Former Conservative MP and minister Michael Heseltine has announced he will retire as chairman of Haymarket Group ahead of his 90th birthday in March next year.
Heseltine co-founded Haymarket 65 years ago in 1957. His son, Rupert Heseltine, will succeed him as chairman, and the senior Heseltine will remain on the company’s board as a director.
The news was reported by advertising trade publication Campaign, which is part of the Haymarket stable. The company also owns Printweek, PR Week, Autocar and a breadth of other B2B titles.
Haymarket also said on Wednesday it was adding former Conservative minister Sam Gyimah as an advisor to its board and that former Royal Horticultural Society executive Sue Biggs was joining as a non-executive director. Board members David Fraser and Lord Levene, who have been with the company since 1968 and 1997 respectively, will step down from their roles as non-executive directors.
Heseltine said in a statement: “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.”
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