Robert Noel
Rita-Rose Gagné
Himanshu Raja
Robert Noel
Appointed to the Board
1 September 2020 and appointed as Chair on 7 September 2020
Committee Membership
Chair of the Nomination & Governance Committee
Relevant skills and experience
Robert Noel brings extensive property industry knowledge and experience to the Board having built a long and successful career spanning over 30 years in the real estate sector, including other listed companies. Most notably, Robert was Chief Executive Officer at Land Securities Group Plc (Landsec) from 2012 until March 2020. Prior to joining Landsec in 2010, Robert was Property Director at Great Portland Estates Plc from 2002 to 2009 and from 1992 to 2002 he was a Director of Nelson Bakewell, the property services group. Robert is a past president of the British Property Federation.
External Appointments
Robert is Chair of Taylor Wimpey Plc and a Non-Executive Director of GMS Estates Limited. He is also a Member of the Board of Trustees at The Natural History Museum.
Rita-Rose Gagné
Appointed to the Board
2 November 2020
Relevant Skills and Experience
Rita Rose Gagné is the CEO of Hammerson plc, an owner, operator and developer of prime urban real estate in some of the fastest growing cities in the UK, Ireland and France. She joined the company in 2020 to develop and spearhead the strategic transformation of the business.
She brings extensive experience in real estate investment and global property markets combined with strong strategic, operational leadership and financial management skills.
Prior to joining Hammerson, Rita-Rose was President of Growth Markets at Ivanhoé Cambridge, responsible for over $8bn of real estate assets, platforms and a development pipeline across Asia Pacific and Latin America, covering logistics, retail, mixed use, office and residential sectors. Having joined Ivanhoé Cambridge in 2006, Rita-Rose held a variety of positions including Executive Vice President of Global Strategy, Portfolio Management and Investment Funds, covering North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, India and Latin America markets.
Rita-Rose holds a Bachelor of Law from Laval University as well as a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from McGill University and HEC Montréal. A trained lawyer, she was a senior partner at Fasken, a global law firm covering real estate, infrastructure, corporate mergers and acquisitions.
Rita-Rose has sat on the board of multiple companies located in Belgium, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Hong Kong, Australia and Europe. She is executive director of Hammerson plc.
Himanshu Raja
Appointed to the Board
26 April 2021
Relevant skills and experience
Himanshu Raja holds a law degree (LLB), is a Chartered Accountant and was most recently Chief Financial Officer at Countrywide Ltd (formerly Countrywide plc) from 2017 until its sale to Connells Ltd in March 2021. Prior to that he had served as Chief Financial Officer at G4S plc for three years where he was responsible for finance, treasury, tax, investor relations, M&A, IT and procurement, and led a significant improvement in contract risk management and governance across the Group and delivered significant cost transformation and cash flow improvement. Prior to G4S plc, Himanshu was Chief Financial Officer of Misys plc and also Logica plc, where he led the sale of the group to CGI in a £2.1 billion transaction.
Mike Butterworth
Habib Annous
Méka Brunel
Mike Butterworth
Appointed to the Board
1 January 2021 and appointed as Senior Independent Director on 29 April 2022
Committee membership
Chair of the Audit Committee; Nomination & Governance Committee
Relevant skills and experience
Mike is a Chartered Accountant and brings 25 years’ experience in senior finance roles in FTSE 250, Small Cap and AIM businesses across a broad range of sectors including manufacturing, technology, communications, healthcare and beverages. Mike was previously Chief Financial Officer of Incepta Group plc, prior to its acquisition by Huntsworth plc in 2005, and Chief Financial Officer of Cookson Group plc until its demerger in 2012. Mike was also Group Financial Controller at BBA Group plc. A graduate of Oxford University, Mike started his early career with Arthur Andersen.
Mike also has extensive Board experience and his previous Non-Executive roles have included Senior Independent Director and the Chair of the Audit Committee at Johnston Press plc and at Kin and Carta Group plc, and Chair of the Audit Committee at Cambian Group plc.
External appointments
Mike is a Non-Executive Director and Chair of the Audit Committee at Pressure Technologies plc and Focusrite plc.
Habib Annous
Appointed to the Board
5 May 2021
Committee membership
Audit Committee; Nomination & Governance Committee and Chair of the Remuneration Committee.
Relevant skills and experience
Habib brings 30 years’ experience in investment management across a range of sectors. Most recently, he was a partner at Capital Group, an active investment management business with assets under management of over $2 trillion, from 2002 to 2020, where he was responsible for the European Real Estate sector as well as a number of other industries. He started his career as an equity analyst in 1988 with responsibility for UK Real Estate. He became a Fund Manager in 1989 at Lazard Investors and then moved to Barclays Global Investors and subsequently to Merrill Lynch Investment Managers. Habib is an adviser to the Investor Forum.
