RHS Appoints Sue Biggs As Director General
The
RHS has announced the appointment of Sue Biggs as Director General. She will take
up the post in August, succeeding Gordon Seabright, who has been acting Director
General since September 2009.
Sue Biggs joins the RHS with 30 years award-winning experience in the international
leisure industry. After University she set up Budget Holidays’ tour operation in
the USA, then embarked on a 25 year career with Kuoni. Starting as a Product Executive,
she was the youngest director, first female and first non-Swiss to be appointed
to the Kuoni Board; she was Managing Director of Kuoni from 1999 until 2008. She
then joined Thomas Cook as Managing Director of Scheduled Businesses.
Sue is a longstanding member of the RHS and a passionate gardener who has designed
six gardens for friends. She has been developing her own garden to the South West
of London for 14 years.
Giles Coode-Adams, President of the RHS, said, “I am delighted to welcome Sue to
the RHS. She brings a wealth of business experience combined with a real love of
plants and gardening, and the vision to help us realise the full potential of this
marvellous organisation.”
Elizabeth Banks, President-elect and chair of the Appointment Committee, said, “We
were fortunate to have an extremely high calibre of candidates. Sue will be an exceptional
leader for the organisation.”
Sue Biggs said, “The position of Director General of the RHS is a dream come true
for me. I’m looking forward to building on the success of an organisation that I
have supported, as a member, for a long time.”
Giles Coode-Adams paid tribute to Gordon Seabright’s achievements as acting Director
General. “I would like to thank Gordon for his role in guiding the organisation
through the past nine months. He has brought stability and significant progress
after a challenging period and has been a great help to me and to Council. I know
that, as part of the senior management team, Gordon will continue to help take the
RHS forward.”