Onwards, upwards and staying put: boardroom moves
STEPHEN HARVEY
BLUR GROUP
Stephen Harvey has been appointed as the chief financial officer of Blur Group, taking over from Barbara Spurrier, who had been acting CFO since earlier this year. Harvey was CFO of Microsoft UK until 2004, after which he became CFO at messaging company Acision. Over the past three years Harvey has worked as a CFO across Europe, Africa and the Middle East. “I am confident my many years as a technology company CFO will be valuable to Blur as the company grows,” he said of his new role.
MAURICE LEVY
PUBLICIS
Maurice Levy yesterday announced his intention to stay in charge of the world’s third largest advertising group until 2017. The 72-year-old’s term at the helm, which began in 1987, was expected to come to an end in 2015, however Levy will now remain in place for a further fiscal year, stepping down after the France-based advertising group’s shareholder meeting in 2017. The move is part of a management shake up which includes the departure of chief operating officer Jean-Yves Naouri.
GREG FITZGERALD
GALLIFORD TRY
Greg Fitzgerald is to retire as chief executive of Galliford Try after 33 years with the housebuilding and construction group and almost a decade at the helm. The FTSE 250 firm said Fitzgerald would step down no later than the end of 2015 and that the board had begun a search for his successor. The 50-year-old began work as a trainee estimator at Midas Construction and founded its housebuilding arm in his late twenties. Midas was bought by Galliford in 1997 and he was made group chief executive in 2005.