies and experience:

Gareth joined the Saga Board in March 2019 and was appointed as Senior Independent Non-Executive Director in April 2025. He brings a wealth of experience from nearly 20 years with Legal & General in a variety of roles, latterly as a main Board Director and CEO International, where he was responsible for the North American, European, Middle East, Indian and Far East insurance markets. Most recently, Gareth was Audit Chair, a member of the Risk, Nomination and Remuneration Committees at Leeds Building Society, as well as Vice Chair and Senior Independent Director. Prior to that, he held a variety of roles in finance, retail marketing and HR. Before joining Legal & General, Gareth worked at PwC for 12 years, where he trained as an accountant and later specialised in insurance.

Other roles:

Senior Independent Non-Executive Director and member of the Group Audit, Group Risk, Group Remuneration, People, and Group Nomination and Governance Committees of OSB Group plc (appointed March 2025).

Committee membership:

Audit & Risk, Innovation & Enterprise, Nomination and Remuneration.

Skills, competencies and experience:

Julie brings a wealth of insurance experience coupled with over 30 years in a variety of roles at Co-operative Insurance, RSA and Tesco Bank, specialising in general insurance and predominantly in personal lines. Julie is highly customer-focussed, with a breadth of functional, membership and affinity experience and a track record of driving growth. Most recently, Julie was Chair of Police Mutual, where she also chaired the Remuneration Committee and was a member of the Risk, Nominations and With Profits Committees; a Non-Executive Director of Co-operative Insurance, where she chaired the Risk Committee and was a member of the Audit and Remuneration Committees; and a Non-Executive Director at MS Amlin Underwriting Limited, where she chaired the Risk Committee. Prior to this, she was the CEO of The Conservation Volunteers (2012 to 2016), a UK community volunteering charity. Julie is an associate with the Chartered Institute of Bankers.

Other roles:

Non-Executive Director and member of the Audit and Nomination Committees (appointed October 2024) and Remuneration Committee Chair (appointed December 2024) of Secure Trust Bank plc; and Deputy Chair and Senior Independent Director of West Bromwich Building Society (appointed April 2016).

Committee membership:

Audit & Risk, Nomination and Remuneration.

Skills, competencies and experience:

Gemma, a founder of two digital businesses, joined the Board on 1 September 2022. Gemma is a specialist in digital transformation, innovation and de-risking the delivery of new services and was previously a boardroom adviser to Arnold Schwarzenegger on The Apprentice USA.

Other roles:

Non-Executive Director of Telecom Plus plc (with effect from August 2025); Chair and Non-Executive Director of Scottish Widows Schroder Wealth (ACD) Limited (appointed August 2024); Non-Executive Director and Chair of Oberon Investments Group plc (appointed September 2021); and business and money expert on ITV and Sky News.

Committee membership:

Innovation & Enterprise, Nomination and Remuneration.

Skills, competencies and experience:

Anand Aithal joined the Saga Board as an Independent Non-Executive Director on 1 September 2022. Anand has extensive non-executive experience from fintech, insurance broking, asset management and accountancy. He also brings an entrepreneurial perspective, having co-founded his own data analytics business. Prior to this, he was a Managing Director at Goldman Sachs and Lead Non-Executive Board Member of the Cabinet Office.

Other roles:

Non-Executive Director of Persimmon plc (appointed January 2025); Non-Executive Director of Nationwide Building Society (appointed September 2024); Trustee of the Institute for Government (appointed September 2024); Non-Executive Director and member of Audit and Risk Committee of Polar Capital Holdings plc (appointed January 2022); and Non-Executive Appointee to Council Board of Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (appointed December 2019).

Committee membership:

Innovation & Enterprise, Audit & Risk and Nomination.