Board of directors

Appointed: March 2019 and became Chair in May 2019

Committee memberships: Chair of the Nomination Committee.

Skills, experience and contribution
Richard brings to the Board deep operational and financial expertise combined with a strong commercial and strategic development track record. As former Chief Executive Officer of InterContinental Hotels Group plc (IHG), and prior to that Chief Financial Officer, he has broad experience of leading a successful multinational, as well as delivering growth in North America and Greater China, and the effective use of digital tools in service-led global businesses.

These attributes enable him to provide the necessary leadership to the Board and to contribute insights relevant to many of the strategic priorities of the business, as well as experience from the key hospitality customer segment. He is active, in parallel with the Executive Directors, in engaging with investors to ensure that their views and perspectives are considered within Board discussions.

Richard has a BA in Economics from the University of Manchester, trained as a Chartered Accountant with KPMG, and has seven years’ investment banking experience in New York and London with Hill Samuel.

Richard was previously a Non-Executive Director of Marks and Spencer Group plc, the Senior Independent Director of Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings plc and a Member of the Board of Governors and the Finance Committee at the University of Manchester.

Current external commitments
• Chair of the Board and the Advisory Committee, and Chair of the Remuneration Committee, Hotelbeds Group S.L.U. (Spain)
• Non-Executive Director and Chair of the Audit Committee, Mandarin Oriental International Limited (Bermuda)
• Chair of Spinal Track

Appointed: May 2008 and became Chief Executive in October 2013

Skills, experience and contribution
Andy has led Rentokil Initial as Chief Executive since October 2013, and brings a focused operational management style, together with a broad range of commercial and strategic skills gained in senior executive positions and legal roles earlier in his career, including several years in the US and Canada. He has more than 30 years’ experience of creating value through M&A around the world, at Rentokil Initial and ICI, and he has a strong record of engaging with stakeholders, from colleagues and customers to investors.

He joined Rentokil Initial in 2008, as Executive Director of the global Pest Control business, from ICI where he was part of the executive management team with operational responsibility for ICI’s Regional and Industrial Division, after holding various management positions as General Counsel and head of the M&A team since 1987.

Andy is a graduate of the University of Southampton (LLB) and a qualified solicitor. He is a patron of Malaria No More UK.

Date appointed: January 2025

Skills, experience and contribution

Paul has extensive financial and operational experience in listed international businesses. Prior to joining Rentokil Initial, he served as Chief Financial Officer of Flutter Entertainment plc, which now has its primary listing on the New York Stock Exchange. Before that, he acted as Chief Financial Officer and Group Head of Strategy at InterContinental Hotel Group plc, and was also an Associate Director in Corporate Finance at HSBC Holdings plc.

Paul is a qualified chartered accountant and is a member of the Association of Corporate Treasurers. He has a law degree from the University of Southampton.

Current external commitments
• None

Appointed: October 2024

Committee memberships: Member of the Nomination and Renumeration Committees.

Skills, experience and contribution
Brian brings extensive experience in investment analysis and operations. As a Partner and Head of Research at Trian Fund Management L.P., he has played leadership roles in many of Trian's investments, including Ferguson, Allstate, Pentair/nVent, Invesco, Janus Henderson, Legg Mason, Bank of New York Mellon, Lazard, Ingersoll-Rand, Wendy’s, Mondelez, PepsiCo and Cadbury. Brian holds a B.S. from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Current external commitments
• Partner and Head of Research at Trian Fund Management L.P.
• Non-executive Director, Janus Henderson Group plc

Appointed: October 2022

Committee memberships: Member of the Remuneration and Nomination Committees.

Skills, experience and contribution
David brings both extensive financial experience and a wealth of knowledge of the US market to the Board. He was a Non-Executive Director of Terminix Global Holdings, Inc. from January 2021 until it was acquired by Rentokil Initial in October 2022. David currently serves on the boards of several subsidiaries of Nasdaq, Inc., a leading provider of trading, clearing, exchange technology, listing, information and public company services. He previously served on the boards of Sirius XM Canada Holdings Inc., Savvis Communications and Pandora Media Inc.

In his executive career, David was the Chief Financial Officer of Sirius XM between 2003 and 2020, a subscription-based, satellite radio provider. Prior to this he was the Chief Financial Officer of Savvis Communications Corporation, Orion Network Systems Inc. and Millicom Incorporated and was an investment banker at Bear Stearns & Co., Inc. and Credit Suisse

David has a Bachelor of Arts in History from University of Michigan and a Master of Business Administration in Finance from University of Michigan – Stephen M. Ross School of Business.< br>

Current external commitments

Appointed: April 2023

Committee memberships: Chair of the Audit Committee and member of the Nomination Committee.

