Richard Connell (52), Non-Executive Chairman
Mr. Connell has been involved in the financial sector for more than 25 years and has worked with 3i Group, Amvescap, and HSBC. He is a Chartered Accountant and has held executive positions in marketing and general management. In addition to working with the Group, he is Chairman of Dignity plc, Ideal Stelrad Group, and Unifeeder A/S. Richard has a degree from Oxford University.
Simon Innes (47), Chief Executive
Mr. Innes was appointed as Chief Executive of CVS (UK) Limited in January 2004. Prior to this he was Chief Executive of Vision Express from 2000 to 2004, over which time he built the business up to £220 million turnover and 205 practices, and reversed a loss-making position to create one of the most profitable corporate optical operators in the UK. The growth strategy that was successful at Vision Express is now being implemented in the veterinary industry by CVS. Prior to Vision Express, Mr. Innes was on the board of Hamleys PLC as Operations Director, where amongst other responsibilities he was involved in opening 60 concession stores in just 3 months for Hamleys in conjunction with Debenhams. Before Hamleys, Mr. Innes gained ten years of management experience at Marks & Spencer, and now has a total of 17 years of experience in the retail sector. Mr. Innes served for seven years in the British Army, achieving the rank of Captain in the Royal Engineers.
Paul Coxon (42), Finance Director
Mr. Coxon was appointed as Finance Director of CVS (UK) Limited in August 2003. He has a total of 19 years of experience in finance and accounting. He qualified as a chartered accountant with KPMG Peat Marwick in 1991. Prior to working at CVS, Mr. Coxon was the Finance Director of Allied Grain (South), a £160 million turnover subsidiary of Associated British Foods PLC.
Mark Finn (48), Group Operations Director
Mr. Finn joined CVS in 2006. Prior to this, from 2003 – 2006 he was head of operations and acquisitions for Co-op Group Pharmacy with responsibility for over 400 pharmacies which represents directly relevant experience for working with clinicians. He has also held positions as a Regional Business Manager at J Sainsbury plc, where he was responsible for 18 Sainsbury’s supermarkets, as a Category General Manager at Asda, a Divisional Sales Manager at the Royal Mail and as a National Sales Development Manager at Estee Lauder Cosmetics.
David Timmins (54), Non-Executive Director
Mr. Timmins recently left Genus plc where he was Group Finance Director for over 3 years. He played a prominent role in the reverse acquisition of Sygen International plc, an Official List company, which involved a significant institutional fund raising. He has veterinary sector experience through a Genus plc business division. He is a graduate and a Chartered Accountant with more than 15 years of experience as CFO in listed companies.
Christopher Marsh (63), Non-Executive Director
Mr. Marsh is a corporate broker by background, having joined Phillips & Drew in 1968 and headed the Small Cap broking team at UBS Limited (London) from 1993 until his retirement from UBS Limited (London) in 1998. From 1999 until 2004 he was part of a corporate finance advisory team at the now quoted Benfield Group, specialising in insurance related deals. Mr Marsh is currently a non-executive director of Hilton Food Group plc, non-executive Chairman of Framlington AIM VCT 2 PLC, and non-executive Chairman of Alexandra plc.