Interim CEO

The GGF board has unanimously agreed to appoint Brian Baker, former GGF President and current chairman of the board, to act as interim chief executive until a new permanent chief executive is appointed.

Nigel Rees announced his retirement after 14 years as chief executive of the GGF in September 2016.

Seven applicants were subsequently selected for interview, of which three were shortlisted.

However, the GGF board could not agree on an appointment and will now go through the full recruitment process again in the first quarter of 2017.

Alan Burgess, GGF president-elect, said: “Finding the perfect replacement for Nigel is perhaps the single most important appointment we as directors are likely to make. Being a significant appointment, all directors were focussed upon finding the right candidate, but equally, not at any cost. It was agreed early on that if agreement could not be reached, then the harder decision to rerun the process had to be made.

“In anticipation of a large leadership vacuum at the GGF, I am delighted that our retiring president, Brian Baker has most kindly agreed to step into this role until the arrival of the new CEO.

“As President for the past three years and vice president for two years prior, Brian couldn’t be more passionate about the GGF, its staff and members. He has invested much personal time and overseen many challenging issues, particularly over the last year. He is the ideal interim replacement. He has also been active both with the GGF and Helix Group on their actions from the governance and structure review.”