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'Undercover Boss' To Succeed Walker At IoD

A former star of the television series Undercover Boss is to be unveiled as the next head of the Institute of Directors, one of Britain's most important business lobbying groups.

Sky News has learnt that Stephen Martin, the chief executive of Clugston Group, a privately owned industrial group, has been picked to succeed Simon Walker, the IoD's ebullient figurehead.

Mr Martin's appointment will be announced on Friday, according to insiders.

His selection by the IoD's board, led by its widely respected chairman Lady Judge, reflects a desire to recruit a new leader with experience of running a substantial company and drawn from outside London's metropolitan bubble.

Mr Martin - who coincidentally went by the same surname as the man he is now replacing at the IoD during his stint on Undercover Boss in 2009 - ‎said at the time that the experience had provided invaluable lessons in communicating with his workforce.

He has run Clugston, which combines construction, civil engineering, logistics, property development and facilities management, for a decade.

It is one of the UK's largest private companies, with more than 600 employees.

Sources said that Mr Martin had impressed Lady Judge with his vision for building on his predecessor's efforts to modernise the IoD.

Mr Walker, who is due to step down at the end of his five-year term in November, will be regarded as having made a big success of his tenure.

When he joined the not-for-profit group, which is based on London's Pall Mall, in October 2011, it was still contending with the consequences of the financial crisis.

The IoD's membership had crashed from 52,000 in 2007 to just 37,000 when Mr Walker arrived.

Last year, the IoD showed the first growth in membership since 2001, thanks to efforts by Lady Judge and Mr Walker to broaden its appeal to female and younger company directors.

With (Other OTC: WWTH - news) membership numbers now standing at around 34,500, the IoD's financial performance has also begun to improve, with last year's surplus of £400,000 its best return since 2010.

Among the new initiatives spearheaded by the chairman and director-general is the IoD99, a special scheme for younger entrepreneurs.

It launched at the end of 2014, but already has 1,000 members, with Lady Judge successfully targeting female entrepreneurs, who now make up roughly half of the ‎99 club's membership.

Mr Walker has also managed to change internal and external perceptions of the IoD, which has long-been regarded as a remote "old boys' club".

In 2013, he dropped the group's dress code to the consternation of some long-standing members.

More publicly, Mr Walker has also been a vocal advocate for sound business practices, arguing that many boardroom inhabitants are paid far too much and behave in ways which damage the reputation of commerce.

Among the companies which have come in for criticism from the outgoing IoD chief were BG Group (EUREX: 1007667.EX - news) , Barclays (LSE: BARC.L - news) , and - in recent days - BHS.

The IoD declined to comment on Thursday night.