Last checked at 20 Jan 2017 07:00
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Board Appointment
Bloomsbury publishing Plc ("Bloomsbury") announces that, with effect from 1 March 2017, Steven Hall will join the Board as a Non-Executive Director. His direct experience will benefit the Board as its Bloomsbury 2020 Digital Resource strategy rolls out. At the same time Stephen Page will stand down. This appointment reflects the non-executive rotation policy explained in the 2016 Annual Report that the Bloomsbury Board supports the evolving business through a programme of regular board appointments, ensuring an inflow of new insights from other businesses. Keeping the size of the Board at eight, with four executives and four non-executives, we will appoint one new Non-Executive Director each year. The average term of non-executive appointments will then be four years. It is planned that Sir Anthony Salz will step down as Chairman and as a Director at the time of the AGM in July. The process to select his successor will be led by John Warren, the Senior Independent Director.
Stephen Page joined the Board in 2013 and has provided extensive practical insights and counsel of great value. We have drawn heavily on his publishing experience. We wish him well for the future and thank him for the tremendous support he has given Bloomsbury.
Steven Hall was selected after a rigorous search process. He will be a member of the Audit Committee and Nomination Committee. He is managing director of IOP Publishing, a leading publisher of scientific books, journals and web sites and has worked in academic publishing for almost forty years. He has extensive experience of digital publishing and has led the development of pioneering online content databases. He is a member of the Academic, Professional and Learning Publishers Council of the UK Publishers Association and regularly represents the publishing industry to government and policy-makers in the UK and overseas. He served for six years on the board of the International Association of STM Publishers, in his final year as chair, and was one of three publisher members of the UK's 'Finch' group.
In accordance with Listing Rule LR 9.6.13 (1) Steven Hall has held no directorships in any other publicly quoted company at any time in the previous five years. There is no further information to disclose in respect of LR 9.6.13. Steven Hall does not have an interest to be disclosed in the shares of Bloomsbury.
Michael Daykin
Group Company Secretary
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
20 January 2017