15th May 2006 13:00
Pearson PLC15 May 2006 15 May 2006 Pearson: board changes Pearson, the international education and information company, today announcesthe following changes to its board and senior executive team, effective from 12June 2006. Rona Fairhead, Pearson's chief financial officer and a board member, isappointed chief executive of the Financial Times Group. She will haveresponsibility for the Financial Times, Pearson's international businessnewspapers and financial magazines and Interactive Data Corporation. She willalso manage relationships with the FT Group's associate companies includingFTSE, owned jointly with the London Stock Exchange, and The Economist Group, inwhich Pearson owns a 50% stake. Olivier Fleurot, chief executive of the FT's publishing businesses, will move toPearson to develop plans for applying emerging digital technologies in thepublishing and information industries. John Ridding, currently editor of the Financial Times in Asia and also chairmanof Pearson in Asia, will become chief executive of the Financial Times andFT.com, reporting to Rona. Robin Freestone, Pearson's deputy chief financial officer, is appointed chieffinancial officer and will join the Pearson board. Marjorie Scardino, chief executive, said: "For the past four years, everyone has worked tirelessly to return the FT toprofit. Olivier deserves much of the credit for doing what was needed toaccomplish that. He has led the organisation with great distinction,strengthening the business and brand for the long-term in the process. "Today, each part of the FT Group has a strong market position and goodprospects for continued growth. In addition to sustaining that momentum andbuilding these businesses, Rona will be looking for opportunities to make themost of the FT Group as a whole. Rona and John have achieved a great deal atPearson and we're delighted that they are taking on these new roles. "Robin is an experienced finance professional and an accomplished leader. He'smade his mark at Pearson in the past two years and we know that he'll be astrong CFO and an asset to the board." Rona Fairhead said: "It is a real privilege to take on some of the finest brands and services in theworld of business information. Our content is unrivalled and, as technologycontinues to change the habits of users, readers and advertisers, we can marrythe two to develop new services for our customers. As we do that, we can benefitfrom the scale and strength of all parts of the FT Group to grow our business.That makes this a hugely exciting new role." Ends For more information: Luke Swanson/ Simon Mays-Smith/ Deborah Lincoln: +44 (0)20 7010 2310 Notes to editors: Rona Fairhead, 44, joined Pearson in 2001 as deputy finance director and wasappointed finance director and a member of the Pearson board in April 2002. Sheis also a director of The Economist Group and a non-executive director of HSBCHoldings plc. She joined Pearson from ICI, where she was executive vicepresident, group control and strategy and a member of ICI's executive committee.She previously worked for Bombardier Inc and Bain & Co and holds an MBA fromHarvard Business School. Olivier Fleurot, 54, took up his position as chief executive of the FinancialTimes newspaper and FT.com in 2003. From 1999 until 2003 he was managingdirector of the Financial Times newspaper. He joined Pearson's Les Echos group,France's leading business publisher, in 1988 and was appointed chief executivein1996. After graduating from Ecole Nationale Superieure des Mines, SaintEtienne, he began his career as an engineer with Degremont in France and the USAbefore moving into journalism. He also worked as a marketing director in thesoftware industry. John Ridding, 40, moved to Hong Kong in 2003 as the editor and publisher of theFinancial Times, leading the launch of its Asian edition in print and online,and was also chairman of Pearson in Asia. He was previously the FT's deputyeditor and managing editor. Joining the FT in 1987, he has held a series ofreporting and editing posts including Hong Kong bureau chief, Pariscorrespondent and deputy features editor. He started his career in journalism atOxford Analytica. He graduated from Oxford University with a first class honoursdegree in philosophy, politics and economics. Robin Freestone, 47, joined Pearson in 2004 as deputy chief financial officer.He previously worked at Amersham plc (now part of GE) in a similar position andas finance director of Amersham's health business. Before that, he held varioussenior finance roles at ICI, Zeneca and Henkel. He is a graduate in economicsfrom Manchester University and qualified as a chartered accountant with Touche. The Financial Times Group The Financial Times Group includes the globally-focused Financial Timesnewspaper and FT.com, as well as a pan-European network of national businessnewspapers and online services such as Les Echos, lesechos.fr and FTDeutschland. Through Interactive Data Corporation, the FT Group is also one of the world'sleading sources of securities pricing and specialist financial information toglobal institutional, professional and individual investors. FT Business has a strong portfolio of magazine brands and online servicesincluding Investors Chronicle, the UK's premier personal finance magazine, aswell as The Banker, Money Management and Financial Adviser. The FT Group has a 50% stake in The Economist Group and a stake in BusinessStandard, one of India's leading financial newspapers. It also operates througha number of joint ventures, including those with FTSE International, Vedomostiin Russia and BDFM in South Africa. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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