COMMUNITY PROFILE

Richard’s executive career spanned legal, governance, risk, sustainability, compliance and product integrity. His career in legal management and governance extends over 20 years and he was General Counsel and Company Secretary of FTSE 100 companies for over 12 years. Now in his portfolio career, Richard is a certified coach and accredited mediator. He invests in and supports start-ups and early-stage businesses in their growth plans and is co-founder of a legal tech start-up. Richard has a lifelong interest in the arts, having served as a Trustee or Chair of arts charities.
 
Until January 2018, Richard was Group General Counsel at Ferguson plc and a member of the Executive Committee. He was responsible for legal affairs, corporate governance, compliance, enterprise risk management, product integrity and corporate responsibility. He was also a member of the Executive Committee. A $20bn revenue, FTSE 50 company, Ferguson plc is the world's largest specialist distributor of plumbing and heating products with a rapidly expanding B2C business in the US.
 
Previously, Richard was Company Secretary and General Counsel at Corus Group, the FTSE 100 steel company that became part of Tata Steel in 2007, after a contested takeover process. Before Corus, Richard was General Counsel at Agip, the Exploration and Production division of ENI, the Italian multinational integrated energy company. In his time in the oil industry, he worked in Russia, Kazakhstan, the US and other oil and gas regions around the world.