Andrew Peter Cosslett, (born 14 April 1955) is a British businessman and chairman of ITV, and former chairman of

Rugby Football Union The Rugby Football Union (RFU) is the Sports governing body, national governing body for rugby union in England. It was founded in 1871, and was the sport's international governing body prior to the formation of what is now known as World Rugby ...

and

Kingfisher plc Kingfisher plc is a British Multinational corporation, multinational retailing company headquartered in London, England. It has over 1,300 stores in nine countries, and its brands include B&Q, Castorama, Brico Dépôt and Screwfix. Kingfisher i ...

. He is also a former operating partner at

Advent International Advent International Corporation is an American global private equity firm. It is focused on buyouts of companies in Western and Central Europe, North America, Latin America and Asia. The firm focuses on international buyouts, growth and strat ...

, and former Trustee of

Shooting Star Chase Shooting Star Children's Hospices is an English children's hospice charity (No: 1042495). The charity cares for babies, children and young people with life-limiting conditions, and their families, across Surrey, south-west London and north-west ...

, a children's hospice charity. Previously he was the CEO of

InterContinental Hotels Group InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), marketed as IHG Hotels & Resorts, is a British multinational hospitality company headquartered in Windsor, Berkshire, England. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange. It ...

(IHG), and was succeeded by Richard Solomons.

Early life

Andrew Peter Cosslett was born in April 1955 in Whalley Range,

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

and grew up in

Withington Withington is a suburb of Manchester, England. Historically part of Lancashire, it lies from Manchester city centre, south of Fallowfield, north-east of Didsbury and east of Chorlton-cum-Hardy. Withington had a population at the 2011 ce ...

. He earned a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

in economics and a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

European Studies European studies is a field of study offered by many academic colleges and universities that focuses on the History of Western civilization and the evolution of Western culture, as well as on current developments in European integration. Some ...

from the

University of Manchester The University of Manchester is a public university, public research university in Manchester, England. The main campus is south of Manchester city centre, Manchester City Centre on Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road. The University of Manchester is c ...

Career

Cosslett began his business career in 1979 as a graduate trainee selling Wall's ice cream and spent 11 years with

Unilever Unilever PLC () is a British multinational consumer packaged goods company headquartered in London, England. It was founded on 2 September 1929 following the merger of Dutch margarine producer Margarine Unie with British soap maker Lever B ...

becoming a marketing director, before joining

Cadbury Schweppes Cadbury, formerly Cadbury's and Cadbury Schweppes, is a British multinational corporation, multinational confectionery company owned by Mondelez International (spun off from Kraft Foods, Inc., Kraft Foods) since 2010. It is the second-largest c ...

in 1990. He then spent 14 years at Cadbury Schweppes in a number of senior roles, including chairman, Cadbury Schweppes Australia; CEO of the Asia Pacific confectionery business; managing director, Great Britain & Ireland; and president, Europe, Middle East and Africa. Cosslett joined

as CEO in 2005. As CEO of IHG, he oversaw the launching of the midmarket boutique hotel brand

Hotel Indigo Hotel Indigo by IHG is a global brand group of small, individually owned boutique hotels, which is part of IHG Hotels & Resorts (InterContinental Hotels Group). As of June 2024, it has 156 hotels with over 20,000 rooms worldwide, and has stated ...

, and a focus on further expansion into the Chinese market. An additional change includes IHG selling most of the hotels the company owned and reaffirming their business model as mainly a manager and franchisor of hotels. During the late 2000s, he oversaw a $1bn (£603m), four-year relaunch of the Holiday Inn franchise. Between 2005 and 2011, Cosslett was a board member of the

World Travel and Tourism Council The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) is a forum for the travel and tourism industry. It is made up of members from the global business community and works with governments to raise awareness about the travel and tourism industry. It is kno ...

(WTTC), a member of the presidents council of the

Confederation of British Industry The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) is a British business interest group, which says it represents 190,000 businesses. The CBI has been described by the ''Financial Times'' as "Britain's biggest business lobby group". Incorporated by roy ...

(CBI) and a board member of the International Tourism Partnership. Cosslett stood down as the CEO on 30 June 2011 stating that he has been considering his situation for quite a while: “I’m into my seventh year, but it does feel like the right time to hand over the reins. ... The business is in great shape, and that really helps my exit.” In June 2017, Cosslett succeeded Daniel Bernard as chairman of

. He stepped down from this role in April 2024. In June 2022, Cosslett was appointed Chairman of ITV.

Rugby Football Union

Coslett became chair of the RFU in October 2016, succeeding

Bill Beaumont Sir William Blackledge Beaumont (born 9 March 1952) is an English former rugby union player, and was captain of the England rugby union team, earning 34 caps. His greatest moment as captain was the unexpected 1980 Grand Slam win. He played as a ...

. He himself played rugby for 25 years. He was appointed

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(CBE) in the

2022 New Year Honours The 2022 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 15 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebratio ...

for services to the Rugby Football Union.

References

External links

Cosslett Biography

Videos: InterContinental Hotels Group's Andy Cosslett

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cosslett, Andy 1955 births Alumni of the University of Manchester British hoteliers Businesspeople from Manchester Chairmen of ITV Chief executives in the hospitality industry Commanders of the Order of the British Empire English businesspeople in retailing English chief executives Hotel executives InterContinental Hotels Group people Living people Mass media people from Manchester