Bonhill names Ponsford Group CEO; French becomes CEO of InvestmentNews

Bonhill names Ponsford Group CEO; French becomes CEO of InvestmentNews
Ponsford served as the company’s interim CEO, while French was executive chairman of InvestmentNews; both have been added to Bonhill’s board.
JUL 12, 2022

Bonhill Group plc, a leading B2B media business, announced Wednesday that Patrick Ponsford was appointed Group CEO following a period serving as interim CEO, and that John French was named CEO of the company’s InvestmentNews subsidiary. Both will join Bonhill’s board of directors.

Ponsford has worked in B2B publishing for the past 30 years, including three years at Last Word Media prior to its acquisition by Bonhill in April 2020, in addition to stints at Strategic Insight Research and Centaur PLC.

“I am excited by the opportunity to lead the Group. The new financial services focused business that will emerge after completion of the BSG divestiture will be less complex and capital intensive and with higher margin,” Ponsford said. “I believe that shareholders should see significantly enhanced returns over the next 18 months once the divestiture of BSG is complete.”

French, who has been executive chairman of InvestmentNews since October 2021, as CEO will report to Ponsford and serve as an executive director on Bonhill’s board, dropping his dual role of U.S. executive chairman. French was previously CEO of Penton Media and Cygnus Business Media, and president of Primedia and Prism Publishing.

John French

“I have enjoyed the privilege of being the executive chairman of InvestmentNews over the past six months and look forward to building on the tremendous accomplishments we have already made in that short time,” French said. “InvestmentNews has long established itself as one of the finest brands in the financial services industry with a team of journalists second to none. I believe our best days are yet to come both at Bonhill and InvestmentNews.” 

Concurrently, Jonathan Glasspool, who has been serving as interim executive chairman since April 2022, will revert to non-executive chairman.

“The Board is pleased to have such seasoned executives as Patrick and John running our two divisions. They bring complementary skills and knowledge of the global marketplace. We remain optimistic about the considerable opportunities available to us as a focused B2B media company within a vibrant global niche,” Glasspool said. 

Bonhill Group (AIM: BONH) is a B2B media company whose brands include InvestmentNews, ESG Clarity, Portfolio Adviser, Fund Selector Asia, What Investment, SmallBusiness.co.uk, GrowthBusiness.co.uk, Information Age, the Women in… events series and DiversityQ.

Latest News

SEC to lose Hester Peirce, deepening a commissioner crisis
SEC to lose Hester Peirce, deepening a commissioner crisis

The "Crypto Mom" departure would leave the SEC commission with just two members and no Democratic commissioners on the panel.

Florida B-D, RIA owner pitches bold long-term plan to sell to advisors
Florida B-D, RIA owner pitches bold long-term plan to sell to advisors

IFP Securities’ owner, Bill Hamm, has a long-term plan for the firm and its 279 financial advisors.

Fintech bytes: Vanilla, Wealth.com forge new estate planning partnerships
Fintech bytes: Vanilla, Wealth.com forge new estate planning partnerships

Meanwhile, a Osaic and Envestnet ink a new adaptive wealthtech partnership to better support the firm's 10,000-plus advisors, and RIA-focused VastAdvisor unveils native integrations with leading CRMs.

Fiduciary failure: Ex-advisor who sold practice fined after clients lost millions
Fiduciary failure: Ex-advisor who sold practice fined after clients lost millions

A former Alabama investment advisor and ex-Kestra rep has been permanently barred and penalized after clients he promised to protect got caught in a $2.6 million fraud.

Why the evolution of ETFs is changing the due diligence equation
Why the evolution of ETFs is changing the due diligence equation

As more active strategies get packaged into the ETF wrapper, advisors and investors have to look beyond expense ratios as the benchmark for value.

SPONSORED Are hedge funds the missing ingredient?

Wellington explores how multi strategy hedge funds may enhance diversification

SPONSORED Beyond wealth management: Why the future of advice is becoming more human

As technical expertise becomes increasingly commoditized, advisors who can integrate strategy, relationships, and specialized expertise into a cohesive client experience will define the next era of wealth management