Richard Needham Joins The RANK PLC Board

03/30/2012 :RANK PLC APPOINTS NEW DIRECTOR
 
The Rt. Hon. Sir Richard Needham (Earl of Kilmorey) joins the board as an independent non-executive director.
 
The UK land and online gambling company Rank Group plc has announced the appointment of the Rt. Hon. Sir Richard Needham (Earl of Kilmorey) to the board as an independent non-executive director with effect from 1 May 2012.
 
Sir Richard, age 70, had a distinguished career in parliament culminating in his time as Britain's longest serving Minister in Northern Ireland from 1985 – 1992 and as Minister of Trade from 1992 – 1995.  He left politics in 1997 and has since focused on the private sector, where he has been a director of a number of public and private companies including Biocompatibles International plc, The Heart Hospital Limited and Dyson Limited, where he was a director for over 16 years.
 
Sir Richard is currently a non-executive director of Avon Rubber plc (having served as chairman for five years), a non-executive director of Lonrho Plc and non-executive chairman of Vane Minerals plc.  He is also chairman of Tetra Strategy Limited (a political consultancy), a director of Smarta Enterprises Limited (the UK's largest online resource for small businesses) and a non-executive director of NEC Europe Ltd (a leading internet services and systems solutions provider).