Ovo appoints former Sainsbury’s CEO Justin King as chair

Energy supplier Ovo said on Thursday that it has appointed Justin King - the former chief executive of Sainsbury’s - as its chairman.

King will take up the new role next month as Stephen Murphy steps down after nine years with the company.

Ovo said that King, "one of the retail sector’s most respected and established customer champions", brings more than three decades of expertise with time spent at M&S, Asda, Haagen-Dazs, PepsiCo and Mars.

He is credited with the delivery of record growth over the course of his 10 years as CEO of Sainsbury’s, "and is a longstanding advocate of responsible business practice, aligned with Ovo's own mission to power the UK’s progress to net zero with clean, affordable energy for millions of households," it said.

Outgoing chair Stephen Murphy said: "I am delighted to welcome Justin as chair of Ovo as the business grows into its role as the leader of the UK’s home decarbonisation challenge.

"His focus on the customer and his inherent understanding of UK retail are the perfect fit for this era of the company’s development. I wish him the very best of luck and step down with incredibly fond memories of my time in the role."