Westcoast welcomes peer to its Board

Group holding company Kelido signs up former MP and Football League chair Brian Mawhinney as non-exec director

Brian Mawhinney: appointed as as a non-exec director at Kelido, holding company of Westcoast and XMA

Kelido, the group holding company of Westcoast and XMA, has appointed Baron Brian Mawhinney to its board as a non-executive director.

Mawhinney, who will serve as chairman of the group, was most recently known for his role as chairman of the Football League and in 2004 oversaw a reorganisation of the league structure, renaming the former Division One as the Football League Championship.

He has also served as an MP, representing Peterborough from 1979 to 1997 and North West Cambridgeshire from 1997 to 2005. He also entered the Tory Cabinet in 1994 as secretary of state for transport and served as chairman of the Conservative Party and Minister Without Portfolio for two years from 1995 until the 1997 election. He then served as shadow home secretary under William Hague, before returning to the back benches in June 1998, stepping down from the House of Commons in 2005. He became a life peer in May 2005.

Joe Hemani, founder of the Kelido Group, said: “Brian has been a long-standing personal friend and I am delighted he has agreed to join our board of directors. This will give our group both an independent management view, closer connections with government and provide the management team some overall leadership guidance that will enhance their own capabilities.

“He will provide further board rigour that will enhance our corporate governance and he is our first-ever non-executive director. I welcome him on behalf of our excellent team and look forward to working alongside him.”

Mawhinney’s other directorships include the post of deputy chairman of the England 2018 World Cup Bid.