Cheshire joins Whitbread to replace Tesco bound Clarke
WHITBREAD has appointed Ian Cheshire, pictured left, as a non-executive director to replace Philip Clarke.
The pub group said yesterday Clarke, pictured right, will be stepping down from the board when he takes up the chief executive role at Tesco in March, replacing Sir Terry Leahy at the supermarket giant. Cheshire, who will start his new role on 1 February, has been chief executive of Kingfisher since 2008, steering the B&Q owner through tough times on the high street. He has also previously worked at Sears and Guinness and he was a non-executive director of Bradford & Bingley from 2003 to 2008. Anthony Habgood, Whitbread’s chairman, said of Cheshire: “We are delighted to welcome Ian to our board.
“As a serving chief executive of a large successful international consumer facing business, Ian will be able to give us valuable advice and support as we continue to grow both in the UK and internationally.”