Greene King chief joins Morrisons board

Wm Morrison Supermarkets has announced Rooney Anand will join its board as a non-executive director and as senior independent director on 1 January 2016.

The FTSE 100 company said Anand, who is currently chief executive of Greene King, is a “highly experienced retail and fmcg (fast-moving consumer goods) executive”.

He has worked with United Biscuits and Sara Lee before joining the pub business in 2001, before being appointed CEO in 2005.

He is credited with turning it around from a regional brewery and pub business to a brand-led pub, restaurant and hotel operator.

He has also headed up its £770m takeover of the Spirit Pub Group, which will make Greene King the largest managed pub group in the UK.

Morrisons chairman Andrew Higginson said Anand is a widely admired and successful chief executive.

“Rooney had the vision at the start of the credit crunch to reinvent Greene King as a branded food based pub retailer,” he said.

“His experience in retail, in fmcg and in turning around the fortunes of a major retail business, will all be put to good use at Morrisons.”

It’s the last in a series of new appointments for the supermarket, following Irwin Lee, Belinda Richards, Paula Vennells and Neil Davidson joining the board.