Press release Wednesday afternoon:
The Board of Wm Morrison Supermarkets PLC announces today the appointment of Dalton Philips as Chief Executive. Dalton, aged 41, will take up his new position in March 2010.
That’s right Dalton Philips. Never heard of him? Neither have we. A Google search doesn’t deliver much either.
On closer inspection he seems to have close links with the Weston family, best known in the UK as the owners of Selfridges and majority shareholders in AB Foods.
Since January 2007 Dalton Philips has been Chief Operating Officer of Loblaw Companies Limited, Canada’s largest food distributor and a leading provider of general merchandise, pharmacy and financial products and services. The company has over 1,000 stores nationwide and a turnover of £18 billion.
Prior to that he was Chief Executive of Irish department store group, Brown Thomas. Between 1998 and 2005 he worked for Wal-Mart’s international division holding a range of commercial positions, rising to Chief Operating Officer in Germany.
Dalton started his career as a Store Manager in New Zealand with Jardine Matheson and was later regional director of the company’s Spanish supermarket division.
Note the Westons also control Loblaw and Brown Thomas.
However, we should not be too cruel. After all, who’d heard of Marc Bolland when he joined Morrison and helped turn the company around before departing for the top job at Marks & Spencer.
Morrison will be hoping Dalton is half as good.
Finally a picture of the man soon to be in charge of the UK’s fourth biggest food retailer.
Related link:
Bolland becomes ‘$1bn man’ after M&S poaches chief from Morrison – FT
Then and now at William Morrison – FT Alphaville