Ocado Corporate
Team
- Michael Grade — Non-Executive Chairman
- Tim Steiner — Chief Executive Officer
- Jason Gissing — Co-Founder and Director
- Neill Abrams — Director of Legal & Business Affairs
- Andrew Bracey — Chief Financial Officer
- Patrick Lewis — Non-Executive Director
- Robert Gorrie — Non-Executive Director
- David Young — Non-Executive Director
- Michael Robarts — Non-Executive Director
Michael Grade
Non-Executive Chairman
Michael Grade has a long and distinguished career in broadcasting, encompassing ITV, BBC and ten years as Chief Executive of Channel Four Television.
He is non-executive chairman of Pinewood and Shepperton Film Studios.
Tim Steiner
Chief Executive Officer
Tim Steiner is the Chief Executive Officer of Ocado, and a founding director.
Prior to Ocado, Tim spent eight years as a banker at Goldman Sachs. During his time there, he was based in London, Hong Kong and New York in the Fixed Income division. As CEO, Tim oversees all aspects of the business.
Tim graduated from Manchester University with an Honours Degree in Economics, Finance and Accountancy in 1992.
Jason Gissing
Co-Founder and Director
Jason Gissing is a founding director, and oversees Marketing and External Communications. Formerly Chief Financial Officer, Jason was responsible for the company’s external funding and internal financial controls for almost ten years, before handing over to Andrew Bracey in November 2009.
Prior to Ocado, Jason spent eight years as a banker at Goldman Sachs. He graduated from Worcester College, Oxford in 1992 with an Honours Degree in Jurisprudence.
Neill Abrams
Director of Legal & Business Affairs
Neill Abrams is Director of Legal & Business Affairs at Ocado.
He is responsible for Ocado's Business Support and Service Delivery divisions. Neill has been a Director of the company since its launch in September 2000.
Prior to this, Neill was a barrister in practice at One Essex Court, the chambers of Lord Grabiner QC. His practice involved a broad range of commercial and corporate matters, from financial services and derivatives to property and data protection.
He advised Ocado during its start-up phase, including the transactions with John Lewis and Waitrose, and the acquisition of its initial intellectual property rights.
Prior to commencing practice at the English Bar, Neill was an Executive Director & Counsel at Goldman Sachs International in London. During his 9 years with Goldman Sachs, Neill was principal legal advisor to the equity, fixed income and swaps derivative desks, including providing advice on product creation, regulation and dispute resolution.
He was also active on various committees of the International Swaps and Derivatives Association, the leading trade organisation for derivatives market participants.
In 1996 Neill served as Chairman of the ISDA EMU Task Force, which included negotiation and consultation with various EU and UK authorities on legislation implementing the single currency.
Neill Abrams graduated from Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge with a Masters degree in Law in 1989, having previously obtained BA and LLB degrees from the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg. He is also admitted as a member of the New York Bar and as a South African Advocate.
Andrew Bracey
Chief Financial Officer
Andrew Bracey joined Ocado as Chief Financial Officer in November 2009, after many years advising the company in his previous role of Head of Consumer and Retail Investment Banking at Jefferies International.
Prior to Jefferies, Andrew was at Barclays Capital from 2003 as Managing Director, Principal Investments and led the investment in another food retail business, Somerfield, where he sat on the board. From 2000 to 2003, he was a Managing Director in the Investment Banking division of Credit Suisse, and started his career at UBS in 1991, where he ran the Retail team in Corporate Finance.
Patrick Lewis
Non-Executive Director
Patrick joined the Ocado board in November 2009. He started his career at Bain & Company, where he progressed from Associate Consultant to Promoted Consultant, before leaving to study at INSEAD in Fontainebleau, where he passed his MBA with distinction.
After a spell as Finance Manager for Proctor & Gamble, Patrick joined the John Lewis Partnership, where he rose to become Supply Chain Director, then Director of Retail Operations. He achieved a 2:1 degree in Law at Christ Church Oxford.
