The Scott Trust appoints new chair of Guardian Media Group

The Scott Trust today announces the appointment of Neil Berkett as chair of Guardian Media Group plc (‘GMG’).

Neil has been a member of the GMG board since November 2009. He succeeds Dame Amelia Fawcett, who has decided to retire later this year after more than four years as chair.

Neil is the outgoing chief executive officer of Virgin Media. He joined ntl, Virgin Media’s predecessor, as chief operating officer in September 2005 and has also worked for Lloyds TSB plc (UK), Prudential Assurance Company Ltd UK, St George Bank, Eastwest Airlines Australia and ICL Australia. A native New Zealander with over 25 years’ experience in a wide range of highly competitive customer-facing industries, Neil is also a trustee of the NSPCC and chairs the National Development Committee.

Dame Amelia joined the GMG Board in 2007 as an independent and was appointed chair in April 2009. She will retire in September 2013. Amelia was previously vice chair of Morgan Stanley’s European operations, is currently chair of the Hedge Fund Standards Board, and a non-executive director of State Street Corporation in Boston, Mass. USA and Investment AB Kinnevik in Stockholm, Sweden.

Dame Liz Forgan, chair of The Scott Trust, said: “Amelia has been a superb chair of GMG – her experience, passion and commercial leadership have helped deliver fantastic results through a challenging period for the entire media industry. Her drive, determination and wisdom have successfully kept GMG not just on track but ahead of plan, and we will all be very sad to see her go.  She hands over a strong and confident business to Neil Berkett, whom we are delighted to welcome as chair. Neil brings a rich heritage of transformative business leadership, as well as proven digital industry expertise, which will help to take GMG on the next stage of its journey.”

Neil Berkett said: “I’m thrilled to be taking over as chair of GMG at such an exciting time. Amelia has steered a very successful course through challenging times for the whole industry, and we can now be extremely confident about the future. There’s still a lot to do and I’m looking forward to leading GMG as it continues its transformation into a truly global media organisation.”

Dame Amelia Fawcett said: “It has been an honour and a privilege to chair GMG, a truly special and unique place, through its transition from a respected national newspaper to a global media brand. I am delighted that the business now has the strong foundation to take its rightful place as a world-leading media organisation.  This new chapter in the long and illustrious Guardian story demands experience in new media and digital communications which is why Neil, working closely with Andrew Miller, Alan Rusbridger and the members of the GMG Board and The Scott Trust, is exactly the right person to take on the chair.”

The Scott Trust Limited is the sole shareholder of Guardian Media Group (GMG). GMG’s core business is Guardian News & Media, one of the world’s leading news companies and the publisher of the Guardian and Observer newspapers in the UK, as well as guardian.co.uk, guardiannews.com in the US and the recently-launched Guardian Australia website. Guardian News & Media’s titles are the most-read quality newspaper combination in Britain for daily, weekly and monthly reach (NRS PADD, May 2013), and its websites recently report record global web traffic (ABC, April 2013).

ENDS

Further information: Katie Thompson +44 (0) 20 3353 3544 / +44 (0) 7795 453124

Notes for editors

The Scott Trust was created in 1936 to protect the legacy of the long-standing editor and latterly owner of the Guardian, CP Scott: the independent, liberal journalism of his newspaper. The core purpose of The Scott Trust is “to secure the financial and editorial independence of the Guardian in perpetuity”. In October 2008 The Scott Trust became a limited company to strengthen the protection it affords to the Guardian. All trustees became directors of The Scott Trust Limited.

The Scott Trust Limited is the sole owner of Guardian Media Group plc (‘GMG’). GMG’s core business is Guardian News & Media, publisher of guardian.co.uk, guardiannews.com in the US, and the Guardian and Observer newspapers.

The group’s portfolio of investments includes:

• Trader Media Group: one of Europe’s largest specialist media companies, and publisher of the Auto Trader website and magazine. Trader Media Group is jointly owned by GMG and Apax Partners

• Top Right Group (formerly Emap): the multiplatform business-to-business media group, also jointly owned by GMG and Apax Partners

• GMG Property Services: the leading provider of software, technology and design solutions to the property industry

• An externally managed investment fund

The Trust Board is chaired by Dame Liz Forgan and currently consists of executives within GMG, external members, a member of the Scott family and a member of Guardian News & Media’s editorial staff.

The directors of The Scott Trust Limited are: Liz Forgan (chair), Emily Bell, Alex Graham, Andrew Graham, Will Hutton, Maleiha Malik, Andrew Miller, Alan Rusbridger, Anthony Salz, Jonathan Scott, Heather Stewart, Philip Tranter (Secretary)

The board of Guardian Media Group comprises: Amelia Fawcett DBE (chair), Andrew Miller (CEO), Alan Rusbridger (editor-in-chief, Guardian News & Media), Nick Backhouse (non-executive director), Neil Berkett (non-executive director), Ronan Dunne (non-executive director), Judy Gibbons (non-executive director), Brent Hoberman (non-executive director), Nigel Morris (non-executive director), John Paton (non-executive director), Darren Singer (chief financial officer), Philip Tranter (company secretary)