Board of Directors

John was appointed non-executive Chairman of the Group in December 2017. Prior to his appointment, John spent four years as non-executive Chairman at McCarthy & Stone. John has spent his entire career in the housebuilding industry, including 38 years with Persimmon plc. After joining Persimmon in 1979, John was responsible for establishing the Group’s operations in the Midlands, following which he was appointed Regional Chairman for the South before joining the Board in 1986. He was Group Chief Executive at Persimmon from 1993-2006 and Group Chairman from 2006-2011.

Chris joined the Group in 2000 following the acquisition of the Birch Group where he was a founder and Group Managing Director. He has held a number of senior positions within the Group and was appointed Chief Executive in 2011. Chris has over 35 years' industry experience, having initially trained and qualified as a quantity surveyor. He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Building and has an in depth knowledge of the industry and in particular has taken a keen interest in land strategy throughout all his senior management positions. Chris adopts an inclusive leadership style designed to deliver excellence through teamwork and constructive challenge.

Stewart joined the Group in 2008. He was promoted to Operations Director in 2011 and Managing Director for Scotland in 2013 before expanding his role to also assume responsibility for the North of England division in 2018. In 2019, Stewart was appointed Chief Operating Officer with responsibility for the implementation of the Group’s strategy, including all land acquisitions and housebuilding operations. Stewart is a qualified quantity surveyor and chairs the Commercial Directors’ meetings on a national basis. He has 18 years’ experience in the sector and is a member of the Homes for Scotland Board. In addition to his surveying skills, Stewart’s strengths are in land buying and sales.

Ian is a chartered accountant having trained with KPMG where he worked for nine years. He joined Miller Homes in 2005 having previously spent four years at The Miller Group as Group Financial Controller. Ian was appointed to Finance Director in 2011 and Chief Financial Officer in 2017. He has broad experience covering both financial and operational aspects of the Group. In addition to his mainstream finance role, Ian has responsibility for tax, treasury, the Group’s defined benefit pension scheme and IT. He has played a key role in the successful development and implementation of the Group’s strategic plan.

Julie is a qualified solicitor and joined the Group in 2009 after six years as the Legal Director of Miller Developments. Julie's background is in property development and investments and she chairs the Land Directors' meetings on a national basis. Julie is Company Secretary of the Group and has responsibility for all legal, governance and compliance matters. She is a non-executive director of a housing association.

Darren joined the Group in 2013. He has over 30 years' experience in the industry. Darren has a trade background and has held various roles during this time including Area Managing Director and Regional Chairman positions for a large listed homebuilder. Darren has extensive knowledge of the industry with a particular interest in production and cost control. He chairs the Production Directors’ meetings on a national basis.

Warren joined the Group in 2020. Prior to this, he held a similar position on the Executive Board of a large UK listed homebuilder where he also had executive responsibility for Health and Safety across the business. In addition to these roles, Warren has held senior leadership positions within the industry as a Managing Director in the Midlands, Yorkshire and the North East regions of England. He has gained extensive industry knowledge during his 26 year career, in which he initially specialised in quantity surveying. Warren will chair the Group’s Commercial Directors’ meetings on a national level.

Scott joined the Group in 2018 having previously worked for Gleeson Strategic Land. Scott is responsible for the expansion and development of the Group's strategic landbank and the successful promotion of sites through the planning system to ensure the Group’s growth aspirations can be fulfilled. Scott has over 25 years’ experience in town planning and land development and is a Chartered Town Planner.