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The Group’s Board of Directors is comprised of a Non-Executive Chairman, two Non-Executive Directors and one Executive Director and is responsible for the proper management of the Company and the Group.
Ivan Martin was appointed to the Board on 1 January 2016 and assumed the role of Non-Executive Chairman on 4 March 2016.
Ivan has previously held a number of significant Executive and Non-Executive positions in both the Technology and Financial Services sectors having been Non-Executive Chairman of Xceptor, a London-based international software business which was sold by CBPE Capital to Astorg Partners, Chief Executive Officer of Misys Banking and Capital Markets and a main board member of Misys plc. He was also Chairman of FDM Group from 2006 to 2019, during which time he oversaw the growth and evolution of this company from an AIM listing to a FTSE 250 member valued at over £1 billion.
Key external appointments
* Non-Executive Chairman of Nebula Cloud Limited (formerly known as TelcoSwitch), a privately owned provider of Unified Communications Software as a Service.
* Member of Wulstan Capital LLP and Parch Three Estates LLP, being commercial property investment vehicles.
Alex Curran was appointed to Board as Acting CEO on 12 July 2023 and subsequently appointed as CEO on 30 November 2023.
Alex joined Aptitude Software in 2008 and she has held several senior roles within the Group, including leading the North American business since July 2019.
Key external appointments
* Non-executive director of Checkit plc
Sara Dickinson was appointed to the Board as a Non-Executive Director on 1 October 2021 and assumed the role of Chair of the Audit Committee on 16 March 2022. Sara has significant experience of external and internal financial governance and reporting including ESG requirements and therefore is also the designated Director for ensuring that the Board meets its climate-related reporting obligations.
Sara has over 30 years of financial experience, as well as significant knowledge of digital finance processes and finance transformation. Prior to joining Boldyn Networks, Sara was Chief Finance Officer of BSI where she drove successful finance and companywide transformation. Previous roles include Senior Vice President at Expedia Inc; and Non-Executive Director and Chair of the Finance Committee of A2Dominion, a residential property group with a debt listing on the London Stock Exchange. Sara’s other experience includes Commercial Finance Director at Costa Coffee, Group Financial Controller for Sage Group plc and Vice President and European Chief Financial Officer of ebookers.
Key external appointment
* Chief Financial Officer of Boldyn Networks Global Limited
Paula Dowdy was appointed to the Board as a non-executive director, senior independent director, and chair of the renumeration committee on May 27, 2025.
Paula has spent most of her career in commercial and general management roles spanning diverse high growth industries: telecoms, technology, software, and life sciences. Most recently she was Senior Vice President of Illumina, Inc.’s EMEA business, doubling the revenue to over $1 Billion. She also spent over 20 years at Cisco Systems, Inc. in US, UK, and global roles, including positions as Senior Vice President both in Services for EMEA and Software globally.
Paula has uniquely served on boards in the US, UK, and Europe with both private and public companies. Her portfolio career began with the appointment as Non-Executive Director at AVEVA Group plc, a FTSE 100 member from 2019 - 2023. She subsequently served on the board of EQT’s SPT Labtech as a Non-Executive Director from 2023-2025.
Key external appointments:
* Board Director – Quantum-SI, Inc. A Nasdaq listed life sciences company
* Non-Executive Director – Sensio AS. A Nordic Capital backed software company
The Board has established an Audit Committee, a Nomination Committee and a Remuneration Committee with formally delegated duties and responsibilities.
The Nomination Committee review the structure, size and composition of the Board and its Committees including its balance of skills and experience and make recommendations to the Board with regard to any changes. In addition it also leads the process for Board appointments, whilst considering succession for Directors and other senior executives, including the identification and assessment of potential candidates.
The Committee provides support to the Board in meeting its statutory responsibilities as set out in the UK Corporate Governance Code, which requires that Audit Committees have competence relevant to the sector in which the Company operates. The Audit Committee also monitors the integrity of the financial statements of the Company and meets regularly with management and the Company’s external auditors to review and monitor the financial reporting process, the statutory audit of the consolidated financial statements, audit procedures, risk management, internal controls and financial matters. The Audit Committee receives and reviews reports from management and the Company’s auditors relating to the annual and interim accounts and the accounting and internal control systems in use throughout the Group.
The Committee’s primary function is to support the Company’s strategy by ensuring its delivery is supported by the Company’s remuneration policy. This includes determining the Company’s remuneration policy and monitoring its implementation, approving remuneration packages for each of the Executive Directors and the senior leadership team, determining the terms on which Performance Share Plan and Company Share Option Plan awards are made; reviewing and setting performance targets for incentive plans.
These documents set out terms of reference for the Board and Board Committees of Aptitude Software Group plc and adopts governance standards as set out in the Code. Download the full documents below.