SJP Directors
Executive Directors
Caroline Waddington
Date of Appointment
Chief Financial Officer - September 2024.
Experience
A chartered accountant, Caroline began her career at Coopers & Lybrand. She subsequently held senior finance roles at Barclays Capital, RBS and Deutsche Bank before becoming chief financial officer for UK and EMEA at Credit Suisse. More recently she was chief financial officer for UBS Group’s UK Credit Suisse entities, as well as chief operating officer for Credit Suisse International.
External appointments
Trustee and member of the Board and the Finance & Audit Committee of St Giles Trust.
Non-executive Directors
Rosemary Hilary
Date of Appointment
Non-executive Director October 2019. Chair of the Risk Committee and member of the Audit, Remuneration and Nomination and Governance Committees.
Experience
Rosemary was chief internal auditor at TSB Bank from 2013 to 2016 and prior to that, from 1989 to 2013, she held a number of senior positions at the Financial Services Authority and the Bank of England. Rosemary is a chartered certified accountant, FCCA.
Rosemary was formerly a non-executive director and chair of the Audit and Risk Committee of Record plc; non-executive director, chair of the Risk and Audit Committee and member of the Investment Committee of the Pension Protection Fund; and Trustee and member of the Audit, Risk and Finance Committee of Shelter, the homelessness charity.
External Appointments
Since 2016, Rosemary has been a non-executive director and chair of the Audit Committee of Willis Ltd; and a non-executive director and chair of the Risk Committee of Vitality Life and Vitality Health. In 2021 she became a trustee of the King’s Foundation and chair of its Audit and Risk Committee. She was appointed to the board of the Scottish Building Society in November 2022.
John Hitchins
Date of Appointment
Independent Non-executive Director, November 2021. Chair of the Audit Committee and member of the Risk and Nomination & Governance Committees.
Experience
John has extensive experience of the financial services industry gained through his career as a senior audit partner and his non-executive directorships. John spent 38 years with PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, specialising in financial services auditing and advisory services, before retiring in 2014. Since retiring from PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP he has undertaken a number of non-executive director roles with financial services companies alongside a role as a senior adviser to the Financial Reporting Council.
Paul Manduca
Date of Appointment
Chair May 2021. Non-executive Director January 2021. Chair of the Nomination and Governance Committee.
Experience
Paul has been Chair of the Company since May 2021 having joined from Prudential plc, where he was chair for eight and a half years. He was also previously chair of Aon UK Limited, JPM European Smaller Companies Investment Trust plc, Templeton Emerging Markets Investment Trust plc and W.A.G Payment Solutions plc. Paul was the senior independent director of Wm Morrison Supermarkets Plc, a non-executive director of KazMunaiGas Exploration & Production and chair of Henderson Diversified Income Limited. Prior to this, he served as founding chief executive officer of Threadneedle Asset Management, director of Eagle Star and Allied Dunbar, chief executive officer, Europe of Deutsche Asset Management, global chief executive officer of Rothschild Asset Management, chair of Bridgewell Group plc and was director of Henderson Small Companies Investment Trust plc.
Simon Fraser
Date of Appointment
Non-executive Director, April 2024. Senior Independent Non-executive Director, July 2024.
Member of the Remuneration, Audit and Nomination & Governance Committees.
Experience
Simon started his career as a stockbroker from 1986-1992, working for Barclays de Zoete Wedd, from which he went on to set up an institutional stockbroking business Gerrard Vivian Gray. In February 1997, Simon joined Bank of America Merrill Lynch where he remained for the rest of his executive career. From 2004 until his retirement in 2011, Simon was managing director and co-head of corporate broking at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. He stepped down in 2011 to develop a non-executive portfolio. Simon has previously been a senior independent director and chair of the nomination committee at Derwent London plc, senior independent director and chair of the remuneration committee at Lancashire Holdings Ltd and most recently a non-executive director at Legal & General Investment Management Ltd until March 2024.
External Appointments
Simon is currently a non-executive director and chair of the remuneration committee for SEGRO plc and non-executive director and chair designate of Grainger plc.
Rooney Anand
Date of Appointment
Independent Non-executive Director - January 2025
Member of Risk and Group Remuneration committees.
Experience
Rooney served as chief executive officer at Greene King and has held non-executive positions as chair of Casual Dining Group and Away Resorts, non-executive director of Drive Assist Holdings and Pursuit Dynamics. He was also senior independent director for Wm Morrison Supermarkets until its sale to private equity.
