Racecourse Media Group (RMG) has promoted Nick Mills to the chief executive’s office to replace Martin Stevenson.

Mills currently serves as chief commercial officer at RMG and will assume his new role on 4 November, succeeding Stevenson, who announced his decision to step down in July.

Mills has been with RMG for almost two decades, initially joining the company as sales and marketing director before being named commercial director and then chief commercial officer.

“I am honoured to be given the opportunity to succeed Martin as Chief Executive and to lead the brilliant team at Racecourse Media Group,” said Mills.

“While the racing industry undoubtedly faces some challenges ahead, I firmly believe that now is an incredibly exciting time for the business with more opportunity for innovation and growth across our platforms than ever before.

“To ensure that our full potential is realised it is important that we continue to harness the passion and commitment not only within RMG, but also of the dedicated teams across all of our member racecourses who directly contribute to and benefit from our success.”

Conor Grant, chairman of RMG, commented: “Nick has been a highly regarded member of the team for nearly 20 years and we are delighted to appoint him as chief executive.

“With his extensive expertise in sales, marketing, media rights and streaming, Nick is uniquely positioned to drive growth and optimise the value of our member racecourses’ media rights, while also embracing the need for innovation,” he added.

“Nick’s deep knowledge of the RMG operating and business model coupled with his passion for driving growth to benefit both our business and our industry is a fantastic asset for us, and we all wish him every success as chief executive.”

Grant also thanked Stevenson for his contribution to RMG during his tenure as chief executive.

“We are deeply thankful to Martin for the enormous contribution he has made to Racecourse Media Group over the last 17 years. His dedication as chief financial officer and more recently as chief executive has been instrumental in delivering record results and setting RMG on a path to continued innovation. Martin leaves the business in a strong position for Nick and the team to build on. We wish him the very best for the future.”