Introduction
 
 
 
 

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GEOFF UNWIN Chairman - Geoff Unwin was appointed to the board as a non-executive director in 1996, and became chairman in November 2002. He was previously chief executive officer of Cap Gemini Ernst & Young, one of the largest management and IT consulting firms in the world, and remains a non-voting member of the board of that company. He is also chairman of Halma plc, a leading safety and environmental technology group and Liberata plc, a provider of business outsourcing services. He is a member of the advisory boards of Palamon Capital Partners and Hartwell plc. Aged 62. (3)

CLIVE HOLLICK Group Chief Executive - Clive Hollick was appointed to the board as group chief executive in 1996 following the merger with MAI plc. Prior to that he was group managing director of MAI plc, having joined the board of that company in 1974. He is a non-executive director of Diageo plc and Honeywell International Inc. and is also chairman of the South Bank Centre. Previous board appointments include directorships of Hambros Bank Limited (1973-1996), National Bus Company (1984-1991), Logica plc (1987-1992), British Aerospace Plc (1992-1997) and TRW Inc (1999-2002). Aged 59.

NIGEL WILSON Chief Financial Officer - Nigel Wilson was appointed to the board as chief financial officer in 2001. Prior to that he was group finance director of Viridian Group plc from 1996 to 2000, and became managing director of Viridian Capital in 2000. Previous appointments include group finance director at Waste Management International plc, head of corporate finance and group commercial director of Dixons Group plc, managing director of Stanhope Properties plc and a consultant at McKinsey. Aged 48.

MALCOLM WALL Chief Operating Officer - Malcolm Wall joined the group in 1992 and subsequently became chief executive of United Broadcasting and Entertainment, responsible for all the group’s television businesses until their sale in 2000. He became chief operating officer of UBM in November 2000, with responsibility for overseeing operations across all the group’s businesses, and was appointed to the board on 1 January 2001. Aged 48.

CHARLES GREGSON Executive Director - Appointed to the board in 1996, Charles Gregson is responsible for PR Newswire as well as the group’s UK specialist publications business, UAP, and the group’s investments. He joined MAI plc in 1974 as group solicitor and became a director of that company in 1984. He is chairman of ICAP plc, and deputy chairman of Provident Financial plc. Aged 57.

JOHN BOTTS Non-Executive Director - Appointed to the board in 1997, John Botts is chairman of Botts & Company Limited, a London based funds management and investment company which concentrates on private equity investing in Europe. Other directorships include Euromoney Institutional Investor plc and Amerindo Internet Fund plc. He is the senior independent director. Aged 64. (2) (3)

CHRIS POWELL Non-Executive Director - Appointed to the board in 1996, Chris Powell was a non-executive director of MAI plc from 1995. He has been chief executive and chairman of BMP DDB, one of Britain’s largest advertising agencies, of which he was co-founder, and is a past president of the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising. He is chairman of Nesta (National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts). He is chairman of the remuneration committee. Aged 61. (1) (3)

JONATHAN NEWCOMB Non-Executive Director - Jonathan Newcomb was appointed to the board in 2001. He was chairman and CEO of Simon & Schuster, one of the world’s largest book publishers, from 1994 until 2002, having been president and chief operating officer from 1991. From 2002 to 2004 he was a principal with the New York based private equity firm of Leeds Weld & Co. Previous employment included McGraw Hill (where he was responsible for Standard & Poor’s and Data Resources) and Dun & Bradstreet. He is also a director of HSBC North America. Aged 58. (1) (2)

ADAIR TURNER Non-Executive Director - Appointed to the board in 2000, Adair Turner was previously director general of the Confederation of British Industry and prior to that a director of McKinsey & Co. He is vice-chairman of Merrill Lynch Europe and a visiting professor at the London School of Economics. In December 2002 he was appointed by the Government to chair an independent commission on pensions. He is chairman of the audit committee. Aged 49. (1) (2)

CHRISTOPHER HYMAN Non-Executive Director – Appointed to the board in 2004 Christopher Hyman is chief executive of Serco Group plc, which he joined in 1994 and where he has served in a number of roles, including company secretary and group finance director, before becoming chief executive in 2002. Serco is one of the world’s leading outsourcing companies, specialising in managing organisational design and change. It has operations in Europe, the Middle East, Asia Pacific and North America. Aged 41. (2)

LORD SANDY LEITCH Non-Executive Director – Appointed to the board in January 2005, Sandy currently chairs the National Employment Panel which advises government on employment issues and has recently been appointed to chair an independent review of skills in the UK. He is chairman of the Balance Foundation and deputy chair of the Commonwealth Education Fund. He was previously chairman and chief executive of Zurich Financial Services (UK, Ireland, Southern Africa and Asia Pacific), holding senior positions at Allied Dunbar, Eagle Star and Threadneedle. He was also chairman of The Association of British Insurers. Aged 57. (1)

(1) Member of the remuneration committee
(2) Member of the audit committee
(3) Member of the nomination committee

     
 
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