Corporate Responsibility

Board of Directors

The Board formulates strategy and is responsible and accountable for the Group’s operational and financial performance. It has a formal schedule of matters reserved to it, such as:

• Committing to major capital expenditure, acquisitions or disposals
• Authorising material borrowings and any issue of equity securities
• Approving the Group’s annual operating plan and budget
• Approving the Group’s Annual Report and Accounts
• Approving any interim dividend and recommending the final dividend
• Approving and monitoring compliance with the Group’s Code of Business Conduct and associated whistleblowing policy
• Approval of Group accounting policies
• Review of operating and financial performance.
• Establishing committees of the Board and approving their terms of reference, reviewing the activities and, where appropriate, ratifying their decisions.

Biographies of the Directors

Alasdair Locke - Chairman

Alasdair Locke joined Mecom in June 2006 as a non-executive director and became the Chairman in January 2009. He is the Executive Chairman of Abbot Group plc and, in addition to having been involved in the oil and shipping industry since 1974, has held senior executive positions within the banking industry.

David Montgomery - Chief Executive

David Montgomery founded Mecom in 2000 and was the Executive Chairman until January 2009. He has since worked on a number of acquisitions in Europe to establish Mecom as one of the leading European publishing and content businesses. Prior to becoming editor of News of the World in 1985, he was Managing Director of News UK Limited, editor of the Today newspaper and a non-executive director of Satellite Television plc. Between 1992 and 1999, he was Chief Executive of Mirror Group plc, where he oversaw its substantial restructuring.

Keith Allen - Chief Operating Officer

Keith Allen joined the corporate finance division of Hambros Bank Limited in 1989 working with a variety of media clients. He became a director and head of the media team in 1997. In 1998 he left Hambros to become joint head of the newly established corporate finance division at BNP and following BNP's acquisition of Paribas in 2000 he assumed responsibility for the UK media team. Keith Allen joined Mecom in 2004, becoming Group Finance Director in June 2006, and then Chief Operating Officer in March 2008.

Henry Davies – Group Finance Director

Henry Davies joined the Board of Mecom in January 2009 as acting Group Finance Director and became the Group Finance Director in February 2009. Henry qualified as an accountant and spent ten years with Price Waterhouse. Before joining Mecom as Group Financial Controller in 2007, he had been Group Controller at DS Smith plc and Eastern Group plc.

Stephen Davidson – Senior Independent Director

Stephen Davidson joined Mecom in January 2009 as Senior Independent Director. He is currently the chairman of Datatec Ltd and Digital Marketing Group plc, and a non-executive director of Inmarsat plc.   He has held various positions in investment banking, most recently at West LB Panmure where he was Global Head of Media and Telecoms Investment Banking, then Vice Chairman of Investment Banking.

From 1992 to 1998 he was Finance Director, then Chief Executive Officer of Telewest Communications plc. He was Chairman of the Cable Communications Association from 1996 to 1998. He holds an MA (first class) in Mathematics and Statistics from the University of Aberdeen.

Michael Hutchinson – Non-Executive Director

Michael Hutchinson joined Mecom in May 2009 as Non-Executive Director. He is currently the non-executive chairman of RBS Sempra Metals Limited, chairman of Wogen plc and non-executive chairman of Greenland Minerals and Energy Limited, and he is also a director of LME Holdings Limited and The London Metal Exchange Limited.