The Greencore Group plc Board is made up as follows:
Leslie Van de Walle
Non-Executive Director & Board Chair
Appointed as Non-Executive Director and Chair Designate on 1 December 2022. Leslie became Board Chair on 26 January 2023.
Leslie joined Greencore in December 2022 bringing a wealth of extensive leadership and non-executive and chair experience across multiple sectors. Leslie has a deep knowledge of the food industry having held previous positions at Danone, Cadbury Schweppes and United Biscuits, where he served as group chief executive officer.
Leslie has held multiple non-executive roles throughout his career including currently serving as the chair of the Robert Walters Group and chair of their nomination committee, having previously served as chair between 2012 and 2018.
He has held various non-executive roles and was previously chair of Euromoney Institutional Investor plc and SIG plc, as well as deputy chair and a non-executive director and chair of the nomination committee at Crest Nicholson Holdings plc, a non-executive director of HSBC UK Bank plc and senior independent director and chair of the remuneration committee of DCC plc.
Dalton Philips
Chief Executive Officer
Appointed as Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director with effect from 26 September 2022.
Dalton joined Greencore on 26 September 2022. Dalton started his career with Jardine Matheson followed by Walmart before moving into roles including chief executive of daa plc, the global airports and travel retail group, chief executive of Wm Morrison plc, then a FTSE 100 company and the UK’s fourth largest supermarket chain, chief executive of luxury goods retailer Brown Thomas Group, and chief operating officer of Canadian retailer Loblaw Companies Limited. Dalton has also previously served as a senior advisor to the Boston Consulting Group.
Dalton is currently serving as a non-executive director of IBEC CLG.
Dalton has a BA from University College Dublin, an MBA from Harvard University, and an honorary Doctorate of Management from Bradford University.
Catherine Gubbins
Chief Financial Officer
Appointed as Chief Financial Officer and Executive Director with effect from 6 February 2024.
Catherine joined Greencore on 6 February 2024. Prior to joining Greencore, Catherine served as group chief financial officer at daa plc, the global airports and travel retail group, having held various finance roles for nine years including as director of finance.
Catherine successfully led all finance, legal and procurement functions while at daa plc. Prior to that Catherine spent 16 years as a senior manager in assurance and business advisory with PwC Ireland, working with a broad range of the firm’s most significant clients.
Catherine has a BA Law and Accounting from University of Limerick and a MAcc from Smurfit Business School.
Linda Hickey
Non-Executive Director
Appointed as Non-Executive Director with effect from 1 February 2021.
Linda brings extensive corporate experience and knowledge to the Board having spent her executive career in stockbroking and investment banking. Linda previously worked at NCB Stockbrokers and Merrill Lynch, before serving as head of corporate broking at Goodbody Stockbrokers for 15 years.
Linda is a non-executive director of Cairn Homes plc where she is senior independent director, remuneration committee chair and a member of the audit and risk committee. She also serves as non-executive director and chair of the audit and remuneration committees of Avolon. She is a member of the investment committee of the Irish Strategic Investment Fund and has previously served as chair of the Irish Blood Transfusion Service. Linda is a member of Chapter Zero.
Alastair Murray
Non-Executive Director
Appointed as Non-Executive Director with effect from 1 February 2023.
Alastair brings extensive food industry and financial experience having previously held the role of chief financial officer and director of Premier Foods plc until September 2019.
Alastair is a chartered management accountant having financial, property, and IT experience across a number of listed companies including Premier Foods plc, Dairy Crest plc and The Body Shop International plc. In addition to the above Alastair has a proven track record in corporate strategy, restructuring and M&A.
Alastair is a non-executive director and chairs the audit and risk committee of McBride plc, a British-based business manufacturing own brand household goods. Alastair is also serving as an independent member of the audit and risk committee for the Department for Education in England.
Anne O’Leary
Non-Executive Director
Appointed as Non- Executive Director with effect from 1 February 2021.
Anne brings extensive experience across a variety of sectors including digital integrations, data analytics, cultural change programmes, and strategic acquisitions and partnerships. Anne previously served as chief executive officer of Vodafone Ireland for nine years before joining Meta in her current role as vice president of the mid-market business division for the EMEA region. Prior to this she acted as managing director of BT Ireland.
Anne sits on the board of Meta Platforms Ireland Limited and Whatsapp Ireland Limited. Anne is also a board member of Ludgate, an Irish non-profit enterprise facilitating job growth via digital technology and remote working hubs, and the Economic and Social Research Institute. Anne previously served as a non-executive director of Vodacom Group Ltd, as chair of Goal Global and as president of the Dublin Chamber of Commerce. Anne was also previously a director of IBEC CLG for six years, a business and employer association for organisations based in Ireland and served as its president in 2025.
Helen C Rose, FCA
Non-Executive Director
Appointed as Non- Executive Director with effect from 11 April 2018.
Helen brings significant operational, financial, risk and UK retail experience and previously held senior finance roles at Dixons, Forte, Safeway and Lloyds Banking Group over a 30-year executive career. Helen brings strong change leadership and transformation experience gained from her roles as retail integration director at Lloyds Banking Group and as chief operating officer at TSB Banking Group plc.
Helen’s previous experience extends to cyber security, risk matters and internal controls. Helen is a non-executive director of WH Smith plc and deputy chair of Compton Verney. Helen is also an executive coach and mentor. Helen is a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, having trained with Coopers & Lybrand. Helen is also a member of Chapter Zero. Helen has been integral to the establishment of the Group’s Sustainability Committee.
Hetal Shah
Non-Executive Director
Appointed as Non- Executive Director with effect from 1 April 2023.
Hetal has a strong record as a senior finance professional with significant experience gained in large, international groups and has proven leadership credentials.
Hetal has held several finance roles in both publicly listed and private organisations, including a 17-year career at Cadbury plc where he held finance director roles spanning the UK, US, Asia and Africa, and where he was also responsible for leading transformational projects across supply chain, finance, IT and strategy in various locations. Hetal is currently serving as the director of group finance at Belron International, a portfolio company of Clayton, Dubilier & Rice. Hetal is also a member of Chapter Zero.
In addition to his financial experience, Hetal brings experience in corporate strategy, M&A and operational improvements.
Damien Moynagh
General Counsel & Group Company Secretary
Appointed as Group General Counsel and Company Secretary with effect from 7 November 2022.
Damien brings over 20 years’ experience as a corporate lawyer and senior executive across Europe, the US and Asia. Damien was responsible for the legal and corporate secretarial functions, as well as the risk, sustainability, quality and compliance functions, in his previous role as general counsel and company secretary of FTSE 250 listed UDG Healthcare plc (now Inizio). Prior to this, Damien acted as chief operating officer and general counsel at Sysnet Global Solutions (now Viking Cloud), a fast-growing global technology business.
Damien trained and practiced as a corporate/M&A lawyer with Freshfields in their London, Tokyo and New York offices before moving to Maples’ Dublin office and has extensive experience advising global clients on public and private large-scale multi-jurisdictional transactions. He has also completed executive education programmes most recently at Cambridge University (in sustainability management) and Columbia University (in leading strategic change).
