The Access Group has appointed Sally Johnson as its new Chief Financial Officer, effective 1 June 2026. Sally joins from Pearson plc, where she served as CFO for six years and brings more than 25 years of experience across strategic finance, M&A, business transformation and investor relations in large and complex global organisations.

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Her appointment follows the retirement of Rob Binns, who steps down after seven years as CFO of The Access Group. Rob has been a trusted and defining presence throughout some of the Group’s most significant chapters and leaves with the whole business’s enormous gratitude. Rob and Sally will work closely together to ensure a smooth and seamless handover.

As CFO of Pearson plc, a FTSE 100 education company, Sally led significant value creation and business and investment transformation. Before this, she held several senior finance roles, including Deputy CFO and SVP Divisional Finance, where she led enterprise-wide transformation programmes, oversaw global ERP and shared services implementations across multiple geographies, and led a global finance team of 500 people.

Prior to Pearson, Sally held finance leadership roles at Dorling Kindersley and Penguin Group and began her career at PricewaterhouseCoopers. She also serves as a Non-Executive Director and Audit Chair at Rentokil Initial.

Commenting on her appointment, Sally said:

“I’m extremely excited to join Access at such a pivotal moment. I admire the company’s journey, exceptional growth, strong ambition and that the business consistently backs itself. Joining as the technology landscape is being fundamentally reshaped by AI makes it even more compelling – Access is already taking a lead in this space and I’m thrilled to be part of what comes next. I can’t wait to get started.”

Rob Binns joined The Access Group in 2019 and has played a central role in the Group’s growth ever since, providing financial leadership and steady judgment through some of its most defining moments.

Commenting on his retirement, Rob Binns said:

“It has been an honour to be part of the Access journey, watching this business grow, evolve and push boundaries has been genuinely exciting. I’m incredibly proud of what we’ve built together, and none of it would have been possible without the brilliant finance team, who have given so much along the way. I have every confidence that Sally will take it to new heights, and I couldn’t wish for a better person to hand the baton to.”

Chris Bayne, Co-CEO of The Access Group, said:

“Rob has been an outstanding CFO and an integral part of everything we have built over the past seven years. His steady hand, judgment and commitment to this business have been invaluable, and he deserves every bit of his retirement. We are delighted to welcome Sally. Her experience leading finance at scale, through transformation and growth, is exactly what Access needs as we accelerate our AI ambitions. I have no doubt she will make an immediate and lasting impact.”

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Contact

Daniel Thompson at TANK – dan.thompson@tank.co.uk

Abstract

The Access Group has appointed Sally Johnson as Chief Financial Officer, strengthening its executive leadership team.