The Board and Shareholders
Shareholders
Our cornerstone investor is Wittington Investments Ltd. which owns a range of private businesses in the retail and property sectors and a majority shareholding in Associated British Foods PLC, a FTSE 100 company.
Ken Shaw is the founder and former Chairman of A&J Gummers Ltd, which he purchased from Pentos PLC and sold within ten years to Masco Corporation.
Geoffrey Gestetner and associated family investment vehicles.
Wittington Investments Ltd., Geoffrey Gestetner and his family interests and Ken Shaw own over 95% of the group’s shares.
Board
Our board meets five times a year to review management’s performance and the group’s strategy. There is a majority of non-executive directors on the board.
Executive Directors
Geoffrey Gestetner - Founder and Managing Director
Geoffrey was the founder of Davidson in 2003. He has worked in retail, FMCG and business services in a range of sales and marketing and operational roles before spending twenty-five years in the building products sector including as Managing Director of Aqualisa and Heatrae Sadia. He was Managing Director of our first two businesses, Cistermiser and Keraflo, for over ten years. He has also acted as interim Managing Director of both Salamander and Talon.
Esther Jones - Group Finance Director
Esther is a qualified chartered accountant who joined Davidson in January 2020. She has held a variety of finance roles in manufacturing, logistics, services and distribution in the building products and other sectors.
Non-Executive Directors
Ken Shaw - Non-Executive Director
Ken was the Chairman and CEO of A&J Gummers. He was the EY Global Entrepreneur of the Year in 1999.
Tim Park - Non-Executive Director
Tim is a chartered accountant and former Managing Director and Corporate Finance Director in both PLCs and private equity-backed businesses.
Board Observers
Charles Mason - Representative of Wittington Investments
Charles is the Chief Investment Officer for Wittington Investments Ltd. He has a background in corporate finance and strategic consultancy and is Wittington’s representative at our board meetings.