The CFO of online supermarket Ocado is to step down after eight years in the role.
Duncan Tatton-Brown will leave his executive position in November due to family circumstances but will continue as a non-executive director of subsidiaries Ocado Retail – the firm’s joint venture with M&S – Jones Food Company and Karakuri.
He will be succeeded at the Hatfield-headquartered firm by Stephen Daintith, who is currently CFO of Rolls-Royce Holdings. A start date is yet to be confirmed.
Tatton-Brown said: “I have enjoyed my time at Ocado tremendously. This is an amazing business with huge growth opportunities ahead of it.
“Family circumstances, however, mean that this is the right time for me to step down from my role as Chief Financial Officer.
“Ocado now has the financial capital required to take advantage of the global acceleration of online channel shift.
“I will remain on a number of boards connected to Ocado and so I am fortunate that I will continue to have a front row seat in the extraordinary journey Ocado is on.”
“Duncan joined us in 2012 when Ocado was a very different business to what it is today,” said CEO Tim Steiner. “He has made a critical contribution to our growth as a company and the successful execution of our strategy.
“As importantly, he has been a highly valued colleague to us all and we will miss him.”
Derby-headquartered Rolls-Royce announced today that it suffered a £5.4 billion pre-tax loss in the first half of 2020, which it blamed on COVID-19’s impact on the civil aviation sector.
Daintith has also held senior roles at Daily Mail and General Trust, Dow Jones & Co. and News International.
“Following a thorough search and selection process, I am delighted to be welcoming Stephen to Ocado Group,” added Steiner.
“Stephen has a wealth of valuable experience and I am looking forward to working closely with him to drive Ocado forward and take full advantage of the opportunities that we see ahead.”
Daintith said: “I am delighted to be joining Ocado Group at such an exciting time.
“Ocado has become established as the partner of choice for the world’s leading grocery retailers, offering a scalable and sustainably profitable solution that provides their customers with the best online delivery experience.
“I look forward to playing my part in ensuring the continued success of the Group in the years ahead.”