Skills, experience and contribution
Sally brings to the Board substantial commercial and strategic finance experience from her extensive executive career. Sally is the Chief Financial Officer of the FTSE 100 company Pearson plc, which is also listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Since joining Pearson in 2000 she has held various finance and operational roles across The Penguin Group, the education business and at a corporate level at Pearson. She was also a Trustee for the Pearson Pension Plan from 2012 to 2018

Sally is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales and completed her training at PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Appointed: April 2021 

Committee memberships: Member of the Remuneration and Nomination Committees.

Skills, experience and contribution
Sarosh has extensive experience as a senior executive, driving organic and inorganic growth in business-to-business services, especially in North America. He has deep experience of building businesses across the healthcare, retail, facilities management, hospitality, financial services and consumer technology industries, including innovation-led growth, service line extensions and new country entries (including emerging markets in Latin America and Asia). His executive experience has been in complex, geographically dispersed and multi-site businesses operating globally.

Sarosh Mistry is Sodexo’s CEO and Chairman of North America. He leads the North America Regional Leadership Committee for Sodexo, and is responsible for the coordination of Sodexo businesses in North America. Prior to leading North America, he served as the CEO for Sodexo’s business segment Home Care Worldwide, which operates in 13 countries. Prior to joining Sodexo in 2011, he worked in senior roles in major business-to-business and consumer organisations Compass Group, Starbucks, Aramark and PepsiCo.

Sarosh has a Bachelor’s degree from St John’s University, Minnesota, and an MBA from the A. Gary Anderson Graduate School of Management, California.

Appointed: January 2018 and became Senior Independent Director in May 2019

Committee memberships: Member of the Audit and Nomination Committees.

Skills, experience and contribution
John has a strong track record of developing and implementing global strategies for profitable growth at National Grid, deep experience of running a major US business, a strong economic background and engineering leadership experience. His skillset includes service provision to a large commercial and residential customer base, delivering world-class levels of safety performance and driving transformational change in highly regulated environments. He also has significant experience of M&A in both the UK and US. He has broad experience of dealing with governments and regulators in the UK and the US, and leading development of environmental, social and governance (ESG) strategies by driving the introduction of National Grid’s first ever Responsible Business Charter, which launched in 2020, and led the company’s Principal Partnership of COP26 in Glasgow.

John is Chief Executive of National Grid plc, a fellow of the Institute of Engineering and Technology, and a fellow of the Energy Institute. He is also a member of the Edison Electric Institute Executive Committee.

Current external commitments
• Chief Executive, National Grid plc

Appointed: April 2020

Committee memberships: Chair of the Remuneration Committee and member of the Nomination Committee.

Skills, experience and contribution
Cathy is an experienced Non-Executive Director with significant business leadership experience plus a deep knowledge of HR and remuneration matters. Her executive career, at executive committee level at Barclays plc and Lloyds Banking Group plc, has included responsibility for strategy, investor relations, HR, corporate affairs, legal, internal audit, branding and marketing. She brings deep experience of leading international customer-focused businesses, operating in complex, highly regulated industries and navigating highly challenging environments such as the 2008 financial crisis.

Her earlier career was in consulting and manufacturing and included roles with major audit and consultancy firms. She was previously a Non-Executive Director of Quilter plc, Aldermore Bank plc and Motonovo Finance Limited, and a Trustee of Gurkha Welfare Trust. Cathy graduated in Economics from Lancaster University. She is a partner at the senior advisory organisation, Manchester Square Partners.

Current external commitments
• Senior Independent Director and Chair of the Remuneration Committee, Lloyds Banking Group plc
• Senior Independent Director and Chair of the Remuneration Committee, Spectris plc
• Partner, Manchester Square Partners

Appointed: November 2017

Committee memberships:  Member of the Audit, Remuneration and Nomination Committees.

Skills, experience and contribution
As an economist, corporate lawyer and financial broadcaster, Linda brings a diverse range of skills to the Board, including strong commercial experience gained through her work in corporate law and previous non-executive positions, as well as deep insights into the economic environments in the markets in which Rentokil Initial operates, including key emerging and rapidly developing markets.

Linda obtained a BA at Yale University; Master’s at Harvard University; Juris Doctorate at New York University; and an MA and doctorate at Oxford University. Linda is a fellow at St Edmund Hall, Oxford University and an Adjunct Professor of Economics at London Business School. She was Visiting Professor at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). Linda was an Adviser to the UK Board of Trade until July 2023, and was a member of the Independent Review Panel on Ring-fencing and Proprietary Trading of the UK Treasury. She has acted in various advisory roles, including for the World Bank and the European Commission. Linda was previously a Trustee of Malaria No More UK and the Senior Independent Director of Fidelity China Special Situations plc, and until May 2023, a Trustee of The Coutts Foundation.

Rachel acts as secretary to the Board. Her biography can be found here.