Morrisons boss David Potts wielded the axe on his executive board yesterday as a 12-strong team was whittled down to six. Retail Week looks at the grocer’s new “leaner” senior management line-up.
David Potts, chief executive
Potts took over as Morrisons boss on March 16 after being unveiled as Dalton Philips’ successor the previous month.
Having joined Tesco at the age of 16, Potts spent 39 with the grocer, eventually becoming chief executive of its Ireland business, its UK retail stores business and then Tesco Asia. He departed the supermarket giant in December 2011.
Prior to his appointment at Morrisons, Potts held several advisory positions with a number of private equity and consultancy firms.
Trevor Strain, chief financial officer
Having joined Morrisons in June 2009 as commercial and operations finance director, Strain became finance director corporate two years later.
In April 2013, Strain joined the board as chief financial officer.
Like Potts, Strain also worked for Tesco prior to joining Morrisons, serving in a number of roles including UK property finance director and UK planning and reporting finance director.
Martyn Jones, group corporate services director
The longest-serving member of the board, Jones joined Morrisons in 1990 as trading manager having gained eight years’ experience at rival Sainsbury’s. Jones became trading operations director for the Leeds-based grocer three years later.
He was handed the role of grocery director in 1997 and then senior trading director in 2002.
Jones spent three years on the board as group trading director before changing to his current role in October 2010.
Casper Meijer, group trading and manufacturing director
Meijer’s career started at FMCG group Unilever, where he served in various marketing and business management roles between 1988 and 1999.
He moved on to Dutch supermarket chain Albert Heijn, eventually taking up a number of roles including vice president of sourcing and executive vice president of merchandising at its parent company Ahold.
Meijer joined Morrisons in March 2013.
Mark Amsden, group general council and company secretary
Qualified lawyer Amsden joined Morrisons and its management board on February 1 2013.
Prior to his arrival, Amsden spent 25 years with a number of law firms, including 15 years as a partner in Addleshaw Goddard LLP between 1998 and 2013.
During that period, Amsden’s clients included many of the UK’s leading companies, including retailers, manufacturers and suppliers.
Emily Lawson, group human resources director
Morrisons named Lawson as its group HR director in April 2013. She officially took up the role in September and was appointed to the grocer’s management board.
Lawson joined Morrisons from McKinsey & Company, where she was a partner leading the human capital practice.
She also served as the director of one of McKinsey’s leadership development programmes and a leader of McKinsey’s work on diversity, including the influential Women Matter report.
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