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 there for 38 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 focused 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.

Skills, competencies and experience:

Euan has significant experience in leading major consumer-facing businesses, through periods of change, both in the UK and internationally. Most recently he was the CEO of Superdry plc, the global digital brand, for five years. In that time Euan led a strategy focused on customer insight, innovation and digital, international and wholesale expansion. Prior to this Euan was the Group CEO of The Co-op Group, the mutual retailer, insurance and funeral care company, where he led a major transformation programme resulting in a more efficient and profitable business. Earlier on in his career, Euan was Group COO & CEO UK at Kingfisher plc, and he also has a background in global FMCG brands having previously worked at Mars and Coca-Cola.

Other roles:

Euan is a non-executive director of Britvic plc

Committee membership:

Executive.

Skills, competencies and experience:

James joined us from Zurich Insurance Group, where his most recent role was UK Chief Financial Officer, spanning the UK Property & Casualty and Life Insurance operations. James is a seasoned insurance executive with over 28 years of senior leadership experience, primarily within Zurich, Citigroup Global Markets, Lehman Brothers and PricewaterhouseCoopers. James has extensive strategic, investor and operational finance experience within the insurance industry and is a valuable member of the Leadership Team. James is a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.

Committee membership:

Executive.

Skills, competencies and experience:

Cheryl will lead all aspects of our insurance business and will be responsible for our insurance strategy, building on the early success of our innovative 3-year fixed price product. Her experience and strong track record of delivery in senior strategic roles will be valuable as we bring together our Insurance Broking, Underwriting and Claims Management businesses. Cheryl joins from Legal & General with over 25 years' experience in insurance, retirement and pensions. At Legal & General, she was most recently Chief Executive Officer of its General Insurance business. She led an organisational transformation and change programme to separate the General Insurance and Life divisions and become recognised in the market as a leading data-driven, digitally-led business. She previously held roles as UK Strategic Retirement Director and UK International Development Director. Before Legal & General, Cheryl has held roles with Aon Hewitt, Lloyds TSB and Towers Watson. Cheryl is a Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries.

Committee membership:

Executive.

Skills, competencies and experience:

Orna joined the Board in May 2014 on listing. She has significant experience in strategy and new concept development and launch, business turnaround, logistics redesign and supply chain management. She was subsequently appointed as Senior Independent Non-Executive Director for Saga in March 2017. Previously, Orna was Senior Independent Non Executive Director of HMV plc, Northern Foods plc and Bupa, a Non-Executive Director of Bank of Ireland UK Holdings plc and Bristol & West plc, and a Senior Independent Non-Executive Director and Chair of the Remuneration Committee of Royal Mail plc. She is a former Partner at McKinsey & Company, where her client portfolio included many consumer-facing clients. Orna brings a wealth of varied and valued skills to the Board along with considerable experience in other Non-Executive Director roles.

Other roles:

Orna is currently Chair of Founders Intelligence Limited (appointed July 2019), Non-Executive Director and Chair of the Remuneration Committee at Burberry Group plc (appointed January 2018), Deputy Chair of the National Trust (appointed January 2014) and Trustee of Sir John Soane’s Museum (appointed January 2012).

Committee membership:

Audit, Nomination, Remuneration and Risk.

Skills, competencies and experience:

Eva brings over 30 years of experience as a brand and marketing professional. She was previously a Non-Executive Director (and a member of the Audit, Nomination, Remuneration and Risk Committees) of Virgin Money plc until its acquisition by CYBG plc. Prior to this she was Managing Director of Marketing, Brands and Culture at Lloyds Banking Group plc, Chief Customer Officer at Regus plc, and Chief People and Brand Officer at EDF Energy. Eva has also held senior positions at Allied Domecq and British Airways, where she was responsible for the Executive Club, with three million members at the time.

Other roles:

Eva is currently Chief of Staff at Lowell (appointed February 2016).

Committee membership:

Nomination and Remuneration.

Skills, competencies and experience:

Julie brings a wealth of insurance experience coupled with over 20 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-focused, with a breadth of functional, membership and affinity experience and a track record of driving growth. Most recently, Julie was a Non-Executive Director of Co-Operative Insurance, where she chaired the Risk Committee and was a member of the Audit and Remuneration Committees. 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:

Julie is currently Chair of Police Mutual (appointed June 2019) where she also chairs the Remuneration Committee and is a member of the Risk, Nominations and With Profits Committee. Julie is also a Non-Executive Director of West Bromwich Building Society (appointed April 2016), where she chairs the Remuneration Committee and is a member of the Risk and Nominations Committees.

Committee membership:

Remuneration and Risk.

Skills, competencies and experience:

Gareth joined the Saga Board in March 2019. 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. 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:

Gareth is currently Audit Chair and Senior Independent Director at Leeds Building Society (appointed November 2015). He is also Trustee, Non-Executive Director and Chair of the Audit and Risk Committees at Diabetes UK (January 2015).

Committee membership:

Audit and Risk.

Skills, competencies and experience:

Gareth’s expertise is in all aspects of human resource and people strategy, which he gained from his previous positions including Human Resources Director of Diageo plc (where he also had oversight responsibility for corporate relations) and a series of key positions in human resources at Grand Metropolitan plc. Gareth’s contributions to the Board and its Committees bring a unique perspective to discussions, drawn from his experience of working at Director level in a consumer-facing organisation and his knowledge of corporate relations, management development and resourcing.

Other roles:

Gareth is currently a Non-Executive Director of WNS (Holdings) Limited (appointed January 2014).

Committee membership:

Audit, Nomination, Remuneration and Risk.