William Purves

Sir William Purves "joined The Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation in 1954 (now part of the HSBC Group) being appointed Chief Executive in 1986 and Group Chairman the following year. Following its acquisition in 1992, he also became Chairman of Midland Bank.  He retired from the HSBC Group in 1998 after 44 years service.  Sir William Purves is a non-executive director of a number of private companies and was a non-executive director of Shell Transport and Trading from 1993 to 2002.  He was also a member of the Executive Council, Hong Kong’s highest policy-making body.  He was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1990 and was Knighted in 1993.  Sir William Purves was appointed to the Aquarius Platinum Board during February 2004 and is Chairman of the Audit/Risk Committee, Senior Independent Director of the Company and a member of the Nomination Committee."