Xpertise Group PLC

Directors and advisors

Non-executive Chairman
Richard Last* (50)

Richard Last is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales. He has substantial experience in the IT software and services sectors, and is Chairman and Non-Executive director of The British Smaller Technology Companies VCT 2 PLC which is listed on the London Stock Exchange and of Knowledge Technology Solution plc which is an AIM listed financial software and solutions business, He is also a Non Executive director of AIM listed Patsystems plc, Financial Payments Systems Limited and Lighthouse Group plc. In addition, Richard is also a director and shareholder of a number of private companies including Sphinx CST Limited and APD Communications Limited, both IT companies.

Executive director
Ian Johnson FCA (51)
Managing Director

Ian is a chartered accountant and has over 13 years experience in the IT industry. Ian was a senior manager with Price Waterhouse in Manchester and between 1989 and 1992 Group Finance Director of Logitek plc. He was a member of the management buy-in team of Xpertise
Group in 1993 and became Group Finance Director following the reverse takeover of that company by Xpertise Group PLC in January 1999. Ian was closely involved in the establishment of Xpertise Training in 1994 and has been instrumental in its development over the past 12 years. He was appointed Managing Director in October 2003.

Ben Pike (34)
Operations Director

Ben Pike joined the Group in 2002 and has been responsible for business integration following several acquisitions and for the successful delivery of over £15 million client training. He also played a leading role in the development of the Group’s Managed Training Service division which now manages over £5 million of training for clients across the UK. Prior to joining Xpertise, Ben held various roles at QA Plc, and where, as Operations Director on the management board, he was responsible for delivering significant levels of client training and managing over 140 staff.

Bill Walker (43)
Technical Director

Bill Walker helped to launch Xpertise’s Training Solutions business, which has been important in establishing Xpertise as one of the leading IT training companies in the UK. He was also instrumental in the recent acquisition and integration of Xpertise’s soft skills partner, Watermans. As Technical Director, Bill is responsible for product development and for establishing marketing strategies to promote business growth. Bill joined Xpertise from QA Plc where he was Technical Director on the operational board with responsibility for the production, management and delivery of all technical training products. Prior to joining QA Plc, he held various positions at PHH Europe plc, Deloitte & Touche and Plessey. Bill sits on Microsoft’s CPLS Advisory Council in Redmond, WA. which sets the direction for Microsoft learning products and services. Bill holds a BSc(Hons) in Computer Science and is a Chartered Engineer.

NON-EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS

Mark Hatton* (43)

Mark has been the Managing Director of Sphinx CST Limited, a subsidiary of Lynx plc, since 1999. Sphinx is one of the leading providers of products and services in the UK IT Security market. He was also Managing Director of Power Education Limited at the time of its acquisition by Xpertise in January 2003. Mark currently has a greater level of involvement with the company, particularly in the area of sales and marketing.

* denotes member of the Remuneration Committee and Audit Committee

? senior non-executive director