Méka Brunel
Appointed to the Board
1 December 2019
Committee membership
Nomination & Governance Committee; Remuneration Committee
Relevant skills and experience
Méka Brunel has extensive experience in the European real estate sector which, together with her knowledge and skills in property outside of retail, strengthens the Board’s expertise. Méka first joined Gecina, the Euronext listed REIT with French office and residential assets, as executive director of strategic development in 2003. She was then appointed chief executive of Eurosic, the office REIT, in 2006 and became the European President of Ivanhoé Cambridge Inc in 2009. Méka returned to Gecina in 2014, joining as a non-executive director before being appointed as chief executive officer from 2017 to 2022. She is a civil engineer, holds an MBA from the HEC Paris School of Management and is a fellow of RICS. Méka has previously served as a non-executive director of Crédit Foncier de France, the chair of France Green Building Council and until April 2022 was CEO of Gecina.
External appointments
Méka is a non-executive director of OPREA S.A and Eiffage S.A. She is also a Director of Fédération des Sociétés Immobilières et Foncières (FSIF) and the Institut du capitalisme responsable. Méka is a Member of the ORIE college Investisseurs and she chairs University of the City of Tomorrow (UVD), a chapter of Palladio Foundation, a non-profit organisation.
Adam Metz
Carol Welch
Adam Metz
Appointed to the Board
22 July 2019
Committee membership
Audit Committee; Nomination & Governance Committee
Relevant skills and experience
Adam Metz has built a very successful career in the US over 30 years and brings to the Board wide-ranging experience in retail and commercial real estate, as both an executive and non-executive director. He served as CEO of General Growth Properties and President of Urban Shopping Centres, Inc., two US REITs focused on the retail sector. He also has extensive investment experience gained at Blackstone Group, TPG Capital and most recently the Carlyle Group. At the Carlyle Group, he was a Managing Director and Head of International Real Estate and also served on Carlyle’s Management Committee until 2018. Adam has considerable board experience, previously serving on the Boards of Forest City Realty, Parkway Properties and AMLI Realty in the US and Aliansce, a public company focused on shopping malls in Brazil. His comprehensive experience in real estate investment and strategy in the US, Europe and Asia, through listed companies and private equity, enables him to make a valuable contribution to our Board.
External appointments
Adam is Chair of Seritage Growth Properties and also sits on the boards of a number of Morgan Stanley fund entities. He is also Vice-Chair of the Advisory Board for the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden as well as an advisory Board member of Landed Inc.
Carol Welch
Appointed to the Board
1 March 2019
Committee membership
Nomination & Governance Committee; Remuneration Committee
Relevant skills and experience
Carol Welch has extensive experience in commercial marketing, innovation and digital gained while working in senior roles at a number of global businesses including PepsiCo, Cadbury Schweppes and Associated British Foods. Carol also brings insightful operations and tenant experience in the retail, leisure and hospitality sectors, having led the transformation of Costa Coffee as its Chief Marketing Officer with responsibility for corporate communication, sustainability, digital, store format transformation and the loyalty programme. In 2017, she joined ODEON Cinemas Group and initiated a strategy to transform the UK estate and guest experience. During her time at ODEON Cinema, her most recent role was Managing Director UK & Ireland and European Commercial Officer where she was responsible for the delivery of ODEON’s commercial strategy and digital transformation across Europe. Carol is CEO of A.F. Blakemore & Son Ltd. Carol brings to Board discussions a valuable occupier perspective as well as a useful understanding of the changing tastes of the UK consumer.
Carol is Hammerson’s Nominated Non-Executive Director for Colleague Engagement.
External appointments
Carol is CEO of A.F. Blakemore & Son Ltd.
Rita-Rose Gagné
Himanshu Raja
Harry Badham
Rita-Rose Gagné
Appointed to the Board
2 November 2020
Relevant Skills and Experience
Rita Rose Gagné is the CEO of Hammerson plc, an owner, operator and developer of prime urban real estate in some of the fastest growing cities in the UK, Ireland and France. She joined the company in 2020 to develop and spearhead the strategic transformation of the business.
She brings extensive experience in real estate investment and global property markets combined with strong strategic, operational leadership and financial management skills.
Prior to joining Hammerson, Rita-Rose was President of Growth Markets at Ivanhoé Cambridge, responsible for over $8bn of real estate assets, platforms and a development pipeline across Asia Pacific and Latin America, covering logistics, retail, mixed use, office and residential sectors. Having joined Ivanhoé Cambridge in 2006, Rita-Rose held a variety of positions including Executive Vice President of Global Strategy, Portfolio Management and Investment Funds, covering North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, India and Latin America markets.
