The Board

John Brown
Non-Executive Chairman
John Brown was previously Chief Executive of Speedy Hire PLC, a FTSE 350 company. John is a Non-Executive director and Chairman of the audit committee for Lookers plc and Henry Boot plc and was also Chairman of Novera Energy plc until he retired in May 2007. John joined the Allen Group, a private building company in 1973 as Finance Director and Company Secretary. In 1977, he started the Speedy Hire business with one depot in Wigan and helped develop its expansion. He became Chief Executive of Allen plc in February 2001 and was responsible for the transformation of the Allen Group into Speedy Hire PLC with a market capitalisation of approximately £350 million.

Joe Matthews
Group Chief Executive
Joe Matthews joined Norcros Limited, as Group Planning Manager, in 1974 and subsequently transferred to an operating position in one of the Group’s engineering businesses. Joe became Chief Executive of the Engineering Division in 1983 and ultimately Chief Executive of the Construction Division in 1986. In 1987 Joe was appointed Director of Norcros International and took up the position of President of Norcros Inc. Joe was appointed Managing Director of H & R Johnson Tiles Limited in November, 1989. In October 1991, he was appointed Director of Norcros Limited (then called ‘Norcros plc’), and also took up the position of Chairman of its Ceramics Division, which covered operational units manufacturing ceramic tiles, ceramic and industrial adhesive products and shower units, in the UK, Australia, South Africa, Greece and India.

On 4 April 1996, Joe was appointed Group Chief Executive of the Norcros Group. In November 1999, he headed the management team which took Norcros Limited (then called ‘Norcros plc’) into private ownership and purchased an equity shareholding in Norcros at that time. Joe studied at The University of Manchester, gaining a Bachelor of Arts Degree with Honours, and a Master of Arts, both in history. He later gained an MBA with Distinction from the Manchester Business School.

Nick Kelsall
Group Finance Director
Nick Kelsall A.C.A. joined Norcros Limited (then called ‘Norcros plc’) as the Finance Director of its largest subsidiary, H & R Johnson Tiles Limited, in April 1993. Formerly, Nick had held a number of senior financial management positions with Touche Ross, Manchester and, immediately prior to joining Norcros, with Waterford Wedgwood Group plc. In October 1996, Nick was appointed Group Finance Director of Norcros Limited (then called ‘Norcros plc’). In November 1999, pursuant to the MBO, Nick acquired an equity shareholding in Norcros.

Nick studied at The University of Manchester, gaining a BA Honours in Economics, specialising in Accountancy and Business Finance. Following graduation he joined Chartered Accountants, Touche Ross, in Manchester, qualifying in 1982. Nick is a member of the faculties of Finance and Management and Corporate Finance of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.

David Hamilton
Director and Company Secretary
David Hamilton joined Norcros Limited as Group Legal Advisor in October 1973 following positions as Legal Adviser and Legal Assistant respectively with Automotive Products, Leamington Spa and Pfizer Limited, Kent. David was promoted to the position of Company Secretary in 1989 and joined the Board of Norcros Limited in 1996. In November 1999 pursuant to the MBO, David purchased an equity shareholding in Norcros. David gained a Degree in Law and Economics (LLB) at the University of St. Andrews, Scotland, and is a Scottish lawyer.

Leslie Tench
Non-Executive Director
As Non-Executive Chairman of SIG plc, the international multi-site distributor of insulation, roofing and commercial interior products with revenues of approximately £2.0 billion and operating from in excess of 700 branches, Les has considerable experience in building products. Les joined CRH plc in 1992 and from 1998 until his retirement in December 2002 was Managing Director of CRH Europe – Building Products. Les was also a Non-Executive Director of the privately owned family business Shepherd Building Group Limited (Construction and Engineering, Manufacturing and Property Development) from 1994 until 2004. Les is a graduate of Nottingham University where he read metallurgy.

Jamie Stevenson
Non-Executive Director
Jamie Stevenson has been involved in the housebuilding, construction and building materials sectors for the past 25 years as an economist, financial analyst and company director. An economics graduate from Cambridge University, he spent seven years with the Building Employers Confederation before entering the City as an equity analyst in 1984. For ten consecutive years between 1988 and 1997, he was ranked the top Construction and Building Materials analyst in all the major client surveys (Extel, Reuters, Greenwich and Institutional Investor). From 1997 to 2003, he was Head of Global Research Product at Dresdner Kleinwort Securities. From 2003 to 2006, he was a Non-Executive Director with retirement housebuilder McCarthy & Stone plc. He is currently a Non-Executive Director with Interior Services Group plc and since 2004 has been a teaching fellow at Exeter University’s School of Business and Economics.

Vijay Aggarwal
Non-Executive Director
Vijay Aggarwal is the Managing Director of H. & R. Johnson (India) Limited, India’s leading Tile Company. H. & R. Johnson (India) Limited is the parent of Lifestyle Investments Pvt. Ltd, a major shareholder of Norcros plc. Vijay also holds a number of other directorships including RMC Ready Mix (India) Pvt Ltd, Exide Industries Ltd and Ardex Endura (India) Pvt Ltd. He is also a director of the Indian Council of Ceramic Tiles and Sanitaryware (ICCTAS). He was previously employed as a Merchant Banker with SBI Capital Markets Limited. Vijay studied at the Indian Institute for Technology, Delhi, and graduated with a B. Tech. in Electrical Engineering. He later gained an MBA with Distinction from the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad.

Senior Management

Lorna Fellowes
Managing Director, Triton
Lorna joined Triton in 1992 as Head of Marketing and became Marketing Director in 1994. Lorna took on additional responsibility of R&D in 1994 and Customer Service in 1995. She was appointed Managing Director in 1999. Prior to 1992, Lorna spent two years with housewares company Probus plc, heading up marketing and she previously spent seven years with GKN in various aspects of marketing. Lorna was born and educated in Denmark.