Former Haymarket executive Eric Verdon-Roe has been named as the recipient of the 2010 PPA Marcus Morris Award for his services to magazine publishing.
Verdon-Roe was presented with the award by Lord Heseltine, founder and Chairman of the Haymarket Group, and Arnaud de Puyfontaine, chief executive of The National Magazine Company, at a ceremony in London yesterday.
He said: “The past 35 years have been a great experience and I am extremely proud to receive this year’s Marcus Morris Award.
‘This is a great industry founded on what I believe is the best editorial and creative talent in the world. Through my work with Haymarket and, more recently, the PPA, I have thoroughly enjoyed being part of the wider UK magazine publishing family.”
Verdon-Roe began work at Haymarket in February 1976 eventually taking charge of its consumer division in 1990. He was appointed managing director of the Haymarket Group in May 2000 and worked with Heseltine to expand internationally and into the digital arena.
After leaving Haymarket in 2009, Verdon-Roe worked as a consultant at the PPA before launching car show Chelsea Auto Legends, held this autumn at the Royal Hospital Chelsea.
The Marcus Morris Award is the highest accolade in magazine publishing established to recognises and commemorates outstanding contributions to the industry in the UK.
Barry McIlheney, chief executive of the PPA, added: ‘I am absolutely thrilled that this year’s Marcus Morris Award is going to Eric Verdon-Roe. He is one of life’s true gentlemen, an enviable font of knowledge on all matters to do with our industry, and, when it comes to the PPA, an absolute rock.”
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