City heavyweight to join Morrisons’ board

Morrisons is to beef up its boardroom with the appointment of city heavyweight Rooney Anand, the chief executive of Greene King, as a non-executive director.

Mr Anand, who will become the Bradford-based grocer’s senior independent director, will join the firm on January 1. He has previously worked at United Biscuits and Sara Lee.

Morrisons said he is credited with changing Greene King from a regional brewery and pub business, to a brand-led pub, restaurant and hotel operator. He recently completed Greene King’s £770m takeover of the Spirit Pub Group.

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​Morrisons’ chairman​ Andrew Higginson said: “Rooney had the vision at the start of the credit crunch to reinvent Greene King as a branded food-based pub retailer. He is a widely admired and successful Plc CEO. His experience in retail, in fast moving consumer goods and in turning around the fortunes of a major retail business, will all be put to good use at Morrisons.”

The announcement follows the recent appointments of Irwin Lee, Belinda Richards, Paula Vennells and Neil Davidson.

Analyst Clive Black at Shore Capital said: “Andrew Higginson has completed the time-consuming rebuild of the non-executive team.

“Mr Anand brings considerable experience of British consumer markets, including the fast moving consumer goods segments in which Morrisons is one of the UK’s leading participants through its own manufacturing activities. Mr Anand joins an impressive list of colleagues guiding Morrisons’ executives and looking after shareholders’ interests.”