C&C names David Forde as next CEO

Drinks maker C&C Group named Heineken UK managing director David Forde as its new chief executive officer on Thursday.

Stewart Gilliland will continue in his role as current role as interim executive chairman until Forde, who has worked with Heineken for 32 years, takes up his new post in "early 2021" - at which time Gilliland will revert to the role of non-executive chairman.

Elsewhere, chief financial officer Jonathan Solesbury announced his intention to retire from the board following C&C's annual general meeting on 23 July.

Solesbury will remain with the FTSE 250-listed firm until 1 September in order to facilitate an orderly handover to successor Patrick McMahon.

Gilliland said: "As we navigate the current challenges and uncertainty of Covid-19, these appointments represent an exciting new era for C&C which we believe will deliver long term value for all our stakeholders."

As of 0900 BST, C&C shares were up 3.71% at 237.50p.