Post Office CEO Nick Read is stepping down from the business next year.
Neil Brocklehurst, who joined the Post Office in July as interim COO following his role as MD at Camelot, will step up as acting CEO prior to the announcement of Read’s successor.
Read said it had been “a great privilege to work with colleagues and postmasters in what has been an extraordinarily challenging time for the business and for postmasters”.
He is set to give evidence to the Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry, which begins its seventh and final stage next week, for three days from 9 October.
The inquiry is investigating the scandal that led to the wrongful prosecution of hundreds of postmasters in the UK for alleged theft, fraud and false accounting based on data from its Horizon IT system.
Read was appointed CEO in September 2019, with a remit to “modernise the Post Office”, the business said.
He replaced former boss Paula Vennells, who was leading the business at the height of the Horizon scandal. Vennells, who was was MD in 2010 before being promoted to the position of CEO in 2012, forfeited her CBE earlier this year following backlash from the public over her handling of the scandal.
Read added: “There remains much to be done for this great UK institution but the journey to reset the relationship with postmasters is well underway and our work to support justice and redress for postmasters will continue.”
Post Office interim chair Nigel Railton said: “On behalf of the board, I would like to thank Nick for his commitment and hard work in leading the business over the past five years. It has been a challenging period for the Post Office and its postmasters, and Nick has been instrumental in navigating the business through this while beginning the important process of cultural change. We wish him all the best for his future endeavours.”
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