Ocado Group PLC (LON:OCDO) has appointed Rick Haythornthwaite to be its new independent non-executive chairman to replace Stuart Rose as from its AGM in May 2021.
Haythornthwaite is currently chairman of Mastercard, which he joined just before the IPO of the company in 2006, and he will retire from that position at the end of the year.
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In a statement released late on Friday, Ocado noted Haythornthwaite is also the chairman and co-founder of QiO Technologies, an advanced analytics and AI software company, and previously served as chief executive of listed companies Invensys and Blue Circle Industries.
Rose will be retiring from the role after eight years of service, the FTSE 250 firm said.
“I am delighted to welcome Rick as our new chairman,” said Ocado chief executive Tim Steiner in the statement. “He will play a key role helping us to navigate a post-COVID future in which the landscape of the grocery market worldwide is changing for good and, using his experience at Mastercard, to help us scale up and take advantage of the very significant global opportunities ahead.”
Shares rose 4% to 2,292p on Monday in early trading.
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