Dixons chairman to help Royal Mail attract private capital

Post by **TrueBlueTerrier** » 16 Jan 2013, 13:43

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Royal Mail Group has appointed the current Dixons Retail plc chairman, John Allan CBE as a non-executive director and board member.

The UK national postal operator said today that the appointment will boost its strategic and financial knowledge base as it seeks investment from the private sector.

Allan has been chairman of Europe’s largest electrical retailer since September 2009, and is also currently chairman of healthcare provider Care UK and payment processing firm WorldPay.

He was CEO of supply chain logistics firm Exel plc from 1994 to 2005, prior to the firm’s acquisition by Deutsche Post DHL, after which he became a member of the Deutsche Post board responsible for corporate division logistics, and subsequently chief financial officer until 2009.

A graduate of the University of Edinburgh, Allan is also a former Samsonite Corporation chairman and has served on the boards of companies including PHS Group plc, Hamleys plc and 3i plc, as well as the supervisory boards of both Lufthansa and Deutsche Postbank.

“Valuable”

Royal Mail chairman Donald Brydon said Allan brought a “wealth of strategic, financial and marketing experience” as well as knowledge of the postal sector to his new role.

“John’s experience will be particularly valuable as we progress the ongoing transformation of Royal Mail and work closely with the Government to obtain external capital,” said Brydon.

Allan joins Royal Mail with the company in the early stages of seeking private sector investment to continue the transformation process that has seen it turning years of losses into revenue and profit growth.

Allan said of his new role: “Royal Mail plays a vital role connecting companies, customers and communities across the UK. The company has made great progress in recent years and I am pleased to be to be joining Royal Mail at such an important time in its development.”