Burrell appointed to chairman at Merlin

Merlin Communications Group, a global communications facilities management company, confirmed the appointment of Mark Burrell as chairman.

Burrell has been acting chairman of Merlin Communications since the death of James Glover.

Burrell was main board director for development at Pearson plc for 11 years and was actively involved in the financing of satellite broadcasting in the United Kingdom since its inception.

He was non executive director of BSB and then BSkyB. He was also non executive director at Yorkshire Television and Thames Television.

During his time at Pearson he helped transform the company from a conglomerate into an international media company, with interests in new media, television, book publishing, newspapers and education.

He was a managing director at Lazard Brothers until 1986 in charge of its corporate finance and venture capital divisions, having worked as a corporate financier for 16 years. Burrell has also been chairman of Royal Doulton and of Pearson's successful North Sea exploration company, Whitehall Petroleum. "I have very much enjoyed working with Merlin's excellent team and as chairman of the board, I look forward to helping them build upon their success to date and deliver shareholder value," Burrell said.