Our leadership

Paul Pindar

Non-Executive Chairman

Paul joined Capita plc in 1987, initially as Finance Director, then Managing Director in 1991 and Chief Executive in 1999. He was the third longest serving FTSE 100 CEO when he stood down in 2014.

He joined Capita after advising on the £0.3 million management buyout (MBO) while working for 3i Group plc. When he joined Capita, it had 33 employees and annual revenue of £1.3 million. When he left the business in February 2014, Capita had more than 62,000 employees and a market capitalisation of £7.5 billion.

Since June 2014 he has served as Chairman of Independent Clinical Services following its acquisition by TowerBrook. Since September 2017, Paul has been Non-Executive Chairman of Literacy Capital plc and is also Chairman of Bookmark Reading Charity’s Corporate Partnership Board. Paul was also an early investor in Purplebricks.

Vic Darvey

Chief Executive Officer

Vic is a digital leader with more than 20 years' experience successfully scaling a number of international consumer brands, most recently as Managing Director of MoneySupermarket.com. He has held leadership roles across a number of highly competitive and disruptive businesses, including LastMinute.com. Vic joined Purplebricks in January 2019 as Group Chief Operating Officer and brings a proven record of technology delivery and leadership of cutting-edge data-led, customer-focused, commercial innovation. Vic was appointed Chief Executive Officer on 7 May 2019.

Andy Botha

Chief Financial Officer

Andy joined Purplebricks from online travel group Secret Escapes in May 2020. Andy was previously Group CFO at ZPG, the digital media business that owns and operates some of the UK's most recognised online brands including digital property portal Zoopla, PrimeLocation, uSwitch and Money.co.uk. From his time at Zoopla, Andy has developed a strong understanding of the UK hybrid property market. He has also worked for a number of other publicly quoted and privately owned digital businesses, including Lastminute.com, Betfair and Notonthehighstreet.com. Andy has more than 25 years' business experience and brings with him an extensive background in M&A, corporate finance, strategic planning, investor relations, financial planning and reporting and risk management.

Simon Downing

Senior Independent Non-Executive Director

Simon joined the Board in April 2018 and is the founder and Executive Chairman of Civica Group Limited, a leading international provider of specialist software and digital solutions. Simon led the business through its flotation on AIM in 2004, and its subsequent growth and international expansion, completing 25 acquisitions as part of the group expansion. In July 2017, Civica was sold to Partners Group for £1.06 billion and had grown to over 4,000 employees and operations in nine countries.

Simon is currently Chairman of Edenhouse Solutions, a specialist SAP support and consultancy business, and is a Non-Executive Director at AdvisorPlus Business Solutions and Datum Datacentres.

In addition to his role at Civica and other board appointments, Simon is a Senior Advisor to OMERS Private Equity, which has in excess of CAD $11 billion of private equity assets under management. He is also a past winner of the EY UK Technology and IT Services Entrepreneur of the Year award.

Adrian Blair

Independent Non-Executive Director

Adrian joined the Board in April 2018 and is CEO of Dext, a high growth global fintech business backed by Insight Ventures. Until 2018, he was Global Chief Operating Officer at Just Eat plc, where he was responsible for all commercial operations in the UK and 12 international markets. He was instrumental over seven years in building Just Eat into one of the most successful technology companies in Europe. He was part of the team that led Just Eat through its listing on the London Stock Exchange in 2014, since when the company has created c.£1 billion of shareholder value per year, culminating in promotion to the FTSE 100 in December 2017.

Adrian joined Just Eat from Spotify, where as Director of European Business Development his team forged pioneering partnerships between the music streaming and mobile device industries. 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., where he developed a network of over 10,000 affiliate websites, helping Ask to become a household name in the UK prior to its $1.85 billion sale to IAC.

Dr Stephanie Caspar

Non-Executive Director

Stephanie joined the Board in July 2020 as the Axel Springer Board member. She joined Axel Springer in 2013. While she initially served as Managing Director of WELT Group, her responsibilities expanded over the course of the following years. In March 2018 Stephanie was appointed member of the Executive Board at Axel Springer. In her capacity as President News Media & Marketplaces she is responsible for Axel Springer’s company-wide technology and data strategy as well as Axel Springer’s media brands in Germany (BILD/WELT, etc.), including advertising sales, distribution and printing business.

She also assumed presidency on the board level for Idealo and the AVIV Group. The AVIV Group is one of the world’s biggest digital classified players, combining Axel Springer’s digital activities and participation in real estate, car and generalist classifieds.

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 a member of the Managing Board. In 2009, she founded digital retailer Mirapodo together with the Otto Group and acted as the company’s CEO.

Elona Mortimer-Zhika

Non-Executive Director

Elona joined the Board in September 2020. A qualified Chartered Accountant, Elona is Chief Executive Officer of IRIS Software Group, one of the UK’s largest privately held software companies, and provider of mission-critical operational software and services that help businesses be more productive, more engaged and compliant. IRIS is backed by Hg, Europe’s leading software investor. Elona is responsible for guiding the strategic direction and managing all operations across the Group.

Elona joined IRIS in 2016 as Chief Financial Officer, 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 PE-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.