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Tony Ryan, Chief Executive Officer (37)
Tony has worked in information technology since 1989 and has a wide range of experience in Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and E-Business solutions. Tony brings with him the experience of working with large publicly-held corporations as well as small entrepreneurial start-up companies. Tony specialises in helping emerging businesses succeed. Tony joined Asite in December 2003. Prior to joining Asite, Tony worked for a number of successful business start-ups, after heading up sales for EMEA at Renaissance Worldwide, a global E-Business consulting practice. Tony is a member of the Executive Committee.
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Nathan R. Doughty, Chief Operating Officer (34)
Nathan joined Asite in 2002 from Bidcom, technology solutions providers for the construction industry (later acquired by Citadon Inc) where he was Director of Product Development. Prior to Bidcom, Nathan was Chief Technology Officer for Spill Industries, an award-winning web design and development company based in Paris, France. Nathan started his career at KPMG Consulting in the US, where he worked on web application architecture projects for leading global banks in KPMG's financial services eCommerce Practice. Nathan is a member of the Executive Committee.
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Gordon Ashworth, Non-Executive Director (44)
Gordon is the former CEO of Asite and helped restructure the business in 2005 - 2006. Gordon worked with K2 IT Consultants Limited, an IT sector recruitment consultancy, where he was group finance director for the £25 million turnover business. Gordon has significant experience of managing finance in fast-growing companies and has valuable industry experience gained in the consulting and new media sectors. Gordon is a member of the Audit Committee.
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Robert Tchenguiz, Non-Executive Director (46)
Robert Tchenguiz is co-chairman of Rotch Property Group, the company he founded in 1982. Over the last 20 years, Rotch has become one of the largest and innovative property and finance groups in the UK, owning properties with a value of over £3.5 billion and interests in operating businesses which have significant property assets. These include a substantial interest in Whyte and Mackay as well as the largest freehold ground rent portfolio in the country.
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Walter Goldsmith, Chairman (69)
Walter Goldsmith is chairman and non-executive director of a number of public companies, including Fitness First plc and is an adviser to the Rotch Property Group. He was Corporate Vice President and President of Pacific and International Operations of Black & Decker and was responsible for starting Black & Decker operations in 22 countries. A former Director General of the Institute of Directors, he has published a number of books on business strategy, including 'The Winning Streak' and 'The New Elite'. Walter is Deputy Chairman and member of the Executive Committee, Audit Committee and Remuneration Committee.
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Committees
The directors have delegated certain of their responsibilities to various committees, which operate within specific terms of reference and authority limits. The Audit Committee meets at least twice a year and consists of Mr Walter Goldsmith, the Chairman, and Mr Gordon Ashworth.
The duties of the Audit Committee include:
review of the scope and the results of the audit;
assessment of the cost effectiveness of the audit;
monitoring the independence and objectivity of the auditors; and
review and assessment of current updates of changes in accounting standards and their likely impact on the Group's accounts.
The Audit Committee comprises two non-executives and is chaired by Mr Walter Goldsmith. Mr Gordon Ashworth is a Chartered Accountant with relevant financial experience. The Committee has terms of reference setting out its duties and procedures and these are available on request. The Audit Committee advises the Board on the appointment, re-appointment or removal of the external auditors. It also scrutinises and advises the Board on the remuneration of the external auditors. The Committee discusses the nature and scope of the audit with the external auditors and provides a forum for reporting by the Group's external auditors on any matters it considers appropriate.
It is the task of the Audit Committee to ensure that auditor objectivity and independence is safeguarded when non audit services are provided by the auditors. This is dealt with at each audit committee meeting when the auditors set out the extent of the different work they have undertaken, who in their firm was responsible and that the appointment was agreed in advance by the Committee.
The Remuneration Committee, which consists of the Chairman and at least one other Non-Executive director, also meets at least once a year. The executive directors meet on a regular basis at least every four weeks and deal with decisions that do not require full Board approval. The directors believe that this process for making business decisions provides sufficient division of responsibility to meet the requirements of the Combined Code.
