Businessman and education campaigner Theodore Agnew has been appointed to the board of All Perspectives Ltd, owner of GB News.
Lord Agnew, an entrepreneur and former Treasury and Cabinet Office Minister, is the founder and chair of The Inspiration Trust which runs 17 schools in East Anglia. He is also a director of the National Institute of Teaching and has served the Education Policy Institute.
In his business career, he founded the insurance claims management firm WNS Assistance and was later Chief Executive of another, Jubilee Managing Agency.
Lord Agnew’s appointment to All Perspectives coincides with the resignation of Sir Paul Marshall, an investor in GB News, who is stepping down from the board after three years.
Sir Paul said: “I joined as a director for the start-up phase but now GB News is on a secure growth trajectory, I want to focus on my other business and philanthropic interests. I remain very engaged as a co-lead investor.”
He added: “I am delighted by the progress of GB News, which has become a significant brand in British media doing exactly as we’d planned – serving the under-served communities outside the M25. Its success is such that it now regularly beats its long-established rivals in the ratings, something which the industry predicted would never happen.
“Theodore is an exceptional business leader who brings enormous skills and strengths for the next stage of the company’s development,” Sir Paul said.
Chairman of All Perspectives, Alan McCormick, said: “Theodore brings a wealth of experience to GB News from across business, civil society, and government and has demonstrated a track record in challenging vested interests and building profitable enterprises.
“As GB News continues to grow into one of the UK’s leading media companies, we will benefit hugely from having access to his wisdom, commercial acumen, and leadership.”
He added: “On behalf of everyone on the board, I thank Paul for his tremendous support over the past three years. His guidance has been invaluable.”
Lord Agnew said: “I have watched and admired the dramatic growth of GB News across its platforms and have been impressed by the breadth of the audience it now reaches.
“GB News is a business with huge opportunity as the industry undergoes a digital transformation across existing and emerging platforms. I’m delighted to be joining the board and look forward to encouraging the company on its journey.”
A Conservative life peer since 2017, Lord Agnew was knighted for his services to education in 2015.
