Alan Bannatyne

Alan Bannatyne was appointed Chairman of the XPS Group on 30 November 2022, having served as Interim Chairman since 8 September 2022.

Alan was formerly the Chief Financial Officer of Robert Walters Group having joined the professional recruitment consultancy in 2002 as Group Financial Controller and was promoted to Group Finance Director in 2007, overseeing rapid expansion of the Group - going from 750 employees in 14 countries, to over 2,000 employees in 24 countries. Alan is also Non-executive Director and Chair of the Audit Committee at XPS Pensions Group, a role to which he was appointed in early 2017.

As part of his role at Robert Walters, he travels regularly to Europe and also to the Asia Pacific region, which accounts for over 50 percent of the Group’s gross profit. In addition to his responsibilities at Board level, he has a specific remit in respect of investor relations with shareholders and has responsibility for the internal Legal and IT departments. Alan has a unique insight into HR employment law in respect of global HR outsourcing and multi-jurisdiction payroll contracts, and a strong understanding of the responsibilities of the Audit Committee and Remuneration Committee.

Prior to Robert Walters, Alan worked in the marketing services sector for the Primecom Group, with experience as Financial Director in a digital marketing company and additional strategic experience in companies specialising in the areas of CRM database management, direct fulfilment, call centre operations and customer consultancy. He worked in Africa for Deloitte as a Senior Manager in Johannesburg – having previously qualified in London, with earlier work experience as a Manager for Sobek Canoe Safaris in Zambia and for the Bladon Lines ski company in both France and Switzerland.

Alan has considerable M&A experience, including a recent acquisition in China, the disposal of a company with 450 employees in the UK and a number of on and off-shore Group reorganisations. He has extensive international tax and accounting knowledge, and a high level of cultural understanding.

Alan has a LLB in Law from Durham University and a qualified ACA. He lives in Buckinghamshire near the Thames with his family and enjoys travel and sport, including skiing, golf, kayaking, squash and bridge.