Debbie White
Born
Debra Jayne White

May 1962 (age 61)[1]
OccupationBusinesswoman
Children3 sons

Debra Jayne White (born May 1962) is a British accountant and businesswoman. She was the chief executive (CEO) of Interserve from September 2017 until the end of 2019. In March 2020, the UK Government asked White to advise it on the establishment of a UK-wide network of testing centres in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In December 2021, White was appointed HR director at BT Group, and, in July 2023, was announced as the next chair of The Co-operative Group with effect from February 2024.

Career

Early career

White trained as an accountant with Arthur Andersen, and later joined AstraZeneca and then PwC Consulting.[2][3] In 2004, White was appointed as the chief financial officer of Sodexo's UK operations, and rose to become chief executive of government and healthcare worldwide.[2][3]

CEO of Interserve

In September 2017, White succeeded Adrian Ringrose as CEO of Interserve.[2][4] The company was "battling for survival" after warning it would breach bank loan covenants,[5][6] and in early 2018 attempted to financially restructure its business. In November 2018, White said the group would unveil further plans to tackle its debt mountain in early 2019,[7] later confirming a deleveraging plan that would result in "material dilution" for current Interserve shareholders.[8][9][10] While the deal was agreed with lenders, it was subject to approval by Interserve's shareholders, and Interserve risked going into administration if that approval was not given.[11][12][13] At an AGM on 15 March 2019, the deleveraging plan was rejected by shareholders,[14] its shares were suspended, and Interserve's board applied for the parent company to be placed into administration while it pursued a pre-pack option.[15] A new private company, Interserve Group Ltd, controlled by Interserve's existing lenders, emerged.[16] In November 2019, Interserve announced an operational restructuring of the business; as a result, White left the business at the end of 2019.[17]

Career, 2020-present

In March 2020, White took on an unpaid role to advise on the set up of a UK-wide network of testing centres as part of the UK Government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic.[18]

In December 2021, White was appointed HR Director at BT Group.[19]

In July 2023, White was named as the next chair of The Co-operative Group. She was set to join the retail group as a non-executive director in August 2023, taking over as chair in February 2024.[20]

White is a member of the Women 1st Top 100 Club.[3]

Personal life

White has three sons.[3]

References

  1. ↑ "INTERSERVE PLC - Officers (free information from Companies House)". beta.companieshouse.gov.uk. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
  2. 1 2 3 Gill, Oliver (7 March 2017). "Interserve nab new leader from Sodexo". cityam.com. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Interserve's new boss: What do we know about Debbie White?". constructionnews.co.uk. 7 March 2017. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
  4. ↑ "New chief executive takes over at Interserve". The Construction Index. 1 September 2017. Retrieved 29 January 2018.
  5. ↑ Morby, Aaron (19 October 2017). "Interserve is battling for survival after warning this morning it is now set to breach its bank loan covenants". Construction Enquirer. Retrieved 20 October 2017.
  6. ↑ "Interserve on verge of breaching financial covenants". The Construction Index. 19 October 2017. Retrieved 20 October 2017.
  7. ↑ Morby, Aaron (23 November 2018). "Interserve to roll-out £650m debt reduction plan". Construction Enquirer. Retrieved 23 November 2018.
  8. ↑ Grecenko, Evelina (10 December 2018). "INTERSERVE CONFIRMS DELEVERAGING PLAN TO RESULT IN "MATERIAL DILUTION"". London Stock Exchange - Alliance News. Retrieved 10 December 2018.
  9. ↑ Morby, Aaron (10 December 2018). "Interserve shares collapse as rescue talks continue". Construction Enquirer. Retrieved 10 December 2018.
  10. ↑ Daniel, Alex (10 December 2018). "Interserve share price plummets as it admits rescue refinancing plan". City AM. Retrieved 10 December 2018.
  11. ↑ "Progress on Deleveraging Plan". London Stock Exchange RNS. Retrieved 6 February 2019.
  12. ↑ "Interserve agrees rescue plan with creditors". BBC News. BBC. 6 February 2019. Retrieved 6 February 2019.
  13. ↑ Daniel, Alex (10 February 2019). "Out of the frying pan, Inter-the fire: Will Interserve's rescue deal go up in flames?". City A.M. Retrieved 11 February 2019.
  14. ↑ Price, David; Garner-Purkis, Zak (15 March 2019). "Interserve rescue plan voted down". Construction News. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
  15. ↑ "Interserve goes into administration after rescue deal rejected". The Guardian. 15 March 2019. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
  16. ↑ "Successful completion of sale of the group (15 March 2019)". London Stock Exchange. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
  17. ↑ Morby, Aaron (15 November 2019). "Interserve restructure paves way for possible break-up". Construction Enquirer. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
  18. ↑ Lowe, Tom (27 March 2020). "Former Interserve boss drafted in to lead covid-19 testing programme". Building. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
  19. ↑ "Our Executive Committee - About BT | BT PLC".
  20. ↑ Weinfass, Iain (14 July 2023). "Ex-Interserve boss to become Co-op chair". Construction News. Retrieved 17 July 2023.
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