Countrywide hires Bupa director Alison Platt to be next chief exec
COUNTRYWIDE is to bring in a female executive to succeed Grenville Turner when he steps up from chief executive to chairman late this year, the UK’s largest estate agency announced yesterday.
The group has poached Alison Platt, the head of health insurer Bupa’s international development markets business, to take over as chief executive in September.
Countrywide has two female non-executives, Cathy Turner and Sandra Turner. Yet Platt will be joining a sector that has relatively few women in its boardrooms, particularly in chief executive roles.
Platt has worked at Bupa for over twenty years in a range of senior roles, including managing director of its UK, Europe and North America arm. She is also a non-executive director of Cable & Wireless Communications.
Turner will replace David Watson, who is to become deputy chairman and a senior independent director.
He said: “I am delighted to be welcoming Alison to the group and to be handing over responsibility to such a proven and energetic individual.”