Richard Segal, chief executive of the UK's Odeon Cinemas, is to be honoured as Exhibitor of the Year at the forthcoming Cine Expo cinema convention in Amsterdam (June 23-26).

A well-respected executive in the UK cinema industry, Segal was installed as chief of Odeon shortly after the circuit was acquired by Cinven in February 2000, which subsequently merged it with ABC Cinemas.

In March this year, Odeon was sold for around $690m to a consortium of investors comprising German investment bank WestLB, the UK's Entertainment Film Distributors and the private property group Rotch, owned by brothers Robert and Vincent Tchenguiz.

Odeon, which has a UK box office marketshare of around 25%, has an estate comprising over 600 screens at nearly 100 sites.

Segal is involved with a number of UK cinema bodies, including the government's Film Policy Review Group, the Cinema Exhibitor's Association and the Film Skills Action Group.

"Richard Segal's energy, dedication and great business sense has helped strengthen Odeon's position as the exhibition brand leader in the UK marketplace," Mitch Neuhauser, group show director of Cine Expo, said in a statement. "[Segal and Odeon] have helped set new standards of excellence in exhibition when it comes to providing only the very best state-of-the-art theatres and multiplexes in which to see today's films."

Segal will receive the award at the Coca Cola Awards Ceremony on Thursday June 26 at Amsterdam's RAI International Exhibition and Congress Centre.