External Appointments
Rooney is non-executive chair of RedCat Pub Company and Purity Soft Drinks. He is also a visiting professor at Aston Business School.
Penny James
Date of Appointment
Non-executive Director - July 2025. Member of the Audit and Risk Committees.
Experience
Penny has over 30 years’ experience across the Insurance, asset management and wealth sectors. Penny was chief executive officer at Direct Line Insurance Group plc between 2019 and 2023 after joining as chief financial officer in 2017. Prior to that, she held a number of senior positions, including that of chief risk officer at Prudential plc and roles at Omega Insurance Holdings Ltd and Zurich Insurance Company Ltd after starting her career at PricewaterhouseCoopers in 1991. Penny is a chartered accountant.
Penny was formerly a non-executive director at M&G plc and Admiral Group plc and senior independent director and member of the Governance & Nominations and Risk Committees at Hargreaves Lansdown plc.
External Appointments
Since 2024, Penny has been a non-executive director and member of the Audit and Nominations Committees at Mitie Group plc, where she is currently Audit Committee chair designate. She is a non-executive director and member of the Risk & Capital and People & Remuneration Committees at QBE Insurance Group Ltd and non-executive director and chair of the Audit Committee of Vitality Health Ltd.
Helen Beck
Date of Appointment
Non-executive Director, July 2025. Nominated Non-executive Director for Workforce Engagement. Chair of the Group Remuneration Committee and member of the Risk Committee.
Experience
Helen has more than 30 years of business leadership and consultancy experience gained from non-executive roles and executive positions in Human Resources across the Financial Sector. Between 2013 and 2021 Helen was the Head of the Financial Service Remuneration Practice at Deloitte, specialising in reward structures for FTSE 100, FTSE 250 and private companies. Prior to that, she held a number of Executive roles including at Standard Bank and McLagan Partners (part of AON PLC).
Helen was formerly a non-executive director and chair of the Remuneration Committee of Ashmore Group PLC and a non-executive director of Irwin Mitchell.
External Appointments
Helen is a senior independent director and chair of the Remuneration Committee of Funding Circle Holdings PLC and is also chair of the Remuneration Committee of Picton Property Income Limited. Since April 2025 she has been a non-executive director of Hampshire Bank Trust. Helen is also a Remuneration Committee member of the British Olympic Association and a governor at the University of Bedfordshire, where she has chaired a number of committees.
Group Executive Committee
The Group Executive Committee includes the Executive Directors shown above, Mark FitzPatrick and Caroline Waddington.
Tom Beal
Date of Appointment
Group Investment Director - September 2022.
Experience
Tom joined St. James’s Place in 2008 and has been working in financial markets since 2000. He was appointed as SJP’s Group Investment Director in September 2022. For over 2 years prior to this, he held the role of Chief Investment Officer and Chair of the Investment Committee, and is also CEO of the Unit Trust Group. He has also more recently been appointed CIO of Rowan Dartington.
External Appointments
Tom has no external appointments.
Peter Edwards
Date of Appointment
Appointed to the Executive Board 2016.
Joined St. James’s Place in 1999.
Peter is the Chairman of Policy Services Limited.
Experience
Peter joined the company in 1999 holding a variety of roles across the Field Management Team. As Partnership Director, he is responsible for the UK Partnership as well as the recruitment of new joiners, the Academy and Regulatory Authorisations.
Prior to joining St. James’s Place, Peter owned and ran his own face to face financial advice businesses at both Guardian Royal Exchange and Allied Dunbar. Prior to his financial services career, Peter served in the British Army.
External Appointments
Peter has no external appointments.
Ian MacKenzie
Date of Appointment
Appointed to the Executive Board 2014.
Joined St. James’s Place 1999.
Experience
Ian has over 30 years experience in financial services and is currently Chief Operations Officer.
He is a Fellow of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries as well as being a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, of The Institute of Leadership and Management and of BCS, the Chartered Institute of IT.
Ian is responsible for:
- St. James’s Place’s Client and Partner operations
- Financial planning advice and support to the St. James’s Place community
- Product manufacturing and technical support across the St. James’s Place Group including overseeing governance of product provider subsidiaries
External Appointments
Ian’s external appointments include his posts as a trustee and director of the Holiday Homes Trust, director of the Scout Association Trust Corporation and governor of the University of the West of England, where he is chair of the Finance, Estates and IT Committee.
