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Industry News
Industry News
Booth succeeds Bill Butler, who is retiring after a 35-year career with the company.
Butler’s leadership has been instrumental in strengthening the company’s market position, expanding its digital footprint, and guiding its events portfolio through a period of significant transformation.
Booth brings extensive experience in transforming specialist media and events businesses to meet the evolving needs of their markets. He joins from emap, where he led a significant shift in the business model following its acquisition by Metropolis Group. Driving growth in events, subscriptions and digital revenues, while improving profitability and long-term sustainability.
With P&L responsibility for a substantial share of group profit and leadership of multi-brand, multi-disciplinary teams, Booth has also championed product innovation, including the application of AI, LLM-driven search and personalisation, and the development of new digital products and apps. Previously, at Aspermont, Booth held international leadership responsibility across multiple brands and markets, where he focused on digital growth, cultural transformation and strategic product development.
Nick Service, Chair of the Hemming Group, said, “Bill has been a driving force in Hemming Group’s success for more than three decades, and we are deeply grateful for his dedication and leadership. We are delighted to welcome Robin, whose experience and energy make him ideally suited to build on Bill’s work and guide the company in its next chapter.”
“Robin will contribute a fresh strategic vision to support the organisation’s continued expansion and innovation. As CEO, he will lead the coming phase of development across Hemming Group’s publishing and events brands.”
Bill Butler commented, “My time with the company has given me the opportunity to work with all areas of the business. As Group Managing Director, it has been both challenging and rewarding to guide the organisation through a period of substantial transformation. Our priority has been to build the foundations for sustainable future growth, underpinned by investment in people, technology and data. Working alongside such committed colleagues and partners has been a genuine privilege.”
Robin Booth said, “I’m delighted to be joining Hemming Group at such an important moment in its history. The business has an extraordinary heritage and a strong reputation for delivering trusted information, events and connections to specialist industries, and I’m excited by the opportunity to help lead it through the next phase of its development.
Our markets are evolving rapidly, and this is a moment of real change for media and events businesses. Our focus will be on responding to – and anticipating – the changing needs of our customers and audiences, ensuring we continue to deliver exceptional information, exceptional experiences, exceptional direct channels to market, and exceptional customer value and service.
Hemming has thrived for more than 130 years by staying close to the industries it serves and continually adapting to meet their needs. I’m looking forward to working with the senior leadership team, the board and colleagues across the business to build on that legacy and ensure a bright and successful future for the next 130 years and beyond.”
Booth will start the new position on 6 July 2026.

Starting a career is harder than it’s been for decades. As a sector, we want to make sure publishing is a place where talent, not circumstance, determines opportunity.

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