Landsec to welcome new chair

Real estate investment trust Landsec have announced the appointment of Sir Ian Cheshire as an independent non-executive director and chair designate.

Cheshire will join the board and on March 23 and succeed Cressida Hogg as chair in May, who is retiring after nine years on the board and five as chair.

Cheshire is currently chair of Channel 4, Spire Healthcare Group, UK investment trust Menhaden Resource Efficiency and serves as a non-executive director at BT. He will be stepping down as chair from Menhaden in May but will remain a non-executive director, and retire from BT in July.

He also chairs the Prince of Wales’ charitable fund and the corporate climate change coalition We Mean Business.

Cheshire’s executive career was spent mostly in retail, having worked in senior leadership and commercial roles, including as group chief executive of Kingfisher from 2008 to 2015. He has also held non-executive roles at Barclays and at Whitbread, where he was senior independent director. He was also lead non-executive director at the UK Cabinet Office and Department for Work and Pensions.

Outgoing chair Cressida Hogg said: “On behalf of the Board, I am pleased to be welcoming someone of Sir Ian Cheshire’s calibre as my successor. Sir Ian brings extensive and valuable executive and non-executive experience across a range of sectors. I know he will provide the Board with strong and effective leadership and will be a great support to Mark and our management team, who welcome his appointment.