Richard was appointed in April 2015, and brings strong consumer experience and considerable global knowledge to the M&S board.
He is Chief Executive Officer of IHG, a global organisation with a broad portfolio of brands including InterContinental® Hotels & Resorts, Holiday Inn® Hotels & Resorts, Holiday Inn® Hotels & Resorts and Crowne Plaza® Hotels & Resorts. IHG franchises, leases, manages or owns over 4,800 hotels (710,000 guest rooms) in nearly 100 countries. Over 350,000 people work across IHG’s hotels and corporate offices worldwide.
Prior to his appointment as CEO in July 2011, Richard served as Chief Financial Officer and Head of Commercial Development at IHG.
Richard first joined Bass PLC (later Six Continents PLC), the company from which IHG emerged, in June 1992. He subsequently held a number of senior roles in the business including Chief Operating Officer of the Americas Hotels division, before being appointed Finance Director of the company in March 2003. In 2008 he also served as Interim President of IHG's Americas business.
Prior to joining IHG Richard worked in Investment banking for seven years with Hill Samuel Bank, based in New York and London. He is a Governor of the Aviation Travel Industry Group of the World Economic Forum and a member of both the Executive Committee of the World Travel and Tourism Council and of the Industry Real Estate Financing Advisory Council (IREFAC).
Richard is a member of the Nomination Committee and Remuneration Committee