Business
Appointment Of New Chief Exec
Appointment Of New Chief Exec.
About this update from Greggs Plc
[{"type":"text","content":"\n Greggs PLC\n09 April 2008\n\n\n 9 April 2008\n\n GREGGS plc (\"GREGGS\")\n APPOINTMENT OF NEW CHIEF EXECUTIVE\n\nThe Board of Greggs is pleased to announce the appointment of Ken McMeikan as\nChief Executive of the Group. He will join the Board on 1 June 2008.\n\nKen McMeikan, 42, is currently Retail Director of J Sainsbury plc, and has\nplayed a major part in their progress since he joined them in 2005 after a short\nperiod as chief executive of Tesco Japan. Prior to this he had spent 14 years in\noperational roles with Tesco, becoming chief executive of the Europa Foods\nconvenience store business following its acquisition in 2002, with\nresponsibility for its integration into the Tesco Express format.\n\nSir Michael Darrington will retire from his full time position as Group Managing\nDirector of Greggs at the end of July 2008. Sir Michael joined the business in\nJuly 1983, and became Managing Director the following January. He will remain on\nthe Board of Greggs as a Non-Executive Director.\n\nDerek Netherton, Chairman, said \"When we began the process to find a successor\nto Mike Darrington, we recognised that he would be an extremely hard act to\nfollow. We are therefore delighted to have found in Ken McMeikan a person with\nthe right mix of abilities and personal qualities to lead the business in the\nnext stage of its development. His considerable retailing experience, gained\nwith both Sainsbury's and Tesco, will greatly complement the skills and\nexpertise that already exist within the Greggs senior team.\n\n\"On behalf of the Board I would like to thank Mike most sincerely for his\noutstanding contribution to the considerable growth and development of the\nbusiness over the last 25 years, and particularly for his strong and unflagging\nleadership.\"\n\nSir Michael Darrington said \"I am really pleased to be handing on my executive\nresponsibilities at Greggs to someone who fully understands and shares the\nunique values of the business, and possesses the right people skills to\nimplement the next phase of our strategy. From time to time it is good for any\nbusiness to refresh and augment its capabilities through external recruitment,\nas it was when I joined Greggs in 1983. Ken's experience will strengthen our\nalready excellent top team, and will prove particularly relevant and helpful in\nprogressing the developm...