Racecourse Media Group (RMG) CEO Martin Stevenson has announced that he will be stepping down after four years at the helm.
Stevenson said this is the right time for a change of leadership in order to put the foundations in place ahead of the next round of negotiations for rights renewals.
Stevenson will remain in his position until the end of the year and will work with the board to manage the transition to the new leadership, with the process of finding Stevenson’s successor already underway.
Stevenson has been with RMG for 17 years, joining the company in 2007 and taking over as chief executive in 2020. During his leadership, RMG delivered record results for member racecourses.
“I have a significant birthday approaching and I think now is the right time for me to relinquish the role and enable the business to put in place its leadership in plenty of time ahead of the next rights renewal cycle,” Stevenson said.
“It has been a huge honour and privilege to have been involved in the RMG project. Having joined as finance director when it was still a start-up to helping it grow to become the largest funding organisation in British horseracing, it has been an exciting and engaging journey.
“The business has achieved a great deal in reclaiming control of our racecourses’ media and data rights and has created real substantial commercial success for the industry, having now delivered more than £1.2 billion to the industry,” he added.
“The industry undoubtedly has some challenges, but RMG is an excellent example of what can be achieved when the industry comes together in the right way with clear focus, commitment and good governance.
“I know I’ll be leaving RMG in great shape and with exciting innovation plans for the future that are in development now,” Stevenson concluded. “I would like to thank the excellent team at RMG for all their hard work and passion in helping to make RMG such a success. I would also like to thank all our racecourses for their fantastic support and putting their faith in us to deliver for them.”
RMG chairman Conor Grant commented: “Having started with the business in its formative years, he has been at the forefront of its development, pushing the boundaries on innovation and committed to delivering for our shareholders.
“RMG has been a tremendous success in maximising the commercial rights for its shareholders and generating more than £1.2 billion for its racecourse members and British racing. Martin has been integral to this success.”