Wates Group has appointed Sue Harris as a Non-Executive Director.

Sue is a qualified accountant and chairs the Audit and Assurance council of the Financial Reporting Council. She will Chair Wates Group's Audit Committee.

Sue read Chemistry at Manchester University before joining Ford. After a spell at oil company Amerada Hess, Sue spent the next 18 years at Marks & Spencer rising to Group Treasurer and Head of Corporate Development.

She subsequently moved to Standard Life, where she led the company’s flotation process. More recent roles include as CFO of Cheltenham & Gloucester and Group Audit Director of Lloyd’s Banking Group.


Sue's appointment follows the recent publication of Wates’ five-year diversity and inclusion plan, which sets out an ambitious series of targets for the group. This includes the commitment to improve the gender balance of the workforce at all levels, doubling the proportion of women across the company by 2025.

She said: "I am honoured to have been invited to join the Board of Wates, particularly given its close association with the Wates Principles for Corporate Governance for Large Private Companies. I am excited at the prospect of working with a company whose values sit so closely with my own, particularly in relation to the emphasis on sustainability and improving diversity in the industry. I am looking forward to getting started."