Rentokil Initial PLC - Crawley, England-based pest control services - Appoints Therese Esperdy as its new chair, effective from September 1. Says she will initially join the board on July 1 as a non-executive director and chair designate. Esperdy is currently non-executive chair at Bristol, England-based tobacco products manufacturer Imperial Brands PLC, which announced her forthcoming retirement in late January. Imperial Brands said Esperdy, who assumed the role in 2020 and served on its board since 2016, would step down on December 1, when Informa PLC Chair John Rishton will succeed her after joining as chair designate on July 13. Esperdy is also senior independent director designate at Smith & Nephew plc and a Moody's Corp non-executive director. Rentokil announced on March 5 that outgoing Chair Richard Solomons intended to step down.
"It has been an immense privilege to serve as chair of Rentokil Initial over what has been a period of growth and transformation for the business," Solomons says. "With the successful appointment of Mike Duffy as CEO, and a clear strategy developed for North American growth, 2026 is the right time for me to step down and ensure a smooth handover to Therese. I have great confidence in the future success of Rentokil Initial - it's a high-quality business, full of exceptional people, operating in highly resilient growth markets."
Current stock price: 503.40 pence, down 0.7% on Wednesday morning in London
12-month change: up 51%
By Emma Curzon, Alliance News reporter
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Mr. John F. Rishton is a Chairman at Serco Group Plc, a Chairman-Elect at Informa Plc and an Independent Non-Executive Director at Unilever Plc. He is on the Board of Directors at Majid Al Futtaim Properties LLC, Associated British Ports Holdings Ltd., Unilever Plc, ABP (Jersey) Ltd., ABPA Holdings Ltd., Associated British Ports, Unilever Group and Unilever International Holdings NV. Mr. Rishton was previously employed as an Independent Non-Executive Director by Unilever NV, a Chief Executive Officer & Executive Director by Rolls-Royce Holdings Plc, a Chief Executive Officer & Director by Rolls-Royce Plc, an Independent Non-Executive Director by Rolls-Royce Group Plc, a Vice Chairman by ICA AB, a Chief Financial Officer by British Airways Plc, a Principal by Ford Motor Co., a Non-Executive Director by Allied Domecq Ltd., and a President & Chief Executive Officer by Royal Ahold NV. He also served on the board at ADS Group Ltd. He received his undergraduate degree from The University of Nottingham.
Net sales break down by activity as follows:
- manufacture and sale of traditional and new generation tobacco products (64.4 cigarettes (brands Davidoff, JPS, Fine, West, Lambert & Butler, Winston, News, Bastos, Kool, Gauloises, L&B, Knox, etc.), cigars (Backwoods and Dutch Masters brands), electronic cigarettes (Blu brand), heated tobaccos (Pulze brand), sucking tobaccos (Skruf brand), rolling papers (No. 1 worldwide; Rizla brand);
- distribution of tobacco products (35.6%).
Net sales are distributed geographically as follows: the United Kingdom (10.1%), Germany (15.2%), the United States (11.3%), France (10.1%), and other (53.3%).
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