The appointments, announced this month, add significant experience in people, transformation, governance and financial oversight at a time when William Reed is continuing to evolve its operating model, invest in leadership capability and build for long-term growth, says the publisher.
Laura Hagan brings executive and board-level experience across consumer technology, digital retail, food, engineering and manufacturing businesses. Most recently she was chief people officer at Deliveroo and currently serves as a non-executive director and chair of the Remuneration Committee at Fever-Tree Drinks plc. She previously held senior leadership roles including chief HR officer at Dyson and Tate & Lyle, and chief people officer at Gymshark.
John Gittins brings more than 30 years of board-level and financial leadership experience across listed, private, partnership and infrastructure-owned organisations. He currently serves as an independent non-executive director and audit committee chair at I G Design Group plc, and previously served for more than nine years as audit and risk chair at Nichols plc. He previously held chief financial officer roles at Fairpoint Group plc, NCC Group plc and Begbies Traynor Group plc.
Both have worked closely with boards and executive teams through significant periods of change and growth, the publisher continued.
Holly Widdowson, chair of William Reed, said: “Laura and John are both outstanding appointments for William Reed. They bring different but highly complementary experience, and both understand how to help businesses grow with discipline, clarity and purpose. Laura has a strong track record of shaping culture, leadership and organisational capability in complex, fast-moving businesses, while John brings deep expertise in governance, financial oversight and navigating change at board level. Together, they will strengthen our Board significantly as we continue to evolve the business for the future.”
William Reed has remained family-owned for six generations and says it continues to strengthen its leadership and governance following the appointments of CEO Tracy De Groose and Chair Holly Widdowson, a sixth-generation member of the Reed family.
The two NED appointments mark the latest step in a broader period of leadership evolution at William Reed, following the appointments earlier this year of Richard Sexton as chief operating officer and Lucinda Pullinger as chief people officer.
Keep up-to-date with publishing news: sign up here for InPubWeekly, our free weekly e-newsletter.
