London property giant (Great Portland Estates) has appointed advertising, media and consumer-focused heavyweight William Eccleshare as chair designate and non-executive director, effective 1 May.
Great Portland Estates
He will succeed Richard Mully as chair following the company’s 2025 Annual General Meeting in July, when Mully will retire from the board after more than eight years of service.
Eccleshare joins with extensive leadership experience in both executive and non-executive roles. Not only is he currently a non-executive director and senior independent director at Centaur Media and chairman of Team ITG, the privately-owned digital media business, he’s also chair of the Design Council. Previously he was chair and chief executive of major ad agencies BBDO Europe and Young & Rubicam EMEA. He is a former partner of McKinsey & Co where he led the firm’s European Marketing practice and prior to that he was CEO of advertising agencies within WPP and the Interpublic Group.
Current GPE chair Mully said of his replacement: “William brings significant executive and non-executive experience. His breadth of knowledge and skills, including his strong background in marketing, business transformation, growth and innovation, will be invaluable to GPE’s Board.
“I know he will provide effective leadership… and great support to [CEO] Toby Courtauld and our management team, who welcome his appointment. It has been a privilege to serve on GPE’s Board for over eight years and I look forward to working closely with William over the coming months to ensure a smooth handover.”
Additionally, GPE announced that Nick Hampton will step down from its board and committees on 3 April after six years. Karen Green, who joined the board as a non-executive director in 2023, will take over his role of senior Independent director from 4 April.
