Southend Airport owner Stobart Group makes trio of appointments following bitter boardroom dispute
Stobart Group, the troubled owner of Southend Airport, today appointed a woman to its board as it looks to rebuild after a fierce boardroom row at the company.
The firm said it would appoint the co-founder of PR agency Citigate Dewe Rogerson, Ginny Pulbrook, as a non-executive director from 1 October 2018.
Its shares grew five per cent in the morning after the announcement.
The company has faced criticism for being one of only a few firms in the FTSE 350 with no women at board-level.
It follows a turbulent few months for the company, after former boss Andrew Tinkler attempted to topple chairman Iain Ferguson at the company's annual meeting in July.
This prompted a string of lawsuits filed by each side, as Stobart accused its former chief executive of only acting in his own self-interest and of attempting to "line his own pockets".
Stobart also announced the promotion of its group commercial director, Nick Dilworth, to chief operating officer and his appointment to the board from 1 September.
Finally, Michael Williamson was put in place as an interim chief financial officer, bringing 25 years of experience in privately owned and listed companies to the board.
The company said the appointments would provide "a stable framework of strong corporate governance focused on protecting the interests of all shareholders".
Stobart's chairman, Iain Ferguson, said:
Nick and Ginny will make major contributions to delivering our strategy. Nick has already supported the commercial progress of the company through his work with the leadership teams of our operating divisions. Ginny will add further commercial insight as well as bringing significant experience of providing strategic advice to the boards of some of the UK's largest companies. Michael, who has considerable PLC experience, will oversee the group's finance function.