Informa unveils structural and management changes

10th Jul 2014 09:52

Informa has unveiled a number of changes following a strategic revenue that will see Garth Wright become the new Group Finance Director and the appointment of four new divisional heads to lead a new corporate structure for the publishing and events group.Wright, who is currently the Deputy Finance Director of the publishing and events company, has taken on his new role with immediate effect. Under the new structure, which is set to be implemented from the start of 2015, the three previous Business Intelligence businesses will be managed as a single operating division and will be led by a newly-appointed divisional Chief Executive, Patrick Martell, who is joining from St Ives.Global Events will become two separately managed divisions: Global Exhibitions, headed up by Will Morris, who has been managing some of Informa's largest Exhibition assets for a number of years; and Knowledge & Networking, led by Andrew Mullins, who was previously managing director at The Evening Standard and Independent newspapers.Academic Publishing will stay in its existing form, with Roger Horton continuing at its helm.The changes were announced as the group reported an in line performance for the year so far.Group Chief Executive Stephen Carter explained the changes were being made in an effort to increase operational, customer and market focus."We are repositioning the group to deliver growth and scale in each of our markets. These changes will be supported by a strengthened executive management team which will oversee a strategic plan to accelerate growth and improve returns," he said. "This simplified structure, combining internal and external experience, will lead Informa as we finalise our strategic plan and deliver on our long-term growth objectives." Shares spiked higher initially but faltered to 474.25p by 09:25, a rise of 0.75p.NR