Our leadership

Paul Pindar

Non-Executive Chairman

Paul was an early investor in Purplebricks and became the Group’s Non-Executive Chairman in December 2015.

Career

Paul was the third longest serving FTSE 100 CEO when he stood down from Capita plc in 2014. When he joined as Finance Director in 1987, after advising on the £0.3m management buyout (MBO) of the

business while working for 3i Group plc, Capita had 33 employees and an annual revenue of £1.3m. Paul became Managing Director in 1991 and Chief Executive in1999. When he left the business in

February 2014, Capita had more than 62,000 employees and a market capitalisation of £7.5bn.

Board skills and experience

Paul has a significant breadth and depth of experience from his career at Capita.

Other appointments

• Non-Executive Chairman of Literacy Capital plc
• Chairman of Bookmark Reading
• Charity’s Corporate Partnership Board

Helena Marston

Chief Executive Officer

Helena was appointed Group Chief Executive Officer in April 2022, having joined Purplebricks in May 2020 as Chief People Officer and was promoted to Chief Operating Officer at the end of 2021. 

Career

Helena has held several senior HR roles at Virgin Media, Kuwait Energy, Jaguar Land Rover and Vodafone where she drove significant performance improvements in leadership and organisational culture for these world-leading multinational companies.

Since joining the Company, Helena took over responsibility for all aspects of Purplebricks' people and operational strategy, ensuring the Group had the optimum structure to deliver a high-performance culture, having designed and led the complex project to move all field agents to fully employed in 2021. Following this, Helena was recently appointed as Purplebricks CEO.

Other Appointments

• None

Steve Long

Chief Financial Officer

Steve was appointed Chief Financial Officer in February 2022. 

Career

Steve is a commercially focused CFO, with strong experience in strategic planning, execution and effective delivery of all aspects of the financial management of a business.

Steve joins from Esure Group, where he was Finance Director, Strategy & Transformation, responsible for the development, financial management and execution of the Group’s strategic plans and transformation programme. 

He qualified as a chartered accountant with KPMG.

Board skills and experience

Steve has held a number of senior financial positions and was interim Chief Financial Officer at Esure from January 2018 to March 2020.

Other appointments

• None

Simon Downing

Senior Independent Non-Executive Director

Simon joined the Board in April 2018.

Career

Simon is a graduate engineer; his early career included a variety of management roles in the IT industry, and he is a past winner of the UK Ernst & Young Technology and IT Services Entrepreneur of the Year award.

Board skills and experience

Simon has over 30 years of experience in the technology industry and was the founder of Civica Group, one of the UK’s largest privately owned software companies. He led the business from inception to IPO in 2004 and then three subsequent private equity-backed buyouts, the most recent sale, in 2017,valuing the business at over £1bn.

Other appointments

• Chairman of Civica Group, Audiotonix and Edenhouse Solutions

• Non-Executive Director of Datum Datacentres and Literacy Capital plc

Adrian Blair

Independent Non-Executive Director

Adrian joined the Board in April 2018.

Career

Until 2018, Adrian was Global Chief Operating Officer at Just Eat plc. Adrian joined Just Eat from Spotify, where he was Director of European Business Development. Prior to that, he spent six years at Google Inc. in a number of senior commercial roles across California and London, including Head of eCommerce Partnerships, where his team helped thousands of businesses improve their ROI from AdWords. Before that, Adrian was Head of Business Development at Ask Jeeves Inc.

Board skills and experience

At Just Eat, Adrian was responsible for all commercial operations in the UK and in 12 international markets. Over seven years, he was instrumental in building Just Eat into one of the most successful technology companies in Europe. Adrian was part of the team that led Just Eat through its listing on the London Stock Exchange in 2014.

Other appointments

• Chief Executive Officer of Dext

• Co-Founder of Circl

Dr Stephanie Caspar

Non-Executive Director

Stephanie joined the Board in July 2020 as the Axel Springer Board representative.

Committees

None

Career

Stephanie studied business administration at the University of Lüneburg. She began her career as a business consultant at McKinsey, followed by various roles at eBay, including Director Strategy among others, and an engagement at Immobilienscout24 as member of the Managing Board. In 2009, she founded digital retailer Mirapodo together with the Otto Group and acted as the company’s CEO.

Board skills and experience

Stephanie joined Axel Springer in 2013, initially serving as Managing Director of WELT Group. In March 2018 Stephanie was appointed member of the Executive Board at Axel Springer. In her capacity as President of News, Media & Marketplaces she is responsible for Axel Springer’s company-wide technology and data strategy as well as its media brands in Germany, including advertising sales, distribution and printing business.

Other appointments

• President of Idealo and the AVIV Group

Elona Mortimer-Zhika

Non-Executive Director

Elona joined the Board in September 2020.

Committees

Audit Committee (Chair)

Career

In 2016 Elona joined IRIS Software Group as Chief Financial Officer. IRIS is backed by Hg, Europe’s leading software investor.

Elona was promoted to Chief Operating Officer in 2018 and became Chief Executive Officer in September 2019.

Before joining IRIS, Elona held several senior leadership roles at big four accountancy firms and private equity backed businesses, including Mavenir, Acision, Arthur Andersen and Deloitte.

Elona has a First Class Honours Degree in Accounting and Economics and is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales. Awards include Global Banking and Finance Businesswoman of the Year UK 2020 and the Venus National Finance Professional of the Year 2018.

Board skills and experience

As Chief Executive Officer of IRIS, Elona is responsible for guiding the strategic direction and managing all operations across the group.

Other appointments

• Chief Executive Officer of IRIS Software Group