Governance
The board has eight directors: the Chair, two executive directors and five independent non-executive directors. Four of the eight are women, and every director stood for re-election at the 2026 AGM.
The board
Helen Ashdown
Non-executive Chair since June 2021, on the board since 2019 and chair of the Nomination Committee. She was chief executive of a national garden centre group and walks the Wessex Ridgeway every year.
Tom Penhallow
Chief Executive since February 2019. He started as a Saturday boot fitter at our Exeter store in 1994 and came back to Swift & Hale as Retail Director in 2012.
Anjali Mercer
Chief Financial Officer since September 2022 and responsible for finance, investor relations and risk. A chartered accountant, she was finance director of a listed travel retailer.
Michael Adebayo
Senior Independent Director, appointed in March 2020 and reappointed for three more years from March 2026. He was chief operating officer of a building society and sits on the Audit and Risk, Nomination and Remuneration Committees.
Fiona Garside
Independent non-executive director since July 2021 and chair of the Audit and Risk Committee. A chartered accountant, she spent 20 years as an audit partner.
Sinead Fallon
Independent non-executive director since January 2022 and chair of the Remuneration Committee. She was people director of an Irish grocery group with more than 20,000 colleagues and lives in Galway.
Marcus Leng
Independent non-executive director since October 2023, reappointed for three more years from October 2026. He was chief digital officer of a UK travel business and now advises technology start-ups.
Ravi Dhanda
Independent non-executive director since May 2024 and chair of the Sustainability Committee. He was sustainability director of a UK food manufacturer and is the board's designated director for workforce engagement.
Committees
| Committee | Chair | Other members | Meetings in FY26 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Audit and Risk | Fiona Garside | Michael Adebayo, Marcus Leng | 5 |
| Remuneration | Sinead Fallon | Michael Adebayo, Marcus Leng, Ravi Dhanda | 5 |
| Nomination | Helen Ashdown | Michael Adebayo, Fiona Garside, Sinead Fallon, Ravi Dhanda | 3 |
| Sustainability | Ravi Dhanda | Sinead Fallon | 4 |
The Audit and Risk Committee oversees financial reporting, internal control, risk and the external and internal auditors. The Remuneration Committee sets pay for the executive directors and senior managers within the policy shareholders approved in 2025. The Nomination Committee looks after the make-up of the board and succession. The Sustainability Committee oversees our climate targets, the supply chain and community work. Every director attended every committee meeting they were due to attend in FY26. The board met nine times, and Marcus Leng missed one meeting called at short notice.
UK Corporate Governance Code
Swift & Hale applies the UK Corporate Governance Code 2024 and complied with all of its provisions in FY26. Provision 29, the board's declaration on material controls, applies to us from FY27, and the board will report on it in the Annual Report and Accounts 2027.
Succession and board review
Helen Ashdown reaches nine years on the board in September 2028. The Nomination Committee, led for this purpose by Michael Adebayo as Senior Independent Director, will run the search for her successor. The board is also looking for one more non-executive director with experience of property and running many sites.
Harbour Board Review carried out an external review of the board in FY26. It found that the board works well together and challenges management openly, and it recommended more board time on technology and on succession below the Executive Committee. The next external review is due in FY29.
Colleagues and the board
Ravi Dhanda chairs the Colleague Voice forum, 14 colleagues elected from stores, Huntworth and Hale House. In FY26 the forum met four times with Ravi and twice with the full board. It raised Sunday rotas, uniform comfort, a staff discount on Hale Again and safety when working alone in small stores.
Executive Committee
Claire Hollins, General Counsel and Company Secretary, is secretary to the board and its committees. She is not a director.
The Executive Committee runs the business day to day: Tom Penhallow (Chief Executive), Anjali Mercer (Chief Financial Officer), Leah Brennan (Chief Customer Officer), Gareth Pyne (Retail Director), Hannah Coutts (Product and Sourcing Director), Mike Trevail (Supply Chain Director), Josie Kamara (People Director), Sam Whitlock (Chief Technology Officer) and Claire Hollins.
Read more
The governance section of the Annual Report 2026 has the full board biographies, each committee's report, the directors' remuneration report and the directors' report. The whole report is also available as a PDF.
The articles of association, the committees' terms of reference and the matters reserved for the board are available from the Company Secretary at Hale House, Fordington Fields, Dorchester, Dorset DT1 9SH.