Board of Directors

Alan has a wealth of investment experience, having been Managing Partner and Global Head of Private Equity at 3i Group plc, and a member of its Executive Committee. Prior to joining 3i, he spent 13 years in investment banking advising a broad range of quoted companies.

Alan is currently Chair of Hill & Smith Holdings PLC, a FTSE 250 company, and a non-executive director and investment committee member of Big Society Capital.

Alan qualified as a chartered accountant with KPMG and has a degree in economics.

Alex joined Watkin Jones in 2010 and took on the role of Group Investment Director in 2013. He was appointed as Chief Investment Officer in 2021. In July 2023, Alex took up the Interim Chief Executive Officer role and in November he was appointed Chief Executive Officer.

Prior to Watkin Jones, Alex spent six years in the Savills Residential Investment team where he specialised in brokerage, consultancy and valuation across all residential asset classes.

Alex is a chartered surveyor (MRICS).

Simon was appointed to the Board as Chief Financial Officer Designate in May 2024 and assumed the role of Chief Financial Officer in June 2024. He was previously Chief Financial Officer of Mapeley Group, the property outsourcing specialist. Prior to this, he held a number of senior finance roles within, amongst others, Bass PLC (now IHG Group PLC), Hilton and Whitbread PLC.

Simon qualified as a chartered accountant with KPMG.

Liz joined the Board of Watkin Jones plc as a Non-Executive Director on 21 January 2019. She is Chair of the Group's Remuneration Committee and a member of the Audit Committee and Nominations Committee.

Liz has over 20 years of executive experience in organisational design and development, talent management, reward and cultural transformation in large scale UK businesses including J Sainsbury plc, FCC Environment and, latterly, SEGRO plc, the FTSE 100 owner and developer of warehousing and industrial properties in the UK and Continental Europe. Liz is a non-executive director of Wates Group Ltd.

Liz has a degree in Economics and Geography.

Rachel has nearly 30 years of finance and operational management experience. She is Chair of the Audit Committee and a member of the Remuneration Committee and Nominations Committee.

Rachel was the Chief Financial Officer at Future plc, the global platform business for specialist media, until 2021. Prior to that she was Chief Financial Officer at TI Media Limited and has held a number of senior financial, operational and board level roles at Trinity Mirror (now Reach) Regionals, Local World Limited, Northcliffe Media Limited and Boots the Chemist where she was Head of Risk Management.

Rachel is currently a non-executive director of Marlowe plc, Gamma Communications plc, Hollywood Bowl Group plc and Wates Group Ltd.

Rachel qualified as a chartered accountant and has a degree in economics.

Francis brings a wealth of property expertise to the Board. He was Chief Executive of Land Securities plc, then the country’s largest commercial property company, between 2004 and 2012, having joined the board in 2001. 

Francis is currently a non-executive director of Cadogan Group Limited, which owns and manages the Cadogan Estate in Chelsea. He is also a Visiting Professor in Practice at the London School of Economics.

Francis was chair of Town and Country Housing Association from 2012 and, following its merger with Peabody Housing Association in 2019, became a non-executive director of that organisation until 2021. He was a non-executive director of NEXT plc from 2010 to 2021, latterly as Senior Independent Director, a past President of the British Property Federation, and a former Chair of Transport for London’s Property Advisory Group.