David Kirk named new Hoyts chairman

Former Fairfax Media chief executive and World Cup-winning All Black captain David Kirk has been appointed chairman of the board of the Hoyts theatre group.

Hoyts director David Grayce on Wednesday welcomed Kirk to the board, noting his considerable executive experience.

"We look forward to working with David," Grayce said in a statement.

"His experience is highly valued and he will play an important role in the company's future growth strategy.

Kirk commences his appointment with Hoyts on Wednesday, July 1.

Hoyts owns and operates 45 cinemas with over 400 screens and more than 75,000 seats across Australia and New Zealand and is also one of the largest independent distributors in the region.

"Hoyts has very strong and well run businesses," said Kirk.

"I very much look forward to working with the management team to assist in the next stage of development, particularly the continued roll out of digital cinema."

- AAP