Board of Directors
Allocate Software’s board consists of an Executive Chairman, two other Executive Directors and four Non-Executive Directors. All the Non-Executive Directors are considered to be independent of management and bring objective judgment to Board strategy and decisions.
A short biography for each can be found below, along with the responsibilities of the Board of Directors and its Committees.
Terry Osborne (Executive Chairman)
Terry joined as the Company's Chairman in October 2005. He enjoyed a distinguished career with IBM over the period 1961 to 1987, where he held Vice President positions in Europe and the USA. He was also a director of IBM UK. In 1987, he founded SSA Ltd, a technology company, and was President of SSA Inc for the period 1994 to 1996. Mr Osborne has served on the Boards of several technology companies in both the USA and Europe, including Chairman of Dr Solomon's Group plc, Prime Response Inc and Eyretel plc. He was also a director of Mapics Inc, Dendrite International Inc and Witness Inc.
Ian Bowles (Chief Executive Officer)
Ian Bowles became Chief Executive in May 2007. Previously he was Chief Operating Officer at Clearswift Limited, a leading e-mail content security company, where he was responsible for World Wide Operations including sales and marketing in the UK, Europe, USA, Japan and Asia Pacific, as well as the Company's Professional Services, Customer Support and World Wide IT Infrastructure. Prior to this he held senior positions at Interwoven Inc as Vice President EMEA, Chordiant Inc as Vice President International and Oracle UK as General Manager.
Chris Gale (Chief Financial Officer)
Chris joined the Board of Directors and Allocate Software as CFO on 15th February 2010. Chris has held senior financial roles in international public companies within the IT industry including: Apple Inc (in USA & European HQ), Cooper and Chyan Technology Inc (USA), Cadence Design Systems (USA & Europe), Interwoven and Clearswift (UK). In his most recent corporate role, Chris was CFO and acting CEO of GFI, a global software and hosted solutions company.
Allen Swann (Business Development Director)
Allen joined the company in 2006 whilst acting as Interim Sales Director. Since May 2007, he has focused on building a substantial presence in the UK Healthcare market. Allen is also Non Executive Chairman of the Board of CopperEye Ltd, a privately funded UK software company majoring in the telco marketplace, and a Non Executive Director of Chordiant Software Inc, a US based software company. Prior to these appointments he served as International President for Chordiant Software Inc, International President of Prime Response Inc and was a founder member of Oracle UK, where he served as Sales Director both direct and non-direct for 12 years.
Ian Lang (Non-Executive Director)*
Ian joined as a Non-Executive Director in August 1998. Previously, he held senior roles in sales, marketing and strategic planning at ICI, before becoming General Manager of Information Systems for Zeneca Agrochemicals. He is also Chief Executive of Higher Level Systems Limited.
Andrew Pringle (Non-Executive Director)*
Andrew joined as a Non-Executive Director in March 2004. Previously, he was Chief of Staff at the UK's Permanent Joint Headquarters ('PJHQ'), responsible for the direction of all UK military operations jointly carried out by the three armed services (Army, Navy, Air Force). He retired in 2001 with the rank of Major General. Previously, Andrew had been commissioned into The Royal Green Jackets and commanded military operations at every level from Platoon to Division, both for the UK Army and for multi-national forces overseas. Andrew has served in the Ministry of Defence, the Assessments Staff of the Joint Intelligence Committee, and, while at PJHQ, three years at the heart of the planning and conduct of UK operations worldwide, including Bosnia, Kosovo, Albania, Macedonia, Iraq, East Timor and Sierra Leone.Andrew joined KBR, a leading global engineering, construction and services company supporting the energy, hydrocarbon, government services, minerals, civil infrastructure, power and industrial markets, as Vice President Government & Defence, Europe Middle East and Africa, in April 2008, rising to become President International Government & Defence in January 2010.
Mark Loveland (Non-Executive Director)*
Mark joined as a Non-Executive Director in April 2005. He is a graduate in Jurisprudence from Oxford University and has had considerable experience in the support and development of technology companies. He has held positions within Rowe & Pitman and SG Warburg, including Head of UK Technology Research and Deputy Chairman of the Small and Mid-Cap Group, at Dresdner Kleinwort Benson where he was Head of European Technology Research, and at JP Morgan Investment Bank as Head of European IT Equity Research and Head of European Technology Strategy.
Richard Morgan-Evans (Non-Executive Director)
Richard became a Non-Executive Director in January 2007, having been appointed Group Managing Director in September 2004 after joining the Company in June 2004 as Chief Operating Officer. He has over 20 years' international business experience at senior level, including appointments as President, Managing Director and CEO, in the European IT industry. Richard has particular expertise in international sales, partner development, consultancy, implementation services and product development. He has also specialized in managing large international contracts to successful completion.
* Indicates membership of the Audit Committee, the Nomination Committee and the Remuneration Committee.
The responsibilities of the Board of Directors and its Committees
The Board has adopted a formal schedule which sets out the various matters for which it is responsible and that are reserved to it. The Board meets regularly during the year. It is responsible for the overall strategy and direction of the Group and for approving acquisitions and disposals, management performance, major capital and development expenditure and significant financial matters.
The Board monitors exposure to key business risks and reviews the strategic direction of the Company and its subsidiaries, their annual budgets, their progress against those budgets and their development programmes. The Board also considers employee issues and key appointments.
The Board has established an Audit Committee, a Nomination Committee and a Remuneration Committee. Each Committee operates within defined terms of reference. The Committees all comprise J I Lang, A R D Pringle and M J S Loveland, Non-Executive Directors. The Audit Committee is chaired by M J S Loveland, the Nomination Committee is chaired by A R D Pringle and the Remuneration Committee is chaired by J I Lang. The Audit Committee is required to meet at least twice a year and its primary responsibilities include monitoring internal controls, approving the Group's accounting policies and reviewing the interim and annual reports. The Nomination Committee meets on an ad hoc basis when appointments to the Board are considered. The Remuneration Committee meets quarterly. Its responsibilities include setting the remuneration of (including the granting of share options to) the Executive Directors and senior management of the Company in line with policies approved by the Board.