Post Office chief joins Morrisons board

Ms Vennells, who was handed the top Post Office job in 2012 and led the business through parent company Royal Mail’s 2013 privatisation, will join the Morrisons board from January 1 2016.

She replaces Johanna Waterous, who is stepping down as non-executive director at the beleaguered supermarket after six years.

It is the latest board change following the appointment of chief executive David Potts in March. Former Tesco director Mr Potts axed five directors from Morrisons’ 11-strong management team just a week after joining.

Further departures have followed, as Mr Potts works to put customers at the heart of Morrisons’ business and turn around declining sales.

The supermarket’s latest results showed a 2.6 per cent fall in like-for-like sales in the three months to November 1.

Despite this, Mr Potts said customer satisfaction was up, with 60 per cent of customers ‘very satisfied’ compared to 51 per cent this time last year.

The grocer’s latest board addition previously worked as group commercial director at Costa Coffee owner Whitbread, having started her career at Unilever and L’Oreal. She has also held directorships in sales and marketing with major retailers including Dixons and Argos.

As Ms Waterous exits the business, Irwin Lee has been named chair of the remuneration committee.

Chairman Andrew Higginson said: “I am delighted to welcome Paula to the board. Her experience of restructuring and building a retail operation at the Post Office, her background in FMCG (fast-moving consumer goods) and her experience as a serving CEO, will all be invaluable to the board going forward.

“I would like to thank Johanna for her help and support during my first year as chairman and for her work on the board over the last six years. We wish her well for the future.”

Paula Vennells added: “I am delighted to have the opportunity to join Morrisons and to work with the board to help to contribute to the company’s turnaround.”