Rigby (pictured) steps down at the end of the year after 25 years service as chief executive, or executive chairman, having first joined the company in 1983.

Carter will become CEO-designate in the Autumn having left Alcatel Lucent where he was president/managing director EMAA and group director of strategy marketing & communications. Among previous roles, he was the founding chief executive of UK communications regulator OfCom and former chief executive of WPP company J Walter Thompson UK

In a statement to the Stock Exchange, Informa chairman Derek Mapp said: “Informa owes a huge debt of gratitude to Peter, who has devoted a large portion of his career to the group, guiding it from humble beginnings into the leading global media group it is today. I am delighted that Peter’s business legacy will be continued by an executive of Stephen Carter’s caliber.”