Our Board

On this page you can find a brief biography for each member of the Marston's PLC Board of Directors, along with details of their roles and responsibilities.

A Member of the Audit Committee
N Member of the Nomination Committee
R Member of the Remuneration Committee

Ken Lever N

Chair of the Board

Appointed Chair of the Board with effect from 8 July 2024, Ken is an experienced business leader, has held a number of senior executive and non-executive positions at UK listed firms, across multiple sectors including retail, manufacturing, construction, software and business services. Ken is currently Non-executive Chair at Cirata PLC, Senior Independent Director at Rockwood Strategic plc, and Deputy Chair of Rainier Developments Limited. Previously, he was the Non-executive Chair of Biffa plc and RPS Group plc, Senior Independent Director at Vertu Motors plc and a Nonexecutive Director at Blue Prism plc.

Justin Platt

Chief Executive Officer

Justin was appointed to the Board as Chief Executive Officer in January 2024. He has over 30 years’ experience in hospitality and consumer-facing businesses, having spent 12 years at Merlin Entertainments, most recently as Chief Strategy Officer and, prior to that, in a variety of operational leadership roles. Justin’s combination of operational and strategic experience in multi-site leisure businesses equips him to lead Marston’s through the next phase of its development. Justin was a Non-executive Director of Carlsberg Marston’s Ltd until July 2024.

Hayleigh Lupino

Chief Financial Officer

Hayleigh was appointed Chief Financial Officer in October 2021, having previously been Director of Group Finance, and held a number of senior roles previously at Marston’s. Hayleigh is a qualified Chartered Management Accountant and has strong operational and commercial credentials, as well as extensive knowledge of both Marston’s and the wider pub and brewing sector. As well as the finance and treasury functions, Hayleigh also leads the IT and Procurement functions and chairs the Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) Taskforce helping to shape the Company’s D&I strategy. Hayleigh is also a member of the WiHTL & Diversity in Retail CFO Board.

Octavia Morley A N R

Senior Independent Director, Chair of the Remuneration Committee

Octavia has extensive experience in both executive and non-executive roles in retail and multisite companies. Octavia is currently Senior Independent Director and Chair of the Remuneration Committee at Crest Nicholson Holdings plc and Currys plc, and Chair of Banner Group Limited. She was formerly Senior Independent Director at Card Factory PLC, Non-executive Director of John Menzies PLC and Executive and Non-executive Chair of Spicers Office Team Group Ltd. Octavia’s past experience also includes Chief Executive Officer, and then Chair, at LighterLife UK Limited. She was appointed Managing Director at Crew Clothing Co Ltd before being appointed Chief Executive at OKA Direct Limited, furthering her retail and operational expertise.

Rachel Osborne A N R

Non-executive Director, Chair of the Audit Committee

Rachel brings a wealth of recent and relevant financial, consumer, retail and executive plc leadership experience to the Board. Rachel is currently Non-executive Director and Chair of the Audit Committee at Ocado Group Plc, and Non-executive Director, Chair of the Customer Committee and Audit Chair Designate at Cash Access UK Ltd. She was formerly Non- executive Director at Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunal Service and Non-executive Director at Dunelm plc. Rachel has previously served as the Chief Executive Officer at Ted Baker, until 2023, and was Chief Financial Officer of multiple listed companies including Ted Baker, Debenhams and Domino’s Pizza Group. Prior to that she was a Finance Director at Vodafone and the Finance & Strategy Director of John Lewis.

Bridget Lea A N R

Non-executive Director, Designated Non-executive Director for Workforce Engagement

Bridget is currently UK General Manager at Snap Inc having previously held the role of Managing Director - Commercial at BT Group as well as Managing Director (North) at J Sainsbury PLC. She has held senior positions, spanning a wide range of disciplines including sales, operations, marketing, supply chain and digital, within retail corporates. Previously, as Director of Stores, Online and Omnichannel at O2, she led the re-engineering of the store experience, development of an industry-leading digital experience and the omnichannel transformation. Bridget is also Pro-Chancellor and Chair of the Board Governors at Manchester Metropolitan University. As our designated Non-executive Director responsible for workforce engagement.

