Andy Cosslett

Andrew Cosslett (born 14 April 1955) is a British businessman and Chairman of the Rugby Football Union.

He is also an Operating Partner at Advent International and a Trustee of Shooting Star Chase, a children's hospice charity.

He resigned as Chairman of Fitness First, the international operator of fitness facilities, in December 2015 having also previously held the role of Chief Executive Officer. He was also Non-Executive Chairman of England Rugby 2015 - the organising committee for the 2015 Rugby World Cup which was played in England.

Previously he was the Chief Executive Officer of InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), and was succeeded by Richard Solomons.

Cosslett was born in Whalley Range, Manchester in 1955 and grew up in Withington. He gained a BA (Econ) Hons in Economics and an MA degree in European Studies from the University of Manchester. He began his business career in 1979 as a graduate trainee selling Wall's ice cream and spent 11 years with Unilever becoming a marketing director before joining Cadbury Schweppes in 1990. He then spent 14 years at Cadbury Schweppes in a number of senior roles, including Chairman, Cadbury Schweppes Australia; CEO of the Asia Pacific confectionery business; Managing Director, Great Britain & Ireland; and President, Europe, Middle East and Africa.

Cosslett joined InterContinental Hotels Group as Chief Executive Officer in 2005. As CEO of IHG, he oversaw the launching of the midmarket boutique hotel brand Hotel Indigo, and a focus on further expansion into the Chinese market. An additional change includes IHG selling most of the hotels the company owned and reaffirming their business model as mainly a manager and franchisor of hotels. During the late 2000s, he oversaw a $1bn (£603m), four-year relaunch of the Holiday Inn franchise.

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