Robert Gorrie
Non-Executive Director
Robert Gorrie is a non-executive director of Ocado. From April 2000 until early 2005 Robert was the Logistics Director.
He was previously Group Director of Information Technology at Transport Development Group plc (TDG), a £500m turnover European logistics services business, reporting directly to the Group Chief Executive. He has a wealth of experience in IT and logistics services more generally. Robert spent 10 years with TDG, most recently establishing e-business as a strategic business priority. Prior to that he spent 10 years in North America with the logistics service business Christian Salvesen PLC, where he reached the position of Director of Business Development before moving to TDG.
Robert graduated from Corpus Christi College, Oxford with an Honours degree in Modern History and Economics.
David Young
Non-Executive Director
David Young is a Non-Executive Director of Ocado. He retired from the John Lewis Partnership in 2002 where he was Deputy Chairman. He remains the Chairman of the John Lewis Partnership Pensions Trust Ltd.
He joined the Air Ministry in 1963 as an Assistant Principal, and was promoted to Principal in 1968, and to Assistant Secretary in 1975. His Civil Service appointments included Private Secretary to the Chief of Air Staff and to the Minister of State for Defence. He was a Member of the Central Policy Review Staff in the Cabinet Office from 1975 to 1977 where he worked on the 'Review of Overseas Representation' looking at the work of the Foreign Office, British Council, external services of the BBC and others. His last Ministry of Defence position was dealing with the coordination of the Defence Budget at the time of John Nott's Defence Review.
David Young left the Civil Service and joined the John Lewis Partnership in February 1982. After a number of training appointments he became Managing Director of Peter Jones, Sloane Square in 1984. He became Finance Director and a member of the Board in 1987. Additionally, he was appointed Deputy Chairman in February 1993 and held responsibility at Board level for IT from February 1997 to March 2000.
David Young was appointed as an Independent Member of the Steering Board of Companies House at the time of its creation as an Executive Agency of the Department of Trade and Industry in 1988 and served as a member of the Board until 1993.. He was Treasurer of the Open University from June 1997 until May 2001, and a member of Council from August 1996 until May 2001. He has been a Trustee of the Royal Air Force Museum since 1999 and is also a Trustee of the Textile Industry Children' Trust and a member of the Advisory Panel of Greenwich Hospital.
David Young became a Board member for the Higher Education Funding Council for England in June 2001 and became its Chairman in October 2001. David was educated at King Edward VII School, Sheffield and Corpus Christi College, Oxford where he read PPE.
Michael Robarts
Non-Executive Director
Michael Robarts joined the Ocado board as a non-executive director in Jan 2010. He qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 1967, then joined NM Rothschild & Sons in 1968 working in banking, trading and fund management. In 1989, he joined the Robert Fleming Group, the last five years of his time there as Operations Director of Fleming Investment Management.
In 1999 he joined Bacon & Woodrow (now Hewitt Associates) as a senior investment consultant, advising major occupational pension schemes, including the John Lewis Partnership Pensions Trust, of which he was appointed a Trustee Director following his retirement from Hewitt at the end of 2009.
Brian Lynas 1948-2009
Non-Executive Director
Brian was a non-executive director of Ocado between Jan 2006 to Aug 2009, joining the Ocado board on the personal recommendation of then John Lewis Partnership chairman, Sir Stuart Hampson.
Brian was a Beit Scholar, and graduated from from the University of Bristol with a BSc (Hons) in Physics. He joined Price Waterhouse in 1970, where he quickly became known for his first-class auditing and investigative skills. Rising first to partner, then senior partner, he worked as lead partner for major companies including Reuters, SABMiller, Rentokil Fosters and John Lewis Partnership.
He also carried out a number of senior management roles, including work on the company’s UK firms Audit and Business Advisory Services Board, and was heavily involved in the company’s global merger with Coopers & Lybrand in 1998.
He was a constant champion of Ocado, and did much to help the company in its early years. His wisdom and good humour will be greatly missed.