Graham Hunter, MD of Northern Foods’ brands division, has been appointed CEO of Tangerine Confectionery, replacing industry veteran Chris Marshall.

Hunter has spent just over a year heading up Northern’s big-name brands such as Fox’s Biscuits and Goodfella’s pizza. He previously served as group marketing director at Northern - and prior to joining the company held the role of marketing director with Jacob’s Bakery.

Hunter will take up the reins at Tangerine on 1 February.

“We’re delighted to welcome Graham to his new role at such an exciting time for the company,” said Tangerine chairman Stephen Joseph.

Joseph also paid tribute to Marshall, who is taking partial retirement and will become a non-executive director when Hunter joins.

“We pass on sincere thanks to Chris, who has guided Tangerine through an incredible six-year period of growth and has been a major force in creating a company with significant strength and position in the UK confectionery industry,” said Joseph. “We’ve benefited enormously from his 50 years of experience in the industry and feel certain he will continue to make a huge contribution to our development.”

Marshall has held managing director positions for over 25 years, leading companies including Bassett Foods, Portfolio Foods and Shippam’s.

Under Marshall’s leadership, Tangerine has quadrupled in size through a series of acquisitions, including Burton’s Confectionery in 2006 and Monkhill Confectionery two years later. Tangerine bought Wham and Highland Toffee at the end of last year and last week also acquired tinned sweet brand Smith Kendon and York Fruits.