Leadership

Appointed to the board January 2016

Experience

Mark Wood CBE has had a long and distinguished career, serving as Chief Executive of some of the country’s largest financial services companies, including Prudential UK & Europe, Axa UK and Jardine Lloyd Thompson Employee Benefits. Mark is a regular commentator in the press on pensions and insurance.

Mark has been at the helm of several financial services and technology start-ups, including Paternoster, a regulated insurance company which he founded in 2005, and Digitalis Reputation Management, the online reputation management company, where he currently serves as Chairman.

He was previously the Chairman of the NSPCC and was awarded a CBE in 2017 for services to children.

Committee membership

• Nominations Committee (Chair)
• Audit & Risk Committee
• Investment Committee
• Remuneration Committee

Other appointments

• Chairman, Digitalis Reputation Management
• Chairman of the Audit, Risk & Compliance Committee and Chairman of the
• Regulated Entities Board, RAC
• Chairman, Utility Broker
• Chairman, Acquis Insurance
• Chairman, Leakbot
• Operating Partner, Advent
• Chairman, Multiple Sclerosis Society Research Appeal Board

Appointed to the board November 2020

Experience

Mary Francis CBE has extensive and diverse board-level experience across a range of industries, including previous Non-Executive Directorships at the Bank of England, Alliance & Leicester, Aviva, Centrica and Swiss Re Group.

Through her former senior executive positions with HM Treasury, the Prime Minister’s Office, and as Director General of the Association of British Insurers, Mary brings strong governance values to the board, a strong understanding of the interaction between public and private sectors, and skills in strategic decision-making and reputation management.

Mary was awarded a CBE in 2006 for her services to business.

Committee membership

• Remuneration Committee (Chair)
• Audit & Risk Committee
• Investment Committee
• Nominations Committee

Other appointments

• Non-Executive Director, Barclays plc
• Non-Executive Director, Valaris plc
• Member of the UK Takeover Appeal Board
• Member of the Advisory Panel, Institute of Business Ethics
• Senior Adviser, Chatham House

Appointed to the board December 2014

Experience

Romi Savova founded PensionBee in 2014 to simplify pension savings in the UK, following a difficult pension transfer experience of her own. As the Chief Executive Officer, she has played a pivotal role in advancing consumer standards in the pensions industry, from reducing transfer times to campaigning for the full abolition of exit fees. Romi is also a member of the government’s Pensions Dashboards Programme Steering Group, which was set up to advise on the delivery of pensions dashboards.

Prior to founding PensionBee, Romi worked at Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and Credit Benchmark, holding varied roles in risk management, investment banking and financial technology. Romi received an MBA from Harvard Business School as a George F. Baker scholar and graduated summa cum laude from Emory University.

Committee membership

• Audit & Risk Committee
• Investment Committee
• Nominations Committee
• Remuneration Committee

Other appointments

• Director, Seen on Screen

Appointed to the board January 2016

Experience

Jonathan Lister Parsons co-founded PensionBee with Romi in 2014. In his role as the Chief Technology Officer, he is passionate about bringing customers' pension experience into the 21st century, and using technology to transform pension transfer processes that typically take months to a five-minute process on a smartphone.

Jonathan champions a tech-forward culture within the business, aiming to raise the level of technology literacy among employees, and creating opportunities for people to develop technical skills as they move through different roles in their career at PensionBee.

Prior to co-founding PensionBee, Jonathan founded a digital consultancy, Penrose, and worked at British Telecom. Jonathan holds an MSci in Experimental and Theoretical Physics from the University of Cambridge.

Committee membership

• Audit & Risk Committee
• Investment Committee
• Nominations Committee
• Remuneration Committee

Other appointments

• None

Appointed to the board November 2019

Experience

Michelle Cracknell CBE has a portfolio career as a Pension Trustee and Non-Executive Director. She has over 30 years’ experience in pensions and retirement planning, including most recently as the Chief Executive of the Pensions Advisory Service. During her time there she significantly grew the number of customers and increased the channels offered, transforming the service to provide greater support on pension freedom legislation, pension scams and transfers from pension schemes. Michelle was awarded a CBE in 2019 for her services to the pensions industry.

Michelle started her career at a financial advice business where she became a shareholding Director prior to selling it to Aegon, and subsequently worked as a Strategy Director at Skandia/Old Mutual. Michelle is a qualified Pensions Actuary.

Committee membership

• Audit & Risk Committee (Chair)
• Investment Committee
• Nominations Committee
• Remuneration Committee

Other appointments

• Trustee of the Lloyds Bank Pension Funds
• Non-Executive Director, Just Group plc
• Non-Executive Director, Fidelity International Holdings
• Director, Singing Gorilla Projects Charity

Appointed to the board June 2015

Experience

Joseph Suddaby has been Head of Mergers & Acquisitions at Tilney Group since 2017. He was previously Head of Corporate Development at Ashmore Group plc. Prior to that he held roles in corporate finance advisory at Morgan Stanley, Lexicon Partners and Goldman Sachs.

Joseph graduated from the University of Oxford with an MA in Classics.

