Lord Heseltine retires as chairman after 65 years, succeeded by Rupert Heseltine, as part of a series of new board appointments

Lord Heseltine retires as Chairman of the company he helped to create in 1957. He is succeeded by the Honourable Rupert Heseltine, whilst himself remaining as a director at Haymarket. 

Haymarket is refreshing its board as part of the changes too. David Fraser, who first joined Haymarket as finance director in 1968 and has been a non-executive director since 2005, and Lord Levene of Portsoken, a non-executive director since 1997, are stepping down.

Sue Biggs, a former director-general of the Royal Horticultural Society, is joining as a non-executive director and Sam Gyimah, a former government minister is joining as an adviser to the board.

Sue retired as Director General of The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) earlier this year. As the longest-serving Director General in the charity’s history, she transformed the organisation, doubling its membership during her tenure. 

Sam, a former Government Minister, returned to business in 2020 and sits on a range of Boards in the UK and US, including Goldman Sachs International where he started his career. He brings a wealth of diverse business experience including at Lakestar the tech-focused VC, and Renaissance Learning, a US education tech company. 

“I would like to thank Peter and David for their immense contributions to the board over the years” said Michael Heseltine.  

“During David and Peter’s tenure, we have seen Haymarket shift from a traditional print publisher to the media, data and information company it is today – both have played an important role in that evolution. They have helped the company through a technological revolution, the financial crisis of 2008 and the consolidation of the shareholding into a hundred per cent family business. I cannot overstate my gratitude to them. That tradition will be continued under the guidance of my son, the company’s chief executive, Kevin Costello and the extraordinarily talented team employed today.”

Heseltine continues: “It gives me great pleasure to confirm the appointment of Sue Biggs CBE and welcome Sam Gyimah to the business. Together they bring a wealth of financial, commercial and ESG experience that will be invaluable in helping us achieve Haymarket’s future global growth ambitions.”

Speaking about the appointment, Sue Biggs said: “I have known and worked with Haymarket for a number of years and have always held them in the highest esteem. I am thrilled to be joining the board and very much look forward to working with the team.” 

Sam Gyimah added: “Haymarket is a well established business which I have always admired and I am now delighted to be in a position to support it on the next stage of its development journey.” 

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About Sue Biggs CBE

Sue retired as Director General of The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) earlier this year. As the longest-serving Director General in the charity’s history, she transformed the organisation, doubling its membership over her tenure.

Biggs began her career in the travel industry, where she worked for 30 years, becoming UK MD of Kuoni Travel where she was the first woman to be appointed to the Board, as well as the first non-Swiss Board member. She was made a CBE in the 2017 New Year Honours, for her services to the environment and ornamental horticulture industries.

About Sam Gyimah

Sam, a former Government Minister, returned to business in 2020 and brings diverse business experience from the UK and US, including Goldman Sachs International, where he started his career, Lakestar the tech-focused VC and Renaissance Learning a US education tech company. 

Born in the UK, and brought up in Ghana, Sam also sits on the Advisory Council of Said Business School, Oxford, and on the development board of the British Academy.

About Haymarket Media Group

Haymarket Media Group is a privately-owned media, data and information company, producing remarkable content for specialist audiences across the world. The company has 1,300 employees across offices in the UK, US, Hong Kong, Singapore, India and Germany.

Haymarket’s portfolio consists of more than 70 market-leading brands including What Car?, Campaign, MyCME and Asian Investor.

Through live, digital, print, education, data, tech services, video and audio, Haymarket’s brands inspire, inform and empower clients and communities internationally.

www.haymarket.com

Media Enquiries:

Tara Geoghegan, Communications Manager, Haymarket Media Group communications@haymarket.com