Rita-Rose holds a Bachelor of Law from Laval University as well as a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from McGill University and HEC Montréal. A trained lawyer, she was a senior partner at Fasken, a global law firm covering real estate, infrastructure, corporate mergers and acquisitions.
Rita-Rose has sat on the board of multiple companies located in Belgium, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Hong Kong, Australia and Europe. She is executive director of Hammerson plc.
Himanshu Raja
Himanshu Raja holds a law degree (LLB), is a Chartered Accountant and was most recently Chief Financial Officer at Countrywide Ltd (formerly Countrywide plc) from 2017 until its sale to Connells Ltd in March 2021. Prior to that he had served as Chief Financial Officer at G4S plc for three years where he was responsible for finance, treasury, tax, investor relations, M&A, IT and procurement, and led a significant improvement in contract risk management and governance across the Group and delivered significant cost transformation and cash flow improvement. Prior to G4S plc, Himanshu was Chief Financial Officer of Misys plc and also Logica plc, where he led the sale of the group to CGI in a £2.1 billion transaction.
Internal Committees
Member of the Group Investment Committee and the Group Management Committee
Harry Badham
Harry joined Hammerson in June 2021 in the newly created role of Chief Development and Asset Repositioning Officer, overseeing the development teams working on destination repositioning across the UK, Ireland, and France.
Harry was most recently UK Head of Development at AXA IM Alts, where he led £3.5bn of major investment, development and repositioning projects. Working on urban projects across a mix of uses including most notably 22 Bishopsgate, Assembly Bristol and 6 Pancras Square. Prior to his this, Harry was part of the leadership team at Allied London, where he was involved in delivering over £2bn of urban regeneration including the creation of the 25 acre Spinningfields development in Manchester and the Brunswick Centre in London.
During his career, Harry has built up extensive expertise across numerous disciplines including design, sustainability, leasing and technology.
Internal Committees
Member of the Group Investment Committee and the Group Management Committee
Alex Dunn
Jessica Oppenheimer
Grégoire Peureux
Alex Dunn
Alex joined Hammerson in May 2022 as General Counsel & Company Secretary. Alex has extensive legal and governance experience from a range of sectors. Prior to joining Hammerson, he was Group Company Secretary and Head of Legal at Close Brothers Group plc, a FTSE 250 merchant banking group. Before that, he worked at law firm Slaughter and May for nine years, covering the full range of corporate and commercial matters.
Internal Committees
Member of the Group Executive Committee, Group Investment Committee and the Group Management Committee.
Jessica Oppenheimer
Jessica joined Hammerson in 2022 in the newly created role of Chief People Officer, where her focus is on developing the company’s culture and values alongside business wide talent development and succession planning.
She was previously at financial technology company, Tungsten Network, and before this worked for a range of organisations including flexible workspace provider IWG, Virgin Media, the BBC and Three.
Internal Committees
Member of the Group Investment Committee and the Group Management Committee
Grégoire Peureux
Grégoire joined Hammerson in November 2020 in the newly created role of Chief Operating Officer, focusing on the delivery of strategic initiatives at a Group level.
Grégoire has more than 17 years of experience in the real estate industry. He joined Hammerson from Rove Capital Partners, a boutique real estate investment advisor, where he was a founding partner. He had previously worked at Ivanhoe Cambridge for over 13 years, initially as Chief Financial Officer for Europe, and subsequently acting Head of Europe, responsible for the investment, asset management, operations and finance activities for a diversified €5bn portfolio across the UK and Continental Europe.
Internal Committees
Chair of the Group Management Committee and Member of the Group Investment Committee
Richard Shaw
Simon Travis
Richard Shaw
Richard, a chartered accountant, joined Hammerson in 2000 from PricewaterhouseCoopers. He has undertaken a number of financial roles at the Company and was appointed UK Finance Director in April 2011, Group Financial Controller in March 2014 and Director of Finance in September 2018, before becoming Deputy CFO in December 2022.
Internal Committees
Member of the Group Investment Committee and the Group Management Committee
Simon Travis
Simon is responsible for identifying new investment opportunities across the Group. He joined Hammerson in 1998 as Asset Manager before moving on to become Development/Investment Manager, Business Development Director in 2010 and Group Investment Director in 2018.
Prior to joining Hammerson Simon worked as an Investment Manager at London and Cambridge Properties.
Internal Committees
Co-Chair of the Group Investment Committee