Following the previous announcement in June, that Debbie Hewitt MBE has decided to stand down from the role of Chairman of The Restaurant Group plc (TRG) at the end of the year to pursue her new role as Chairman of The English Football Association, TRG is pleased to announce the appointment of Ken Hanna as its new Chairman.
Hanna will join the TRG Board as a Non-Executive Director on 1st December 2021 and will take on the role of Chairman with effect from 1 January 2022.
Hanna is a hugely experienced Chair and brings a wealth of relevant business experience from both his Executive and Non-Executive careers.
His Executive career has included the roles of CFO of Avis Europe plc, CFO of United Distillers plc, CFO of Sygen International plc, CFO and CEO of Dalgety plc and CFO of Cadbury plc.
Since embarking on a Non-Executive career, Hanna's roles have included Non-Executive Director of Tesco plc, and Chairman of Inchcape plc, Shooting Star Chase, Aggreko plc and RMD Kwikform. Ken is currently Chairman of Arena Events Group plc.
Graham Clemett, Senior Independent Director, who led the search, said, 'On behalf of the TRG Board I would like to thank Debbie for the outstanding contribution she has made as Chairman, successfully navigating the Company through the various challenges of the last five years and also the invaluable personal support she has provided to all of us on the Board.
'We are delighted to announce the appointment of Ken Hanna as Chairman to replace Debbie. Ken is a well-respected Chairman with the right breadth of commercial and leadership experience to lead the TRG Board, and we are all looking forward to working with him.'
Hanna said, 'I am delighted to be joining the TRG Board. The short term challenges facing the Hospitality sector, including labour availability and supply chain issues, are well known, but TRG has a strong and experienced management team and an excellent range of brands, which have emerged stronger from the pandemic.
'I am very much looking forward to working with Andy Hornby and the wider management team to continue to position TRG for the long term.'