John Fennell

He studied electrical and electronic engineering at Loughborough University (MEng, 1999 to 2003 on LinkedIn) and was managing director of Fennell Financial Ltd from December 2006 until July 2015. The group's own history says he grew up in care homes owned and run by his parents, and that this and his finance background shaped how Rotherwood was set up. Companies House shows him as a director of Rotherwood Group Ltd from March 2015. His LinkedIn profile lists him as the group's Chief Financial Officer from June 2015 to March 2017 and as CEO from April 2017.

Rotherwood began in 2015 with Hampton Grange, Gwen Walford and Lynhales Hall, bought from Claridge Nursing Homes. St George's Park and Dorset House joined later that year. Roden Hall followed in 2016 and was rebuilt as a new home that opened in 2019. Kington Court was acquired in January 2022, and Fennell described it then as the group's seventh home. Colwall, a purpose-built home, broke ground in February 2023 and opened in October 2025, with a grand opening reported in March 2026.

Rotherwood won three awards at The Care Home Awards in May 2024, with Fennell among the staff who collected them. In a February 2024 video testimonial he described how the group implemented EOS, a business operating system, with the consultant Martin Andrew. In 2022 he said the group's move to battery-powered garden equipment was part of a longer-term plan to cut its carbon footprint.