About Abbey

Lord Burns, Chairman

Lord Burns was appointed Joint Deputy Chairman on 1 December 2001 and Chairman on 1 February 2002. He is also Chairman of Alliance & Leicester plc, Chairman of Glas Cymru Cyfyngedig (Welsh Water), and a Non-Executive Director of Banco Santander, S.A. and Pearson plc.  His current professional roles include President of the Society of Business Economists, Fellow of the London Business School, Companion of the Institute of Management, President of the National Institute of Economic and Social Research and Vice President of the Royal Economic Society.  He was formerly Permanent Secretary to the Treasury and chaired the Parliamentary Financial Services and Markets Bill Joint Committee. He was a Non-Executive Director of British Land plc (2000-2005) and Legal & General Group plc (1991-2001). He was also Chairman of the National Lottery Commission (2000-2001) and Marks and Spencer plc (2005-2008).

Juan Inciate, Deputy Chairman

Juan Inciarte was appointed Non-Executive Director on 1 December 2004. He joined Banco Santander, S.A. in 1985. After holding various positions, he was appointed to the Board of Directors in 1991, holding this office until 1999. He is currently Chief Executive of Santander Consumer Finance, S.A., Executive Vice President of Banco Santander, S.A. and Non-Executive Director of Alliance & Leicester plc. In addition, he is a Director of Compañia Española de Petróleos, NIBC Bank N.V., Banco Banif S.A., Vista Capital de Expansion S.A. and director and member of the Executive Committee of Sovereign Bancorp in the U.S. For several years he served on the Board of Directors of First Union Corporation (presently Wachovia) in the US, the Board of Directors and Executive Committee of San Paolo - IMI in Italy and the Boards of the Royal Bank of Scotland plc and National Westminster Bank plc (from 1998 – 2004). He is a member of the US-Spain Council and Fellow of The Chartered Institute of Bankers in Scotland.

Keith Woodley, Non-Executive Director

Keith Woodley was appointed Non-Executive Director on 5 August 1996. He was made Senior Independent Non-Executive Director in April 1999 and was Deputy Chairman from 6 April 1999 until November 2004. He is a Non-Executive Director of Alliance & Leicester plc, a former Non-Executive Director of National and Provincial Building Society and a former partner of Deloitte Haskins & Sells. A past President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, he is Complaints Commissioner for the London Stock Exchange and a Council Member and Pro-Chancellor of the University of Bath.

José María Carballo, Non-Executive Director

José María Carballo was appointed Non-Executive Director on 1 December 2004. He is a Non-Executive Director of Alliance & Leicester plc, Chairman of La Unión Resinera Española, Chairman of Vista Desarrollo, Director of Vista Capital Expansion S.A. S.G.E.C.R. and Director of Teleférico Pico del Teide S.A.  He is also Vice President and Honorary Treasurer of the Iberoamerican Benevolent Society (UK).  He was Executive Vice President of Banco Santander, S.A. from 1989 - 2001 and Chief Executive Officer of Banco Santander de Negocios from 1989 to 1993. Until 1989 he was Executive Vice President responsible for Europe at Banco Bilbao Vizcaya. He was also Executive Vice President of Banco de Bilbao in New York until 1983.

José María Fuster, Non-Executive Director

José María Fuster was appointed Non-Executive Director on 1 December 2004. He is Executive Vice President of Operations and Technology of Santander, Non-Executive Director of Banesto, Non-Executive Director of Alliance & Leicester plc and Chief Information Officer for Santander. He joined Banco Español de Crédito in 1998 and was appointed as Chief Information Officer of Banco Santander, S.A. in 2003. He started his professional career in IBM and Arthur Andersen as a consultant. In the financial services sector, he has worked for Citibank and National Westminster Bank plc.

Rosemary Thorne, Non-Executive Director

Rosemary Thorne was appointed Non-Executive Director on 1 July 2006. She is also a Non-Executive Director on the board of Smurfitt Kappa Group plc and Alliance & Leicester plc. She was Group Finance Director of Ladbrokes plc until April 2007, Non-Executive Director of Cadbury Schweppes plc until September 2007 and Senior Independent Director on the board of Virgin Radio Holdings Limited until June 2008. Previously, she was Group Financial Controller of Grand Metropolitan Public Limited Company (prior to its merger with Guinness plc to become Diageo plc) and spent almost eight years as the Group Finance Director of J Sainsbury plc. She joined the board of Bradford & Bingley in 1999 as Group Finance Director, initially working on its demutualisation and flotation, resulting in a place in the FTSE 100 in December 2000. She remained in this role for a further five years. She was a member of the Financial Reporting Council and Financial Reporting Review Panel for nine years and a member of The Hundred Group of Finance Directors Main Committee for fifteen years and the Council of the University of Warwick for six years. She is also a member of the Royal College of Art.

Jane Barker, Non-Executive Director

Jane Barker was appointed Non-Executive Director in 2008. She is Chief Executive Officer of Equitas Limited, the company set up to re-insure and run-off the 1992 and prior years’ non-life liabilities of Lloyds of London Syndicates and a Non-Executive Director of Alliance & Leicester plc. She was previously a member of the council and chair of the Audit Committee of the Open University. Her previous roles have included being Finance Director of the London Stock Exchange.

Roy Brown, Non-Executive Director

Roy Brown was appointed a Non-Executive Director on 21 October 2008. Roy is a chartered engineer and Chairman of GKN plc and a Non-Executive Director of Alliance & Leicester plc. Formerly, he was an Executive Director of Unilever plc and NV, senior independent Director of HMV Group plc and a Non-Executive Director of Brambles Industries plc and the British United Provident Association Ltd (BUPA).