Tate & Lyle has appointed retail heavyweight Dr Gerry Murphy as non-executive director and chairman-designate.
Murphy will join the board on 1 January and will succeed Sir Peter Gershon as chairman in April following his retirement.
Murphy is chairman of investment firm The Blackstone Group’s principal European entity, based in London, where one of his primary roles is supporting UK multichannel retailer Ideal Shopping Direct.
His early career was in the food and drink sector, starting at Grand Metropolitan (now Diageo) in 1978 and moving on to become CEO of Greencore Group in 1998. He went on to take the helm of logistics company Exel and later media company Carlton Communications, before heading up Kingfisher from 2003 to 2008.
Outside his core roles, Murphy is non-executive director at British American Tobacco and Intertrust NV and has held non-executive directorships in a number of London-listed companies, including Merlin Entertainments, from 2013 to 2015.
Murphy said: “I am honoured to succeed Sir Peter as chairman of Tate & Lyle and I am very excited about working with Javed Ahmed, the board and the leadership team to help deliver the company’s growth agenda. Having started my career in the food industry, joining Tate & Lyle feels like coming home.” Gershon said: “I am delighted to welcome Gerry to the board of Tate & Lyle and very much look forward to working closely with him during the first quarter of calendar 2017 as we transition the chairmanship.
“Gerry’s extensive experience in the food industry and as chief executive, investor and independent director in leading international companies equips him well to guide Tate & Lyle in the years ahead.”
Liz Airey is also to step down as senior independent director on 31 December and will retire from the board at the agm in July. Douglas Hurt will assume the role, in addition to his role as chairman of the audit committee, with effect from 1 January.
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