McGregor-Smith to step down at Mitie

Ruby McGregor-Smith is stepping down as chief executive of Mitie to be replaced by Phil Bentley from Cable and Wireless. McGregor-Smith, pictured above,  has been a director of Mitie since December 2002 and has served as chief executive since April 2007. She has led the business for nearly a decade, steering it through significant industry and company transformation.

Bentley brings a wide range of executive and leadership experience from across industry, including most recently at Cable and Wireless Communications PLC, where he served as Group Chief Executive Officer, until its acquisition by John Malone’s Liberty Global. He previously ran British Gas, the UK’s leading energy and home services provider, for seven years. Prior to that, he held a range of senior management and finance roles at Centrica and Diageo. Much of his early finance career in BP was spent overseas. He is a qualified accountant and holds an MBA from Insead.

McGregor-Smith said: “It has been a real honour to serve on the Board of Mitie and in particular to hold the role of chief executive. I am delighted that we are now in a position to appoint a new chief executive for Mitie and I wish Phil a successful future with the group.”

Bentley said: “Although it is a challenging time for the sector, we have a strong platform from which I am certain we can now prosper. I am really looking forward to working with my new colleagues, delivering world-class services to our customers and creating sustainable shareholder value.”