New Whitbread chair starts in September
Whitbread has announced that Christine Hodgson has been appointed as chair.
The owner-operator of Cookhouse + Pub, Brewers Fayre and Premier Inn will have a new chair from 1 September 2025.
Whitbread has announced that Christine Hodgson has been appointed as chair, replacing Adam Crozier, who will step down and retire from the board on the same date.
Hodgson, who is also chair of Severn Trent PLC, has held senior roles across the technology and consumer-facing sectors, working with multiple high-growth international companies.
"It is an honour to be appointed chair of Whitbread," she says. "Whitbread is a business with strong brands, an experienced leadership team and 34,000 committed team members across the organisation. It's an exciting time to be joining, as the company continues to deliver on its Five-Year Plan, and Premier Inn's expansion in Germany gathers pace. I look forward to leading the board and working alongside the talented teams as we unlock the Group's full potential."
Focusing on hotels
Crozier joined the board in April 2017 and has been chair for the past seven years. During this time, Whitbread has evolved into a focused hotel business with a strategy centred on becoming Europe's number one budget hotel operator.
In summer 2024, Whitbread announced plans to slash its restaurant estate by over 200 venues, which opened the door for numerous pub acquisitions of venues that didn't fit Whitbread's future model.
"It has been a privilege to lead the Whitbread board through this period of growth and change," says Crozier. "I'm proud that as I leave the business, we are on course for Premier Inn to become Europe's number one budget hotel business. I want to thank my colleagues on the board, and the whole Whitbread team, for their support during my time as chair, and wish Christine and everyone in the business every success in the future."
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