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Management, Governance & CR

Directors & Officers

The British Land Company PLC

‡ John Ritblat (69) FRICS Chairman
John Ritblat became Managing Director of Union Property Holdings (London) Ltd in 1969, and became Chairman and Managing Director of The British Land Company PLC in 1971 following its merger with Union. He is also the non-executive Chairman of Colliers CRE PLC. He is Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Wallace Collection, Deputy Chairman of the Governing Body of London Business School, and a Member of the Council of The Royal Institution. He served on the Board of The British Library between 1995 and 2003 and is Vice President of the Tennis & Rackets Association and President of Snowsport UK (formerly The British Ski & Snowboard Federation).

* ‡ Sir Derek Higgs (61) BA, FCA Deputy Chairman
Sir Derek Higgs joined The British Land Company PLC as a non-executive director in July 2000, became Deputy Chairman in March 2001 and is also Chairman of the Remuneration Committee. He is a Senior Adviser in the UK to UBS Investment Bank. He is also Chairman of Partnerships UK Plc and Bramdean Asset Management LLP and a Deputy Chairman of Business in the Community. His other appointments include non-executive directorships of Egg plc, Jones Lang LaSalle Inc., and Allied Irish Banks, p.l.c. He is also a Pro-Chancellor of the University of Bristol and, amongst his charitable interests, has been a Trustee of The Textile Conservation Centre for nearly 25 years.

• Stephen Hester (44) Chief Executive
Stephen Hester joined The British Land Company PLC as Chief Executive in November 2004, from Abbey National plc. At Abbey he was Chief Operating Officer, having joined in May 2002 as Finance Director. For the previous 19 years he was at Credit Suisse First Boston, rising through various appointments to become Chief Financial Officer and then Global Head of the Fixed Income Division (including significant real estate related activities). He is Chairman of the British Land Executive Committee and Chief Executive of The British Land Corporation Limited.

• ‡ John Weston Smith (73) MA, FCIS Chief Operating Officer
John Weston Smith joined The British Land Company PLC as Secretary in 1971 from N. M. Rothschild & Sons Limited and was appointed an executive director in 1973. He is Chief Operating Officer. Previously he was Joint General Manager of the Abbey National Building Society. He is Managing Director of The British Land Corporation Limited and Chairman.

• Nicholas Ritblat (43) MA Executive Director
Nicholas Ritblat joined The British Land Company PLC in 1987 and was appointed an executive director in 1991. He previously worked for S. G. Warburg & Co. Ltd’s corporate and international finance divisions. He is Deputy Chairman of British Land Financing Limited. He is also a director of the British Property Federation. He sits on the Management Committee of the Investment Property Forum, the IPD Index Consultative Group and the Management Board of EPRA.

‡ Michael Cassidy (58) BA, MBA Non-Executive Director
Michael Cassidy was appointed a non-executive director of The British Land Company PLC in 1996. He is a practising solicitor and consultant with DLA Piper and was formerly Chairman of the Policy and Resources Committee of the Corporation of London. He is also President of the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Chairman of the Museum of London.

• Robert Bowden (62) BSc, FRICS Property Investment Director
Robert Bowden, a former senior partner of Conrad Ritblat & Co., joined The British Land Company PLC in 1992 as head of property investment and acquisitions. He was appointed an executive director in 1997. He is Chairman of British Land Properties Limited.

‡ Robert Swannell (54) FCA Non-Executive Director
Robert Swannell became a non-executive director of The British Land Company PLC in 1999. He is Co-Chairman of Citigroup’s European Investment Bank. He is a member of the Regulatory Decisions Committee of the Financial Services Authority and a member of the Industrial Development Advisory Board of the Department of Trade and Industry.

* † ‡ Lord Burns (61) GCB, BA (Econ.) Non-Executive Director
Terry Burns became a non-executive director of The British Land Company PLC in July 2000, and is Chairman of the Audit Committee. He has given notice of his resignation from The British Land Company PLC with effect from 30 September 2005. He is Chairman of Abbey National PLC and of Glas Cymru Cyfyngedig (Welsh Water). He is also a non-executive director of Pearson plc. He was Permanent Secretary of HM Treasury between 1991 and 1998. He is Chairman of the Governing Body of the Royal Academy of Music, and Chairman of the Trustees of the Monteverdi Choir and Orchestra.

• Graham Roberts (46) BA, FCA Finance Director
Graham Roberts joined The British Land Company PLC in January 2002 as an executive director and was appointed Finance Director in March 2002. He is Chairman of British Land Financing Limited. He was previously senior real estate partner at Andersen.

* † ‡ Dr Christopher Gibson-Smith (59) BSc, PhD, MS Senior Independent Non-Executive Director
Chris Gibson-Smith joined The British Land Company PLC as a non-executive director in January 2003. He is the Senior Independent Non-Executive Director and Chairman of the Nomination Committee. Formerly he was a Group Managing Director of BP plc. He was a non-executive director of Lloyds TSB Group plc from 1999 to 2005. He is Chairman of the London Stock Exchange, Chairman of National Air Traffic Services Limited and also a Trustee of Arts and Business.

* † ‡ David Michels (58) Non-Executive Director
David Michels was appointed a non-executive director of The British Land Company PLC in January 2003. He is Group Chief Executive of Hilton Group plc, and also a non-executive director of Hilton Hotels Corporation and was previously a non-executive director of Arcadia Group plc. He is also President of the Hilton in the Community Foundation, a Member (and past Chairman) of the British Hospitality Association Council and a Trustee of the Anne Frank Trust.

Secretary
Anthony Braine LLB, FCIS

• Member of the Executive Committee
* Member of the Remuneration Committee
† Member of the Audit Committee
‡ Member of the Nomination Committee


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