Andrew Peter Cosslett , CBE (born 14 April 1955) is a British businessman and chairman of ITV ,[ 1] and former chairman of Rugby Football Union [ 2] and Kingfisher plc .[ 3]
He is also a former operating partner at Advent International ,[ 4] and former Trustee of Shooting Star Chase ,[ 5] a children's hospice charity. Previously he was the CEO of InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), and was succeeded by Richard Solomons .[ 6]
Early life
Andrew Peter Cosslett was born in April 1955[ 7] in Whalley Range , Manchester and grew up in Withington .[ 8] He earned a bachelor's degree in economics and a master's degree in European Studies from the University of Manchester .[ 9]
Career
Cosslett began his business career in 1979 as a graduate trainee selling Wall's ice cream and spent 11 years with Unilever becoming a marketing director, before joining Cadbury Schweppes [ 10] in 1990. He then spent 14 years at Cadbury Schweppes in a number of senior roles, including chairman, Cadbury Schweppes Australia; CEO of the Asia Pacific confectionery business; managing director, Great Britain & Ireland; and president, Europe, Middle East and Africa.[ 11]
Cosslett joined InterContinental Hotels Group as CEO in 2005.[ 12] As CEO of IHG, he oversaw the launching of the midmarket boutique hotel brand Hotel Indigo , and a focus on further expansion into the Chinese market.[ 13] An additional change includes IHG selling most of the hotels the company owned and reaffirming their business model as mainly a manager and franchisor of hotels.[ 14] During the late 2000s, he oversaw a $1bn (£603m), four-year relaunch of the Holiday Inn franchise.[ 12]
Between 2005 and 2011, Cosslett was a board member of the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), a member of the presidents council of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) and a board member of the International Tourism Partnership.[ 15]
Cosslett stood down as the CEO on 30 June 2011 stating that he has been considering his situation for quite a while: “I’m into my seventh year, but it does feel like the right time to hand over the reins. ... The business is in great shape, and that really helps my exit.”[ 16]
In June 2017, Cosslett succeeded Daniel Bernard as chairman of Kingfisher plc .[ 17] [ 18] He stepped down from this role in April 2024.[ 3]
In June 2022, Cosslett was appointed Chairman of ITV .[ 1]
Coslett became chair of the RFU in October 2016, succeeding Bill Beaumont . He himself played rugby for 25 years.[ 19] [ 20] He was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2022 New Year Honours for services to the Rugby Football Union.[ 21]
References
^ a b "ITV Board of Directors" . itvplc.com . Retrieved 10 July 2024 .
^ "Cosslett new Chairman of the RFU Board" . England Rugby .
^ a b https://www.kingfisher.com/en/media/news/kingfisher-news/20241/directorate-changes.html [bare URL ]
^ "Andrew Cosslett joins Advent International's Operating Partner Program" . Private Equity Wire.
^ "Shooting Star Chase Trustees" . Shooting Star Chase .
^ Gee, Powla (16 March 2011). "Cosslett stands down as InterContinental's CEO" . Hotel Management . Retrieved 19 March 2024 .
^ "Andrew Peter COSSLETT - Personal Appointments (free information from Companies House)" . Beta.companieshouse.gov.uk. Retrieved 16 June 2017 .
^ "Andy Cosslett steps down as CEO of InterContinental Hotels" . Manchester Evening News . 16 March 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2012 .
^ "2008 Speaker Biographies: ANDY COSSLETT, CEO, InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG)" . Leaders in London 2008. Archived from the original on 30 December 2008. Retrieved 29 November 2009 .
^ "A fresh health kick for Fitness First boss Andy Cosslett who's flexing" . Evening Standard . 2 August 2013. Retrieved 19 March 2024 .
^ "IHG: Our main board: Andrew Cosslett" . InterContinental Hotels Group. Archived from the original on 19 November 2009. Retrieved 29 November 2009 .
^ a b Arnott, Sarah (26 November 2009). "Andrew Cosslett: Suite dreams for the future" . The Independent . Archived from the original on 7 May 2022. Retrieved 29 November 2009 .
^ Townsend, Abigail (5 March 2006). "Andrew Cosslett: 'Emotional contracts': at his hotels, the shareholders aren't disturbed" . The Independent On Sunday . Archived from the original on 9 July 2009. Retrieved 29 November 2009 .
^ Capell, Kerry (21 May 2007). "How Andy Cosslett Restyled IHG" . BusinessWeek . McGraw-Hill. Archived from the original on 17 September 2009. Retrieved 29 November 2009 .
^ Bokaie, Jemima (9 September 2008). "The Marketing Profile: Andrew Cosslett, chief executive, InterContinental Hotels Group" . Marketing . Haymarket. Archived from the original on 7 January 2010. Retrieved 29 November 2009 .
^ Higgins, Stacey Mieyal; Freed, Jason Q. (16 March 2011). "IHG chief resigns, CFO to step up" . Hotel News Now . Retrieved 2 January 2018 .
^ "Kingfisher chairman Daniel Bernard to step down and be succeeded by Andy Cosslett" . The Retail Bulletin. 22 March 2017. Retrieved 16 June 2017 .
^ The Sunday Times (26 March 2017). "Cosslett to scrum down at Kingfisher | Business | The Times & The Sunday Times" . Thetimes.co.uk. Retrieved 16 June 2017 .
^ "Cosslett new Chairman of the RFU board" . RFU . Retrieved 20 March 2019 .
^ "Cosslett proposed as next RFU Board Chairman" . RFU . Retrieved 20 March 2019 .
^ "No. 63571" . The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 January 2022. p. N9.
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