Leslie Van de Walle
NON-EXECUTIVE CHAIR
Appointed: November 2022 Committees: Nominations (Chair)
Leslie is a Non-Executive Director of HSBC UK Bank plc and the Chair of Greencore Group plc.
Leslie has held various non-executive roles and was previously Chair of Euromoney Institutional Investor plc and Chair of SIG plc, as well as Deputy Chair at Crest Nicholson Holdings and Senior Independent Director of DCC plc. He also served as Chair of the Robert Walters Group between 2012 and 2018. Leslie's executive career has included serving as Group Chief Executive Officer at Rexam plc and Chief Executive Officer at United Biscuits plc.
Toby Fowlston
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
Appointed: April 2023
After qualifying as a solicitor, Toby joined the business as a consultant in 1999 and has since held senior positions leading the Group’s recruitment operations in both the UK and Asia Pacific, the Group’s largest and most profitable region.
Having worked his way up from consultant to leading the Group’s London recruitment business, Toby transferred to Singapore, heading up operations in Singapore and South East Asia for five years before being promoted to CEO Asia Pacific, a role he held for two years. In early 2021, Toby moved back to London to work closely with the Group’s founder, Robert Walters, as CEO of Robert Walters and Walters People, two of the Group’s global recruitment brands. He was appointed to the role of Group CEO on 27th April 2023.
David Bower
CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER
Appointed: September 2023
David joined the Board of Robert Walters plc as Chief Financial Officer in September 2023.
David qualified as a Chartered Accountant with Arthur Andersen (later Deloitte LLP) where he spent 12 years. Prior to joining Robert Walters, David spent 18 years at HomeServe plc, where he held a number of senior divisional and group finance roles before being appointed Chief Financial Officer in 2017.
Tanith Dodge
SENIOR INDEPENDENT NON-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR (SID)
Appointed: February 2017 Committees: Remuneration (Chair), Audit and Risk, Nominations
Tanith is an HR executive with a strong consumer background in international organisations. Her recent experience includes Chief People Officer at Bicester Village Shopping Collection. Prior to this she spent eight years at Marks & Spencer Group plc where she ran the global HR for 80,000 employees in 53 countries. Before joining Marks & Spencer Group plc, Tanith was Group Human Resources Director at WH Smith, where she also held responsibility for Public Relations, Communications and Post Office Operations. Prior to this, she was Senior Vice President Human Resources for Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) at InterContinental Hotels Group. Tanith has also held senior HR roles at Diageo plc and Prudential Corporation plc. Tanith has a breadth of Board experience. Since March 2021 she has been Chair of Samarkand Global plc and also Chair of the Remuneration Committee. Since July 2019 she has been a member of the Advisory Council for PriceWaterhouseCoopers. She is also a Non Executive Director of Silverwood Brands since October 2022.
Matt Ashley
NON-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Appointed: December 2021 Committees: Audit and Risk (Chair), Nominations, Remuneration
Matt joined the Board of Robert Walters plc on 23 December 2021. He brings a broad range of experience from different sectors. As Group CFO of Micro Focus International plc, one of the world’s largest enterprise software providers, Matt has just completed its sale to Open Text Inc for an Enterprise Value of $6bn. Previously, Matt was Chief Financial Officer at William Hill plc, prior to which he held several senior positions at National Express Group plc including Group Finance Director and Chief Executive, North America. He was a director of transport, infrastructure and public company reporting at Deloitte LLP and began his career as an auditor in London. Matt is a graduate of Leeds University and member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.
Michaela Tod
NON-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Appointed: June 2023
Michaela is an experienced Board member and is currently a Non-Executive Director of publicly quoted MYT Netherlands Parent B.V. and AUGA Group AB. Michaela’s executive career spanned the consumer products industry including senior executive positions at Dyson where she spent 14 years and latterly served as President of Greater China and Director of Marketing and Direct to Consumer in Japan. More recently, Michaela served as Co-Chief Executive of ProSiebenSat.1 Entertainment. Prior to Dyson, Michaela held senior positions at Grey Group and FCB Global.
Jane Hesmondhalgh
NON-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Appointed: June 2023
Jane is an experienced senior executive with wide ranging and international experience across the technology sector. Jane is currently Corporate Vice President within Microsoft’s Global Commercial business and has held other senior finance positions across Microsoft including Chief Financial Officer, Microsoft International and Chief Financial Officer, Microsoft Global Consumer Business. Prior to joining Microsoft, Jane held senior finance positions at Palm Inc., 3Com, and Boeing.
