Executive Directors
Adam Castleton
Executive Director - Group Chief Financial Officer
Adam was appointed Group Chief Financial Officer on 2 November 2015. He has broad financial skills and experience in the retail and services sectors. Adam joined LSL from French Connection Group PLC, where he was the Group Finance Director. He previously held leadership roles at several market-leading companies including O2 UK, eBay and The Walt Disney Company. Adam has over 30 years' experience in finance, having started his career with Price Waterhouse, where he qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 1989.
David Stewart
Group Chief Executive Officer
David was appointed Group Chief Executive Officer on 1 May 2020 and has primary responsibility for LSL’s performance, strategy and development. Prior to this David was a Non Executive Director, having joined the Board on 1 May 2015. He was also Chair of the Audit & Risk Committee and a member of the Remuneration and Nominations Committees. David has significant experience in finance, strategy, operations, risk and compliance, with particular expertise in financial services. He was Chief Executive of Coventry Building Society from 2006 to 2014, having earlier served as Finance Director and Operations Director. Prior to joining the Coventry, David spent ten years at DBS Management plc, holding several board positions including Group Chief Executive and Group Finance Director. David qualified as a Chartered Accountant with Peat Marwick (KPMG) and is a graduate of Warwick University.
Non Executive Directors
Gaby Appleton
Independent Non Executive Director
Committees: Remuneration (Member), Nominations (Member), Audit & Risk (Member)
Gaby joined LSL as an independent Non Executive Director on 1 September 2019 and from 30 June 2021 to 5 March 2024, she was also the Senior Independent Director. During the period from 5 March to 30 April, she Chaired the Remuneration Committee and was the Non Executive Director designated for Workforce Engagement. Gaby has significant experience in strategy, technology, operations and sales and marketing, particularly in the professional information solutions sector. This includes her current appointment as Chief Digital Product Officer at Reed Exhibitions (a RELX Group plc company). Gaby previously held several executive strategic digital and marketing roles including Global Director of Strategy and Director of Research Strategy at Elsevier in Amsterdam. Before joining Elsevier, Gaby held operating positions at Sainsbury’s Supermarkets Ltd, within the Procter & Gamble group of companies, and was a senior manager at McKinsey & Co. Gaby holds a BA from the University of Cambridge.
Adrian Collins
Non Executive Chair
Committees: Nominations (Chair), Remuneration (Member)
Adrian Collins joined the Board as Non Executive Chair on 30 April 2024. He also Chairs the Nominations Committee and is a member of the Remuneration and Disclosure Committees. Adrian is a highly experienced Board Chair and Executive Director of listed companies with a deep understanding of the public markets, who has co-founded and led a number of highly successful financial services businesses. Adrian’s executive career was spent in fund management including 25 years at Gartmore, contributing to building one of the UK’s leading Institutional & Retail Fund management businesses. In 1995, he was one of the founders of Trustnet. Adrian has also held senior roles at Jupiter, Bestinvest and Lazard Investors. Between 2009 and 2019 Adrian served first as Executive and then Non-Executive Chair of Liontrust Asset Management, where during his tenure the company was transformed growing assets under management tenfold. In the last 5 years, Adrian has held a number of Board positions, and is currently Board Chair of Logistics Development Group plc (formerly Eddie Stobart Logistics plc) and a Non-Executive Director of Hargreaves Lansdown plc. In relation to Adrian’s appointments, the Board has determined that he is independent (according to the provisions of the UK Corporate Governance Code (2018 version)).
Darrell Evans
Independent Non Executive Director
Committees: Remuneration (Chair), Nominations (Member), Audit & Risk (Member)
Other responsibilities: designated Non Executive Director for workforce engagement
Darrell was appointed as an independent Non Executive Director on 28 February 2019 and was Interim Chair from 26 February 2024 to 30 April 2024. Prior to 26 February 2024, since 28 April 2021 he had held the role of Chair of the Remuneration Committee and he was also our designated Non Executive Director for Workforce Engagement. Darrell stepped out of these roles and his membership of the Audit & Risk Committee during the period of his appointment as Interim Chair. He resumed these roles on 30 April 2024. He has significant experience in financial services and he was previously Chief Commercial Officer at the Co-Operative Bank plc. He spent the first part of his career at Royal Bank of Scotland plc, where he was Managing Director, Mortgages, Loans and Retail Telephony in the retail banking division, responsible for all aspects of the Group’s mortgage proposition. Prior to that he was Product Director for the RBS retail bank. Darrell has also held senior executive roles at Direct Line Insurance Group plc, Virgin Money plc and The Consulting Consortium, where he was CEO.
Sonya Ghobrial
Independent Non-Executive Director
Committees: Audit & Risk, Remuneration
Sonya was appointed as an independent Non Executive Director on 4 March 2022. She has significant experience in banking, finance, strategy, investor relations, governance and ESG, which she has gained from her roles in the consumer sector, including her current position as Global Head of Investor Relations at Diageo plc. Sonya was previously Head of Investor Relations at Haleon and Heineken, and provided investor relations and consultancy services as Clear Giraffe IR. Her experience also includes senior roles with investment banks, including Barclays Capital, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley. She qualified as an accountant with KPMG and holds a BAcc (Hons) in Accountancy and Economics.
James Mack
Senior Independent Director
Committees: Audit & Risk (Chair), Nominations Committee
Other responsibilities: Senior Independent Director
James was appointed as an independent Non Executive Director on 27 September 2021. He has significant experience in audit, risk and financial services, particularly in retail financial services. James was previously Chief Financial Officer at Barclays Bank UK plc and Aldermore plc and acting Chief Financial Officer at the Co-operative Bank. His experience also includes senior roles in finance and internal audit at Skipton Building Society. James qualified as an accountant with KPMG and holds a BA from the University of Nottingham. James is deemed to have recent and relevant financial experience to Chair the Audit & Risk Committee.
Michael Stoop
Independent Non Executive Director
Michael joined LSL as an independent Non Executive Director on 24 June 2024. He has significant experience in estate agency and franchising which he has gained from his roles at Winkworth, Legal & General, and Belvoir Group plc. Michael is currently an Industry Board Member of The Property Ombudsman, where he also chairs the Finance & Performance Committee. He is also a Fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, and a Fellow of the National Association of Estate Agents.
Debbie Fish
Company Secretary
Debbie was appointed as Company Secretary in September 2024. She is a Fellow of the Chartered Governance Institute and has over 25 years’ experience in listed company governance, particular within the FTSE Small Cap sector.