Hestie Reinecke
Date of Appointment
Chief Risk Officer - October 2024.
Experience
Hestie joined SJP following four years as chief compliance officer at Prudential plc, and prior to that in senior risk management roles in insurance at Prudential plc and in banking, wealth and investment management at Barclays. Her experience across three continents has included a strong focus on organisational transformation and conduct management.
She holds a PhD in Mathematical Statistics, and an Executive Masters in Clinical Organisational Psychology.
External appointments
Hestie has no external appointments.
Paul Loftus
Date of Appointment
General Counsel - December 2024.
Experience
Paul first qualified as a lawyer in Australia and joined Clifford Chance LLP on moving to the UK in 2001. He joined SJP from Barclays where over the course of his career he has led legal teams in the Wealth and Private Bank, Group Centre, Barclays Africa and Barclays UK businesses. Most recently he was Managing Director and Head of Legal for Barclays UK with coverage responsibility for the secured lending, savings, insurance, sustainability and transformation teams and bank wide subject matter responsibility for economic crime, litigation and contentious regulatory matters.
He holds degrees in Law and Politics and an LLM from King’s College London.
External appointments
Paul has no external appointments.
Rob Sanders
Date of Appointment
Chief Client Officer - March 2025.
Experience
Rob spent 10 years leading Aberdeen Asset Management’s marketing efforts around the world as Head of Group Marketing. Rob then went on to found and lead his own FinTech business, called Door, which simplifies data exchange between asset and wealth managers. He’s built both tech and a global client network - which included some of our largest peers in the US and Europe.
External Appointments
Rob is a Board Director of Door Ventures Inc.
Lisa Davis
Date of Appointment
Chief People Officer - April 2025
Experience
Lisa joins us with a 20-year career delivering large scale organisational transformation. She prides herself on developing high performing and inclusive corporate cultures that drive business success. Prior to SJP, Lisa was Chief People Officer at Skipton Building Society, Just Group, and most recently the Medical Protection Society. Lisa is a qualified accountant, starting her career at EY, before working in a number of senior leadership roles in Financial Services.
External Appointments
Lisa is Vice-Chair of the Women in Finance Charter, set up by HM Treasury.
Lyn Grobler
Date of Appointment
Chief Technology Officer - June 2025.
Experience
Lyn joined us from the Howden Group where she was Group Chief Information Officer (CIO) for over nine years and was instrumental in successfully delivering an IT strategy that supported the group’s growth ambitions. Before joining Howden, Lyn held multiple leadership positions at BP over a 10-year period, most recently as Vice President and CIO of Corporate Functions.
She’s passionate about the value diversity brings to a business and has been a judge on the Everywoman in Technology Awards.
External Appointments
Lyn is a non-exec on the Board of the Bank of Cyprus and Titan Cement.
James Rainbow
Date of Appointment
Chief Executive Officer of St. James’s Place Wealth Management Plc - April 2025
Experience
James spent 17 years at Schroders in a variety of leadership positions, including Head of UK and a member of Schroders’ Group Management Committee. His previous roles include responsibility for Schroders’ Latin America business across four countries, CEO of Schroders Personal Wealth, CEO of Schroder Unit Trusts and a Director of the advice and platform business, Benchmark Capital.
External Appointments
None
Company Secretary
Jonathan Dale
Read moreJonathan Dale
Jonathan was appointed Company Secretary in July 2021 having joined St. James’s Place in 2016 as the Deputy Company Secretary. Prior to joining St. James’s Place he was a director of Capita Company Secretarial Services (now Link Company Matters).
Contact Jonathan: [email protected]
Founder Presidents
Sir Mark Weinberg
Sir Mark founded the St. James's Place Group with Mike Wilson and Lord Rothschild in 1991 and was Chairman of the company until September 2004, when he resigned from the Board and was appointed President of the company. He chaired the Investment Committee until July 2011. Sir Mark originally practised as a barrister and was formerly Deputy Chairman of the Securities and Investments Board, the forerunner to the Financial Conduct Authority.
The late Mike Wilson CBE
Mike passed away in February 2018.
He had worked in the financial services industry since 1963 and founded the St. James's Place Group with Sir Mark Weinberg in 1991. He was Chief Executive until September 2004 and then Chairman until December 2011. Mike was also a director of the St. James's Place Charitable Foundation until December 2017.