Morrisons Names New Chief Executive

Mon, 01 Feb 2010
 
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Morrisons has announced the appointment of its new chief executive, former Walmart international boss Dalton Philips.

Mr Philips, who is currently chief operating officer at Canadian food group Loblawc, will take up his new position in March.

"I am really pleased to be joining Morrisons," he said. "It's an incredibly exciting business with a terrific history and I'm really looking forward to meeting the team and to the challenge ahead."

Morrisons, the UK’s fourth-largest supermarket chain, has been searching for a new chief executive since November, following Marc Bolland’s decision to become the new chief of high street chain Marks and Spencer .

Mr Philips will become only the third person to run the grocery chain since 1952, following tenures by Sir Ken Morrison and Marc Bolland. At 41, the Irishman will also be one of the youngest chief executives in the FTSE 100 .

Despite being a relative unknown in the UK retail industry, Morrisons said Mr Phillips had a "tremendous retail pedigree and a wealth of experience from senior retail positions around the world".

Mr Philips has held the role of chief operating officer at Loblaw, Canada's largest food distributor, since January 2007. His previous roles include CEO of Irish department store Brown Thomas and chief operating officer of Walmart operations in Germany. Philips spent seven years in total working for the US retail giant’s international division.

Morrisons is yet to confirm an official leaving date for Mr Bolland, who is locked into a year's notice until November. However, the retailer recently said it was negotiating an early exit "compromise agreement" which would allow him to start at Marks and Spencer .

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