Succession update: Appointment of Non-Executive Director and Chair Designate
Further to the announcement in the Final Results on 6 September 2023 that Nigel Payne will step down as Chairman at the 2024 AGM, we are pleased to announce that David Wilton will join the board as Chair Designate and Non-Executive Director on 1 February 2024.
David is a finance professional with many years’ experience in publicly quoted, people-focused companies, gained through a combination of executive and non-executive director roles. He is currently Non-Executive Director and Chair of the Audit Committee at CVS Group plc, the £1.2bn market capitalised AIM listed provider of integrated veterinary services. David was Chief Financial Officer of Sumo Group plc, the AIM listed video game developer, from IPO in 2017 to its successful sale to Tencent in January 2022. He remained with the business until his retirement from executive roles later that year. More recently, he was, until November 2023, Chair of Frontier Developments plc the AIM listed independent developer and publisher of video games. His previous roles include Group Finance Director of WYG plc and NED and Chair of the Audit Committee of Sweett Group plc.
David spent the earlier part of his career in corporate finance, primarily in mid cap M&A with Rothschilds. He is a Chartered Accountant.
On appointment David will become a member of the Remuneration, Audit and Risk, and Nominations Committees. From September he will take over the role of Chair of the Nominations Committee.
Commenting, Rod Waldie, Chief Executive Officer of Gateley, said:
“We are delighted to announce that David is joining Gateley next month as a non-executive director and that he has agreed to Chair the Group when Nigel steps down in September. Nigel has provided invaluable guidance and support to Gateley since our IPO in 2015. All of our stakeholders have benefited from him being at the helm for 9 years.
“David’s experience as a chairman and non-executive director, alongside his executive roles leading and supporting companies with their growth ambitions, really stood out for us. His characteristics and personality are closely aligned to our own and he will be an excellent Chair for the Group. He joins the business at an important stage in our development as we continue to focus on our long-term strategy for growth through diversification in legal and consultancy services. On behalf of the board and everyone at Gateley, I welcome him to the team and look forward to working with him.”
