Board members

Chief Executive Officer - Paddy Byrne

Paddy joined Target Group as CEO in October 2012 and joined the Board of Target Servicing Limited.  He is an FCA approved person.

With more than 20 years' experience in senior management roles, Paddy brings a strong track record of business development and growth to Target.  He was Head of the UK region for Xchanging plc, the business process and technology services provider and integrator, with responsibilities for outsourced services such as HR, IT, Procurement and complex back-office processing for financial services. He was also responsible for Xchanging's insurance software business. Paddy's first role at Xchanging was Head of Technology Services.  Prior to this he was Business Solutions Director for HMRC and a member of the Technology Board.  Earlier in his career he was CIO of QBE European Companies Operations Limited.

Paddy has been a member of a number of CIO advisory boards for major IT vendors and was on the board of CIO-Connect, the preeminent affinity group for CIOs in the UK.

Sales and Marketing Director - James Snow

James is responsible for sales and marketing.  He is an FCA approved person.

Prior to this James has held the posts of Chief Executive Officer, CEO Target Services, Chief Operating Officer and Strategy Director.

With a background in financial IT, James has in-depth knowledge of the financial services marketplace and how providers can underpin service with technology to achieve competitive advantage. His experience spans over 20 years. Prior to joining Target he lead sales and marketing for technology leasing company Rental Research, and was National Sales Manager for Advanced Technologies International.  Earlier in his career he was a systems and software consultant for ECS International, a subsidiary of Société Générale.

Group Finance Director - John Hunt

John is responsible for group finance.  He is an FCA approved person.

John is a Chartered Management Accountant.  Prior to joining Target in 2013 he worked in both business process outsourcing and technology businesses.  He joined from Capita Group where he held a number of Finance Director roles over  five years.  Prior to this he was Financial Controller & Company Secretary at Volvo IT Ltd.   Earlier at McKesson Provider Technologies he held senior finance roles before moving into business development.

John started his career at Fujitsu (formerly ICL) where he held roles in both the UK and US across market sectors including Financial Services, Telecoms and Oracle Consultancy.

Non-Executive Directors

Chairman - Richard Houghton

Richard Houghton is Chairman having joined Target in May 2012.

In 1999 he was a founding director of Xchanging plc, the business process and technology services provider and integrator. For over 10 years he held senior roles including Chief Operating Officer, and more recently Chief Financial Officer. He led the successful floatation of the business on the London Stock Exchange in 2007.

Prior to this Richard was Divisional Chief Executive of Caradon plc which he joined following a period at McKinsey & Company.

Richard has a Masters in Chemical Engineering from Cambridge and achieved his MBA at Harvard.

Non-Executive Director - Grant Hawkins

Grant Hawkins is a Non-Executive Director of Target Group. Between 2008 and February 2012 he held the role of Executive Chairman having joined the company as Financial Director in 1980, later becoming Chief Executive and Chairman.

Grant's extensive career in financial services began in 1971 when he qualified as a chartered accountant and subsequently joined the Sterling Credit Group as Group Financial Controller and later as Group Finance Director.  For 10 years he was also Non-Executive Director with Hyder plc. Grant is a graduate in Economics from the University of Wales.  Grant is an FCA approved person.

Non-Executive Director - James Scott