UBM plc appoints Robert Gray as CEO of PR Newswire

UBM PLC - UBM plc appoints Robert Gray as CEO of PR Newswire

PR Newswire

London, July 17

20 July 2015

UBM plc appoints Robert Gray as CEO of PR Newswire

UBM plc today announces that Robert Gray has been appointed CEO of PR Newswire effective 1 August 2015 succeeding Ninan Chacko, who has decided that it is time for him to pursue other opportunities. On this date Bob will step down as CFO and as a Director of UBM plc. He will remain a member of the UBM Executive Committee.

Since joining PR Newswire in 2009, Ninan Chacko has led the organisation to global leadership in the news distribution industry, building on PR Newswire’s industry-leading distribution network, international presence, and its strength in multimedia news releases.

Tim Cobbold, Chief Executive of UBM plc, said:

“I would like to thank Ninan for his leadership of PR Newswire – he has done a great job of positioning the business for the future and we wish him well in his next endeavours. We are very pleased that Bob has accepted the CEO position which will provide for a seamless transition. As CFO of UBM, he has deep knowledge of the PR Newswire business and its people, and has been involved in the creation of its strategy. We are very pleased to be retaining his expertise and knowledge whilst satisfying his desire to return to the US.”

Bob Gray commented:

“I am excited to be joining PR Newswire. It’s a great business – the global leader in PR, IR and Marketing communications, connecting over 30,000 customers to their target audiences through the largest distribution network of its kind in the world. I’m especially happy to be joining its outstanding management team, and I look forward to leading PR Newswire as it continues to execute on its strategy.”

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Contacts

Notes to Editors

1. About UBM plc

UBM plc is a leading global events-led marketing services and communications company. We help businesses do business, bringing the world’s buyers and sellers together at events, online and in print. Our 5,000 staff in more than 20 countries are organised into specialist teams which serve commercial and professional communities, helping them to do business and their markets to work effectively and efficiently. Running over 400 events per year UBM is the second largest exhibitions organiser globally and the biggest commercial organiser in the US, mainland China, India and Malaysia.

For more information, go to http://www.ubm.com/; for UBM corporate news, follow us on Twitter at @UBM_plc and go to http://media.ubm.com/social for more UBM social media options.

2. About PR Newswire

PR Newswire (http://www.prnewswire.com/) pioneered the commercial news distribution industry 60 years ago and today is the premier global provider of multimedia platforms that enable marketers, corporate communicators, sustainability officers, public affairs and investor relations officers to leverage content to engage with all their key audiences.

PR Newswire provides end-to-end solutions to produce, optimize and target content — from rich media to online video to multimedia — and then distribute content and measure results across traditional, digital, mobile and social channels. Combining the world's largest multi-channel, multi-cultural content distribution and optimization network with comprehensive workflow tools and platforms, PR Newswire enables the world's enterprises to engage opportunity everywhere it exists. PR Newswire serves tens of thousands of clients from offices in the Americas, Europe, Middle East, Africa and the Asia-Pacific region, and is a UBM plc company.

http://www.prnewswire.com/

3. Robert Gray Biography

Bob joined UBM’s Board as Chief Financial Officer in September 2009 from Codere S.A. in Spain where he was Chief Financial Officer from February 2004. During his time as CFO, UBM has been transformed into a focused, international events-led marketing communications business, making 62 acquisitions and 32 disposals during the period. Bob began his career at J.P. Morgan and subsequently worked at Deutsche Bank. He is Vice Chairman of the Board and Chairman of the Audit Committee of eDreams Odigeo.

4. Robert Gray Remuneration

As Mr Gray will continue to be an employee of the Company’s group:

Mr Gray will also be entitled to receive a bonus for his service as a Director of the Company in 2015, which will be time pro-rated to reflect the proportion of the 2015 financial year he has served as a Director.

Mr Gray will not receive any payments for loss of office as a result of his stepping down as a Director of UBM plc.