RFU Names Third Independent Director

29 Feb 2016 | tshego

Share on

Dominic Proctor, president of GroupM, will become the Rugby Football Union’s third independent non-executive director (INED) on 1st March 2016.

Proctor has been appointed for a three-year term and joins existing INEDs Helen Weir CFO at Marks & Spencer Group plc and Andy Cosslett, former Fitness First CEO, non-executive chairman of England Rugby 2015 – the organising committee for the 2015 Rugby World Cup.

GroupM, of which Proctor has been president since January 2012, is the holding company for all of WPP’s media agencies, employing over 27,500 people and operating in 110 markets worldwide.

In May 2015 GroupM expanded its sports & entertainment offering under their new global brand ESP, dedicated to serving sports and entertainment rights holders and clients.

Dominic Proctor previously spent 15 years as CEO of Mindshare Worldwide, a GroupM agency that he founded in 1997. He began his career with Everett’s, joining J. Walter Thompson in 1986 and becoming the media director in London, managing director in 1991, and then chief executive in December 1992.

Dominic Proctor said: “This is a very interesting role at a very exciting time for rugby. I am a life-long rugby fan and, from a professional perspective, see sport, and rugby in particular, as more and more of a driving force in the media. I hope that I can bring expertise to the RFU Board that will help to optimise what is a hugely popular sport and engaging brand, to ultimately grow participation and involvement at all levels of the game.”

RFU chairman Bill Beaumont added: “Having three highly qualified and expert independent directors on our Board better equips us to be commercially successful and to continue to maximise our investment in rugby at every level. Dominic has a most impressive CV, is passionate about rugby, and was the unanimous choice for this appointment. I am delighted that he has agreed to bring his wealth of experience for the benefit of the game.”