RAC plc, the motoring and vehicle solutions company, announces the appointment of Peter Smith as non-executive Chairman from 1 May 2003, succeeding Sir Trevor Chinn who retires at the AGM at the end of April 2003. Peter Smith will join the Board as Deputy Chairman on 1 January 2003.
RAC plc, the motoring and vehicle solutions company, announces the appointment of Peter Smith as non-executive Chairman from 1 May 2003, succeeding Sir Trevor Chinn who retires at the AGM at the end of April 2003. Peter Smith will join the Board as Deputy Chairman on 1 January 2003.
Peter Smith was previously at PricewaterhouseCoopers, where he was the first Senior Partner and a member of the Global Management Board, following the merger of Coopers & Lybrand and Price Waterhouse in 1998. Prior to that he was Chairman of Coopers & Lybrand UK and of Coopers & Lybrand International.
In 2001 Peter was appointed as a non-executive director of N M Rothschild & Sons Limited and of The Equitable Life Assurance Society; he is Chairman of the Audit Committee of both entities. He is also a non-executive director of Safeway plc. He is a member of the Finance and General Purposes Committee of the CBI and sits on the Harvard Business School’s Global Corporate Governance Advisory Council.
Sir Trevor Chinn, Chairman of RAC plc, commented: “We have known Peter for quite some time and I am very pleased that he will be joining the Board in good time for an effective hand-over. The blend of Peter’s experience in successfully leading a large, professional services company, his excellent corporate governance credentials and his management style, make him an excellent successor. I am confident that he will play a key role in taking the Company forward to the next phase of its development as a leading support services company.”
Peter Smith added: “ I am delighted to be joining the Company at a time when the business has so many opportunities for growth. RAC is a powerful brand and I look forward to working with the team to build on its success and to achieve its full profit potential. ”
After serving ten years as a non-executive director of RAC plc, Michael Ost no longer qualifies as an independent Director and will be leaving the Board, as planned, on 31 December 2002. It is intended that Michael will take up the position of Chairman of the Group’s pension scheme, with effect from 1 January 2003, replacing Lord Terence Higgins who has been the Chairman of the pension scheme for eight years.
In accordance with Chapter 16.4 of The Listing Rules, no further details are required to be disclosed under paragraph 6.F.2 (b) to (g) in connection with Peter Smith’s appointment.
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For further information please contact:
Sir Trevor Chinn, Chairman, RAC plc – 020 7705 1258
Peter Smith, N M Rothschild & Sons Ltd – 020 7280 5419
Anita Scott / Michael Webster, Brunswick Group – 020 7404 5959
Notes to editors:
RAC plc
RAC plc provides motoring and vehicle solutions to individual and business customers through five inter-related businesses:
- RAC Consumer Services sells a comprehensive range of motoring solutions to individual customers, including financial, legal and travel services, RAC Auto Windscreens and BSM.
- RAC Business Solutions sells motoring and related business solutions to business customers and manages complex outsourcing bids for large public and private sector organisations.
- Lex Vehicle Leasing is the UK’s leading car and van contract hire company, providing solutions for fleets of all sizes together with personal leasing and employee car ownership schemes.
- Lex Industrial Solutions includes mechanical handling, fleet management and commercial vehicle contract hire, bringing together these activities to meet the specific needs of business customers.
- Manufacturer Support Services provide outsourced marketing and inventory management services, primarily for vehicle manufacturers.
Peter Smith
Aged 56, Peter Smith is married with two grown up sons. He holds a BSc in Social Sciences, from the University of Southampton, and is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales. He attended the Advanced Management Program at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
He began his career at Cooper Brothers & Co in 1967 and was admitted to the Partnership at 28 years old, one of the youngest ever. He worked in the audit and investigation practice specialising in financial services. He travelled regularly to the US, Hong Kong, Singapore and Tokyo throughout the 1980s working for US, UK and Japanese clients investing cross-border and developing his firm’s financial services practice.
From 1990, Peter was Head of the London Office and Financial Services Practice, becoming Senior Partner (Chairman and Chief Executive) of Coopers & Lybrand UK and Coopers & Lybrand International in 1994.
He was appointed the first Senior Partner of PricewaterhouseCoopers in 1998 and retired from the firm at the end of 2000.
In 2001 he was appointed a non-executive director of N M Rothschild & Sons Limited and of The Equitable Life Assurance Society. He is Chairman of the Audit Committee of both entities. He is also a non-executive director of Safeway plc.
Sir Trevor Chinn
Sir Trevor Chinn, aged 67, was appointed to the Board of RAC plc (formerly Lex Service PLC) in 1959, became Managing Director in 1968 and Chairman in 1973. In addition he was Chief Executive from 1973 to 1996.
Sir Trevor is Vice Chairman of the Commission for Integrated Transport, which was set up to advise the government on the implementation of the Transport White Paper published in 1998. He is also Chairman of the Motorists' Forum, which consults with government on issues affecting motorists.
He became Chairman of Kwik-Fit in November 2002.