Committee membership

• Investment Committee (Chair)
• Audit & Risk Committee
• Nominations Committee
• Remuneration Committee

Other appointments

• None

Experience

Brian Magnus joined TDR Capital in 2012. Prior to this, he was a Managing Director at Morgan Stanley where he was European Head of Morgan Stanley Private Equity, and formerly Head of UK Investment Banking. Brian joined Morgan Stanley in 2000 having previously worked in the Corporate Finance Division of Schroders (later acquired by Citigroup).

Brian graduated from the University of Manchester with a degree in Management Sciences and qualified as a Chartered Accountant with Price Waterhouse.

Other appointments

• Director, Stonegate Pub Company
• Director, David Lloyd Clubs

Experience

Daniel Leuty is a Managing Director within State Street Corporation’s Global Client Division. Daniel joined State Street Global Advisors (SSGA) Institutional Client Group in 2014 to create a division that was focused on the growing defined contribution pension market. His final role within SSGA was Head of Strategic Partnerships. Prior to that he was a member of the corporate leadership team at Friends Life plc (since purchased by Aviva plc).

Daniel spent the majority of his early career at PricewaterhouseCoopers in a variety of consulting roles.

Other appointments

• None

Experience

Romi Savova founded PensionBee in 2014 to simplify pension savings in the UK, following a difficult pension transfer experience of her own. As the Chief Executive Officer, she has played a pivotal role in advancing consumer standards in the pensions industry, from reducing transfer times to campaigning for the full abolition of exit fees. Romi is also a member of the government’s Pensions Dashboards Programme Steering Group, which was set up to advise on the delivery of pensions dashboards.

Prior to founding PensionBee, Romi worked at Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and Credit Benchmark, holding varied roles in risk management, investment banking and financial technology. Romi received an MBA from Harvard Business School as a George F. Baker scholar and graduated summa cum laude from Emory University.

Experience

Jonathan Lister Parsons co-founded PensionBee with Romi in 2014. In his role as the Chief Technology Officer, he is passionate about bringing customers' pension experience into the 21st century, and using technology to transform pension transfer processes that typically take months to a five-minute process on a smartphone.

Jonathan champions a tech-forward culture within the business, aiming to raise the level of technology literacy among employees, and creating opportunities for people to develop technical skills as they move through different roles in their career at PensionBee.

Prior to co-founding PensionBee, Jonathan founded a digital consultancy, Penrose, and worked at British Telecom. Jonathan holds an MSci in Experimental and Theoretical Physics from the University of Cambridge.

Experience

Jasper Martens is the Chief Marketing Officer of PensionBee, having joined the company in 2015. He is responsible for product and marketing across the business and brings extensive multichannel marketing experience to PensionBee, gathered over 15 years working in financial services and digital agencies.

Prior to joining PensionBee, Jasper was Head of Marketing and Communications at small business insurance provider, Simply Business. Before moving to London, Jasper ran his own online marketing agency which he founded in the Netherlands.

Experience

Christoph Martin is the Chief Financial Officer of PensionBee, having joined the company in 2019. He is responsible for financial reporting and business planning at PensionBee.

Christoph previously worked in private equity investment at Providence Equity Partners, focusing on investments in technology, media, telecommunications and education. Prior to that he worked in mergers and acquisitions, covering financial institutions at Morgan Stanley. Christoph holds a BSc in Business Administration from the WU Vienna.

Experience

Tess Nicholson is the Chief Operating Officer of PensionBee, having joined the company in 2015. She is responsible for a range of operational activities across the business, including customer success, compliance and banking operations.

Tess was previously Operations Manager and UK Commercial Manager at GO Markets UK Trading Limited (formerly Vantage FX UK Trading Limited). Tess holds a BA Hons degree in Fashion Design with Communication from Birmingham City University and is currently studying for a masters in Social & Political Theory at Birkbeck, University of London.

Experience

Lisa Picardo is the Chief Corporate Officer of PensionBee, having joined the company in 2020. She leads the corporate development of PensionBee and plays a broader management role across many aspects of the business.

Lisa previously worked at Morgan Stanley for 13 years, with the first seven years spent in the European Mergers & Acquisitions department, where she gained extensive experience working on many large and complex UK public transactions, and also played a role in firm management. Lisa then joined the Morgan Stanley Private Equity Fund, focused on investing in mid-market opportunities across sectors, with an interest in consumer-facing businesses. In 2015 Lisa founded LITTLECIRCLE, an online retail platform for children's fashion. Lisa holds a BSc in Economics from Bristol University.

Experience

Clare Reilly is the Chief Engagement Officer of PensionBee and joined the company in 2017. Clare focuses on helping PensionBee transform the pensions industry to better serve consumer needs, playing a pivotal role in launching the UK’s first Open Banking - pension integrations and one of the UK's first mainstream fossil fuel free pensions.

Clare previously worked in the not-for-profit sector, in Corporate Relations at Citizens Advice and Fellowship at the Royal Society of Arts. Clare holds a BA Hons from University College London and an MSc from the University of Oxford in Russian and East European Studies.