News Releases
Viscount Weir to Retire as Balfour Beatty Chairman
04 Feb 2003Balfour Beatty plc, the international engineering, construction and services group, announces today that Viscount Weir, who has served as Chairman of the Company since 1996, is to retire at the Annual General Meeting of the Company on 15 May 2003. Viscount Weir joined the Board of the Company, then BICC plc, in 1977.
Sir David John, who joined the Balfour Beatty Board as a non-executive Director in 2000, will succeed Lord Weir as Chairman at the AGM. Sir David is chairman of Premier Oil Group, The BSI Group, a non-executive director of The St Paul Companies Inc and immediate past chairman of The BOC Group. Formerly a director of Inchcape plc, he is a member of the CBI President’s Committee and the CBI International Advisory Board. Sir David already chairs Balfour Beatty’s Business Practices Committee.
Christopher Reeves, who has served the Company as a non-executive Director since 1982, will also retire at the Annual General Meeting on 15 May 2003. On his retirement, he will be succeeded as Chairman of the Audit Committee by Richard Delbridge, who joined the Board in 2002.
Commenting today on Viscount Weir’s tenure as Chairman, Sir David John said: “This Company owes a great debt to Viscount Weir, who guided the Group through its major transformation of the late 1990s which saw its worldwide cables interests divested and the very successful establishment and development of Balfour Beatty as an independent public company. He and Christopher Reeves have served this Company with distinction and we thank them for it.”
ENDS
Enquiries to:
Tim Sharp
Tel: +44 (0)20 7216 6884
