GOVERNANCE REPORT
71
DIVERSITY The Board’s diversity and inclusion policy has pledged to build a culture at Just that has diversity and inclusion at its core, and we are committed to hiring and developing diverse talent at all levels of the organisation. During 2019 we registered Just’s support for “inclusive behaviours in insurance” to demonstrate our commitment to a culture where inclusive behaviours are the norm and everyone is supportive of diversity. This reflects the Board’s view that in order to be effective it must reflect the wider environment in which it operates and our policy can be read in full on the Group’s website. IMPROVE THE GENDER DIVERSITY IN THE JUST SENIOR LEADER POPULATION SO THAT 33% OF OUR POPULATION AT THIS LEVEL ARE FEMALE BY 2023. PROGRESS IN 2019 The current female representation at our senior leader level is below this target at 21%, with the feeder pipeline at 38%. There are a number of activities underway to address the gap, including mentoring of talented individuals and focused personal development. INCREASE FEMALE REPRESENTATION ON ITS GROUP AND LIFE COMPANY BOARDS AND ENSURE A RELEVANT BROAD MIX OF SKILLS. PROGRESS IN 2019 We appointed a new Non-Executive Director, Mary Kerrigan, to the Life Companies Board in November 2019. She brings strong financial and investment management skills and chairs the Investment Committees. PROGRESS IN 2020 We appointed a new Non-Executive Director Michelle Cracknell to the Just Group plc Board in March 2020. OVERSEE THE DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION PLANS AND ASSESS THIS ANNUALLY. MONITOR THE PROGRESS ON BUILDING AN INCLUSIVE CULTURE ACROSS THE COMPANY. PROGRESS IN 2019 The Committee received two updates during the year from the Group Human Resources Director, and CEO, in his sponsorship role for diversity and inclusion. This included the entire executive and leadership group attending a workshop on “inclusive leadership” and the rollout of inclusive leadership principles in the corporate Just Lead and Just Engage people development programmes. BOARD EFFECTIVENESS AND COMMITTEE REVIEW The Committee is confident that it has made good progress during the year and in 2020 will continue to focus on ensuring it achieves a balanced and diverse Board and supports the executive team in developing a strong pipeline of talent to achieve its strategic business plan. The effectiveness of the Committee was reviewed as part of the annual Board effectiveness review which took place in December 2019 and January 2020 and the Board was satisfied with the Committee’s performance. Details of the Board evaluation process undertaken are included in the Corporate Governance Report on page 67. The actions following the Board evaluation will be monitored by the Committee. Overall it has been a busy year for the Committee with two Executive Director and two Non-Executive Director appointments, further increasing the Board’s strength. BOARD DIVERSITY POLICY OBJECTIVES AND PROGRESS
APPOINTMENT OF DAVID RICHARDSON AS CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER The Chair of the Board, assisted by the Senior Independent Director (“SID”) and Group HR Director, led the process that resulted in the appointment of David Richardson as the Chief Executive Officer for the Group. Key steps in the process are outlined below. At its April meeting the Committee discussed the appointment of a search firm, following the interview of two firms, before it appointed Ridgeway Partners, who are signatories to the Voluntary Code of Conduct for Executive Search Firms. They are accredited by the Hampton-Alexander Review for compliance with the gender diversity code. The Committee confirmed to the search consultancy the key criteria for the role along with a person specification. The process involved a full map of the external market, shortlisting process by the Chair and SID, reviewing candidate backgrounds, experiences against the key criteria and specification. Interviews were conducted by the Chair and SID and members of the Nomination Committee before a recommendation to the Group Board. The Board approved the appointment of David Richardson on 19 September 2019.
On behalf of the Nomination Committee
Chris Gibson-Smith Chair, Nomination Committee 11 March 2020
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