Next chapter in leadership for the high street retailer as John Barton steps down as chairman
Retailer Next today announced chairman John Barton will step down after 15 years with the company.
Barton has been on the board of the firm since 2002 and was appointed chairman in 2006. He will be succeeded by the Michael Roney when he retires on 1 August 2017.
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Next said in a short market statement that Barton had made an "outstanding contribution" to the fortunes of the firm. "His leadership, experience and wise counsel have been tremendously valuable over that time," the firm added.
The 72-year-old previously was chairman of Cable and Wireless and a number of insurance firms including Brit and JLT.
Executive pay
Roney was chief executive of FTSE 100 giant Bunzl between 2005 and 2016.
Last year, shareholders of the firm registered their anger at the pay package the outgoing boss received, with over a quarter of investors voting against his salary.
Read more: Shares in Bunzl bumble on flat revenues
The current chairman of Grafton Group, Roney is also a non-executive director of Brown-Forman Corporation and formerly a non-executive director of Johnson Matthey.