Finance chief appointed by group behind arenas
THE NEC Group has appointed a new chief financial officer. Richard Ashton has joined the conference and entertainment venue group from former Argos owner Home Retail Group, where he spent 15 years until the takeover by Sainsbury’s in 2016.
Prior to this, Mr Ashton worked for the American corporation GE in a variety of finance roles based in Leeds, London, New York and Amsterdam.
Mr Ashton has joined the group’s board and his key areas of focus will be financial performance, acquisitions, major development and transformational programmes.
Outside of work, he is a keen triathlete who has represented Great Britain and is a board member of the British Triathlon Federation. NEC Group owns and manages key venues in the region including ICC, Arena Birmingham, Resorts World Arena and the National Exhibition Centre.
The role of chief financial officer was created following the departure of chief operating officer John Hornby while a new executive board position of chief development officer will be appointed in the coming weeks.
Group chief executive Paul Thandi said: “I am delighted to welcome Richard Ashton at such a significant time for the NEC Group.
“We have put ambitious plans in place in partnership with our majority shareholder Blackstone across our existing businesses, real estate opportunities and extensions to our current model and capabilities.
“Richard is an accomplished chief finance officer with leadership experience across financial, capital and investment management, as well as proven expertise in business transformation.
“We are working hard across all our core business units to improve profitability and to ensure that the NEC Group becomes a European and global leader in venue and live event management for years to come.
“I know that Richard will help us on this journey.”
Mr Ashton added: “Since the sale of Home Retail Group, I have taken my time to find an exciting role in the right organisation.
“The NEC Group has been leading the way in the live events and venue management industry for over 40 years.
“I am thrilled to be taking up the CFO role and I can’t wait to get started.”
greatly