Meet the Trustees

Philip Whittome

I have been an independent professional trustee for over 10 years, for a number of different pension schemes operating across different industries.

My professional background is in finance and investment, and prior to becoming Chair of the Plan in 2013 I was Chair of the Plan’s Investment Committee.

Brendan Boucher

I have been a Company Nominated Trustee Director of the Plan since 2018 when I joined Compass Group PLC as Group Treasurer.

I am a chartered accountant, fellow of the Association of Corporate Treasurers and have worked in senior finance roles for a number of multinational companies over the last 15 years.

Wayne Bowen

I am a deferred member of the Plan and was elected as a Trustee Director by the Plan’s members in 2020.

I am passionate about financial investment and have a particular strong interest in pensions. I also have eight years’ experience of undertaking pension trustee roles with other organisations.

Christopher Clayton

I am a professional independent trustee, fully accredited by the Association of Professional Pension Trustees, and Chair the Governance and Operations Committee for the Plan.

Most of my career has been involved in investment and corporate finance and I spent a period seconded to the Pensions Regulator. As a professional independent trustee I am also Chair of trustees for several other pension schemes.

Jane Dean

I am a pensioner member of the Plan and was elected as a Trustee Director by the Plan’s members in 2020.

With a background in the hospitality industry, I now hold several Non-Executive Director and trustee positions within the heritage and charity sector and have my own consultancy. Governance, protecting our heritage, community, regeneration and ensuring our futures and pensions are financially secure are of great importance to me.

Helen Javanshiri

I’m delighted to be a Plan Trustee and as well as bringing my experience and knowledge gained from being a CRISP Trustee to the Plan board, I look forward to all the training that has been put in place to bring me up to speed on the Plan. In my role as Investor Relations Director I deal with the markets every day and so, as a Trustee, I get to complete the circle of stakeholders and appreciate all perspectives. Pensions can be confusing with lots of jargon and I’m committed to giving members clear, understandable information so they can make informed decisions for their future.

Before joining Compass I previously held a similar role at Marks and Spencer, prior to which I did a variety of finance roles at Britvic plc and Thresher Group.  I’m a Chartered Accountant and my audit clients included large pension schemes.

James King

In my current role as Head of Reward I am responsible for the development and delivery of the Reward and Benefits strategy for over 50,000 colleagues in Compass Group UK&I. As pensions are the most important company benefit to support the long term financial wellbeing of current and former Compass colleagues I’m delighted to be working with fellow Trustees in the interests of all our Plan members.

Since joining Compass Group UK&I in 2007 I have worked in a variety of roles within the People function both centrally and across the different sectors in which we operate. Prior to joining Compass I worked within the Automotive and Travel & Tourism industries in roles based within the UK and Italy.

Jodi Lea

I have been a Company Nominated Trustee Director since 2018 and I’m a qualified solicitor holding the role of General Counsel for Compass Group UK&I.

I’ve worked in the contract catering and hospitality industry for over 10 years and, prior to joining Compass, I held senior roles in manufacturing, financial services and retail sectors.

Rachel Morgan

I joined the Compass HR team in November 2021. I am a HR graduate, hold a post graduate qualification in HR, a HR MSc and am a member of The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. I am responsible for partnering with the business to achieve the business strategy through its people.

I first became interested in pensions over 10 years ago when I was invited to join a pensions governance committee with a previous employer and during that time, I spent 6 years as a Trustee of a pension scheme. I am passionate that we should all have a basic understanding of pensions and it is important for everyone to take control of their retirement planning and making decisions regarding their pension.

My focus as a Trustee Director is to ensure that the scheme represents all members and that the communications are made as easy as possible to support members to take control of their retirement.

Peter O'Meara

I am a pensioner member of the Plan and was elected as a Trustee Director by the Plan’s members in 2007.

I am currently a non-executive director of a hotels, catering and retail company and was a director of Forte Hotels and the Arora Group for many years before I joined Compass Group.

Over this time, I have gained considerable pensions knowledge and, as a member of the Pensions Management Institute and of the Association of Member Nominated Trustees, carrying out continual training and professional development to keep up to date remains very important.

Nigel Palmer

Before retiring in 2015, I was the Group Technical and Corporate Accounting Manager for Compass Group. This role included the responsibility for managing group pension liabilities and I represented the company for a number of years on the Investment Committee of the UK DB Plan.

Having been Chair of the Compass Retirement Income Savings Plan (CRISP) since 2013, I’m looking forward to being a Trustee Director of the Plan and to bringing all my experience and knowledge of CRISP to the Plan Trustee board, as well as ensuring that the Plan meets the rigorous governance standards set by the Pensions Regulator. As a Chartered Accountant, I have a particular interest in the performance and suitability of the underlying investments that members have invested in.

Allan Walton

I’ve worked for Compass Group since 1996 in a variety of roles across a number of divisions, both in operational and support roles. During this time, I have been fortunate to have been involved in, and have led, a range of contract mobilisations within the Healthcare and Business and Industry. I’m also a member of the Business Excellence Team in Healthcare, supporting projects across our Healthcare business.

This role allows me to interact with the site teams on a regular basis and, being a Trustee Director of the Plan, to raise any questions asked of me with the Trustee board. It’s important to me that communication about pensions is made as easy as possible to all members as I believe this will help enable them to make the best choices for their future; and part of the role is to ensure the Plan is managed, monitored and gives value for money.