Savills chief executive to step down
Mark Ridley and Simon Shaw | Savills
The chief executive of Savills Mark Ridley is to step down from his position at the end of the year.
He will be succeeded by Simon Shaw, the current group chief financial officer of the global real estate firm.
Ridley steps down after a spending 29 years at Savills, seven of them as group chief executive. He joined the firm in 1996 from Weatherall Green & Smith, where he held the role of partner. His initial responsibilities included setting up Savills’ Manchester office, before he was appointed as head of Savills Commercial in 2008.
Ridley then became the CEO of the combined Savills UK business in 2013, before subsequently being appointed as CEO of UK and Europe the next year.
During his tenure at Savills, the firm has expanded to become one the world’s largest real estate advisors, with revenues increasing from £40m in 1996 to £2.4bn in 2024, and staff numbers growing from under 700 to over 42,000 today.
Following his retirement at the end of 2025, Ridley will remain at the group in a senior advisory role.
His successor, Simon Shaw, joined Savills in March 2009 as chief financial officer. He is a member of the group’s global and regional executive committees, and is responsible to the board of Savills plc for Savills Investment Management. Shaw is also chair of Grosvenor Hill Ventures, Savills’ proprietary private equity subsidiary focused on investing in property technology.
Stacey Cartwright, chair of Savills, said: “Under Mark’s leadership, Savills has achieved significant growth and stronger balance, both geographically and by service line. He has successfully steered the business through Brexit and its aftermath and the pandemic years, and more recently global macroeconomic and geopolitical headwinds, navigating these very significant challenges whilst growing the business at the same time.
“We are all delighted that, following his retirement at the end of 2025, Mark will remain available in a senior advisory role supporting the business.”
Mark Ridley added: “I am delighted that Simon will succeed me as group chief executive and I look forward to working closely with him, as I have done over the last seven years, to ensure a smooth transition at the end of this year.”