Sir Nick Varney N R

Non-executive Director

Sir Nick was Chief Executive Officer of Merlin Entertainments until 2022. He has over 30 years’ experience in the leisure sector, having started his career in consumer goods marketing, with Nestlé Rowntree and then with Reckitt Benckiser plc. He went on to hold senior positions within The Tussauds Group (Pearson PLC), prior to becoming Managing Director of Vardon Attractions and a Main Board Director of Vardon plc. In 1999, Nick led the management buyout of Vardon Attractions to form Merlin Entertainments, driving the company’s dynamic growth strategy which sees it today as European market leader and the world’s second largest location-based entertainment company. Sir Nick is also Non-executive Chair at Bath Rugby and at the NEC Group and is a Senior Advisor to Blackstone. He was previously Chair and Board member of UK Hospitality, the trade body representing the UK’s hospitality and tourism industry.

Bethan Raybould

General Counsel & Company Secretary

Appointed as General Counsel and Company Secretary on 1 February 2022, having previously been the group’s legal counsel since joining the company in 2013. Bethan is a qualified solicitor who has worked in both private practice and in-house, with a background in M&A, commercial, IP and contractual and risk management matters. She played a key role in the creation of the partnership with Carlsberg UK and the innovative transaction with SA Brain & Co to operate a large portfolio of Welsh pubs.

There is a clear division of responsibility between the roles of the Chair and the Chief Executive Officer that are set out in writing and agreed by the Board. The key responsibilities for each Board member are set out below:

Ken Lever is responsible for:

The operation, leadership and governance of the Board
Safeguarding the effectiveness of the Board
Setting the agenda, style and tone of Board discussions with a particular focus on strategic matters
Ensuring each Non-executive Director makes an effective contribution to the Board
Ensuring, through the Group Secretary, that the Directors receive accurate, timely and clear information

Justin Platt is responsible for:

The performance of the Group in line with the strategies and objectives established by the Board and under powers delegated by the Board
Ensuring the Board is supplied with information relevant to its strategic role
Leading the Executive Committee and Leadership Group in the operational and financial management of the business
Providing clear and visible leadership in business conduct
The effective and ongoing communication with shareholders

Hayleigh Lupino is responsible for:

Working with the CEO to develop and implement the Group’s strategic objectives
Managing the capital structure and projecting the long-term financial picture of the Group
Delivering the financial performance and timely and accurate financial reporting of the Group
Ensuring that the Group remains appropriately funded to pursue its strategic objectives
Investor relations activities (and communications to investors) with the CEO

Octavia Morley is responsible for:

Acting as a ‘sounding board’ for the Chair and an intermediary for the other Directors
Acting as Chair if the Chairman is conflicted
Leading the Non-executive Directors in their annual assessment of the Chair’s performance and providing feedback
Acting as a conduit to the Board for the communication of shareholder concerns that the normal channels have failed to resolve, or for when such contact would be inappropriate

The roles of Bridget Lea, Rachel Osborne and Nick Varney are to:

Constructively challenge proposals on strategy
Contribute to the development of longer-term strategy
Meet with the Chairman, at least annually, without the Executive Directors being present
Scrutinise management performance in the delivery of strategic objectives
Monitor operational and financial performance

Bethan Raybould is responsible for:

Framing the agenda for the Board and Committee meetings and ensuring effective information channels within the Board and its Committees, and between senior management and Non-executive Directors
Advising on regulatory compliance and corporate governance
Facilitating individual induction programmes for Directors and assisting with their development as required
Communications with retail shareholders and organisation of the AGM
Chairing the Risk & Compliance Committee and Data Security Committee