Whiteside on board at Greggs
Feb 28 2008 by Karen Dent, The Journal
THE former head of Marks & Spencer’s food section has been appointed to the board of bakery giant Greggs.
Roger Whiteside, 49, is joining the Newcastle-based firm – Britain’s biggest high street baker – as a non-executive director from March 17.
Mr Whiteside served as chief executive of the Thresher Group off-licence chain from 2004-2007 and was one of the founders and joint managing director of online grocer Ocado from 2000-2004.
He began his career with Marks & Spencer, where he worked for 20 years, rising to head of its food business.
He will become a member of the audit, nominations and remuneration committees at the company, which has more than 1,350 outlets operating under the Greggs and Bakers Oven brands.
Mr Whiteside will replace Sir Ian Gibson as a non-executive director on the board. Sir Ian is stepping down from the position at the end of February due to his increasing commitments elsewhere, including his roles as chairman of The Journal’s parent company Trinity Mirror and supermarket giant Morrisons.
The former Nissan boss has also recently left the board of Northern Rock, where he was a senior non-executive director.
Greggs chairman Derek Netherton said: “We decided to look for a replacement, particularly someone with wider food retailing experience. Roger fits that bill extremely well.”
