ITV names Andrew Cosslett as chairman designate

British media giant ITV tapped Andrew Cosslett to take over as chairman on Thursday, with the former IHG chief executive set to succeed Peter Bazalgette, who will step down after just over six years in the role and nine years on the board.

ITV stated Cosslett will join the board as an independent non-executive director and chair designate on 1 June and will become non-executive chair with effect from 29 September when Bazalgette stands down.

The FTSE 100-listed firm said Cosslett, who is also the chair of home improvement company Kingfisher, has extensive stakeholder management experience, having worked internationally across an extensive range of businesses.

ITV chief executive Carolyn McCall said: "ITV is very grateful to Baz for the role he has played as our chair as we have transformed the company into the much stronger, more flexible and digitally scaled business it is today.

"The next few years will be exciting for ITV as we launch ITVX and continue to deliver our digital acceleration. I'm really pleased that Andrew, with his huge wealth of experience, will be with us as chair as we continue to grow and deliver on our ambition."

As of 0825 GMT, ITV shares were down 0.68% at 82.32p.