Great Portland Estates taps William Eccleshare as its next chair
By Josh White
Date: Tuesday 04 Feb 2025
(Sharecast News) - Great Portland Estates announced the appointment of William Eccleshare as a non-executive director and its chair designate on Tuesday, effective from 1 May.
The FTSE 250 company said he would succeed Richard Mully as chair of the board following its annual general meeting in July, when Mully was set to retire after more than eight years of service.
It said Eccleshare's appointment came as the result of a selection process led by senior independent director Nick Hampton.
The firm said he would bring extensive leadership experience in executive and non-executive roles, currently serving as a non-executive director and senior independent director at Centaur Media and as chairman of Team ITG, a privately-owned digital media business.
He is also chair of the Design Council, a UK government advisory body.
His previous roles included board positions at Britvic, Hays, and Clear Media, as well as senior leadership roles at Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings, BBDO Europe, and Young & Rubicam EMEA.
GPE also announced that Nick Hampton would step down from the board and its committees on 3 April.
Karen Green, who joined as a non-executive director in 2023, would succeed him as senior independent director from 4 April.
"William brings significant executive and non-executive experience - his breadth of knowledge and skills, including his strong background in marketing, business transformation, growth and innovation, will be invaluable to GPE's board," said chair Richard Mully.
"I know he will provide effective leadership of the board and great support to Toby Courtauld and our management team, who welcome his appointment.
"It has been a privilege to serve on GPE's board for over eight years and I look forward to working closely with William over the coming months to ensure a smooth handover."
William Eccleshare added that he was "excited" to be joining the GPE board as its future chair.
"With GPE's strong positioning and quality portfolio and with management's strong track record, I look forward to leading the Board and working with the GPE team to drive the company's strategy and take advantage of market opportunities," he said.
"I also look forward to benefiting from Richard's wise counsel as I transition into the chair role."
At 0858 GMT, shares in Great Portland Estates were down 0.89% at 279p.
Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.
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