Sir Derek Higgs
Sir Derek Higgs qualified as a chartered accountant with Price Waterhouse before joining the corporate finance business of S.G. Warburg & Co. in 1972.

He became head of global corporate finance in 1986 and Chairman of S.G. Warburg & Co. Ltd. in 1994. During this time Warburg became the leading London-based global investment bank, prior to its merger with Swiss Bank to form what is now UBS Investment Bank.

In 1996 Sir Derek joined Prudential as a Director and Chairman of its fund management business, Prudential Portfolio Managers.

In 2000 Sir Derek retired from Prudential and spent five years with UBS Investment Bank as Senior Adviser in the UK.

Board Mandates
Sir Derek is currently Chairman of Alliance & Leicester, Bramdeam Asset Management LLP and Gleacher Shacklock. He is a Non-Executive Director of Jones Lang Lasalle Inc., where he chairs the Audit Committee. Previously, he was a Non-Executive Director of Allied Irish Banks and Egg, Deputy Chairman of British Land and Chairman of Partnerships UK.

Formerly he was Chairman of Business in the Environment and a member of the Financial Reporting Council.

Sir Derek is a Pro-Chancellor of the University of Bristol and supports a number of charitable and other organisations in the UK, including the Scott Trust, which secures the financial and editorial independence of the Guardian newspaper. He is also author of "The Role and Effectiveness of Non-Executive Directors", a review commissioned in 2002 by the UK government, which led to a major revision of the Combined Code.

Awards
Sir Derek was knighted in 2004.