Claire Bowles and Richard Butler become Co-CEOs at Peters

January 9th 2025

Peters has appointed Claire Bowles and Richard Butler to newly created Co-CEO roles to guide the business as it enters its 90^th anniversary year.

Richard has worked in various roles across the business during his 25-year tenure at Peters, working as Operations Manager before becoming Commercial Director in 2020. He will oversee the operational and financial functions of the business and take responsibility for contracts with Public Libraries. He will continue to spearhead Peters’ investment in modernizing its IT and systems platform.

Claire Bowles joined Peters as Strategic Marketing Manager in 2014, before becoming Head of Sales and Marketing and then taking on the role of Sales and Marketing Director in 2020. Claire works closely with partners and agencies such as National Literacy Trust, The Reading Agency and others, as well as overseeing the buying team and our links with the publishing industry. She will also take responsibility for sales to school customers and the company’s furniture supply and library design divisions.

These appointments were planned for mid-2025 but were brought forward following the unexpected death of former Managing Director, Ray Dyer, who sadly passed away suddenly in October 2024.

In memory of Ray, and with the support of his family, Peters will be creating a new primary school library in the area in which he lived in 2025.

Chairman, Rhydian Peters says: "For 90 years we have been committed to passing on our love of reading from one generation to the next. Under the direction of Claire and Richard, I am confident that Peters will continue to grow and thrive in our mission to support, advise and inspire those that are committed to promoting the benefits of reading and help them to have the best books available to engage and excite the next generation of readers.”

Alison Tarrant joins as new Head of Library Services

We are also pleased to welcome Alison Tarrant as Peters’ new Head of Library Services. Alison brings with her a wealth of experience and knowledge of both school and public libraries, having worked in and around libraries for more than 10 years. She joins Peters from her previous role as CEO of the School Library Association, working closely with organisations such as CILIP, BookTrust and The Reading Agency. Alison takes over management of Peters’ librarians and bibliographic team from Diane Gill, who retired in December 2024 after 27 years at Peters.