Mr Richard Solomons BA (Econ) (Hons)

Richard joined the Board of Governors in 2018.

Richard is currently Chair of Rentokil Initial plc, a position he has held since May 2019. Since October 2019, Richard has also been a non-executive director of Hotelbeds Group Limited, serving as Chair of the Board, Advisory Committee, and Remuneration Committee.

Richard has held several previous non-executive director roles, for example, Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (2018-2020), where he was Senior Independent director and Audit Committee Chair, and Marks and Spencer plc (2015-2018).

Richard was Chief Executive of InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) plc from 2011 to 2017, and prior to that was Chief Financial Officer from IHG’s inception as a standalone public company from 2003 to 2011. During his time at IHG Richard also held various finance roles as well as Chief Operating Officer and then Interim President of IHG’s Americas region.

Richard was heavily involved in promoting the hospitality industry, including as a member of the Industry Real Estate Financing Advisory Council, a Governor of the Aviation and Travel Industry Group of the World Economic Forum, and an executive committee member of the World Travel and Tourism Council.

Prior to joining IHG, Richard worked in investment banking for seven years based in New York and London. He qualified as a Chartered Accountant while working for KPMG in London and holds a BA (Econ) from The University of Manchester.