Royal Mail axes parcels chief in latest shake-up
ROYAL Mail has reshuffled its board and ousted the UK boss of post and parcels after a summer of turmoil.
Sue Whalley, who has worked at the company for 12 years, will step down from the board immediately and is to leave by the end of March.
Board member Keith Williams, the former executive chairman of British Airways, is to become deputy chairman alongside chairman Les Owen.
The moves follow months of controversy after fierce criticism of new boss Rico Back’s pay, and a profit warning last month.
The shake-up appeared to be an attempt to stablise ahead of its half-year results next week.
Whalley, who has been at Royal Mail throughout its privatisation in 2013, said that it was ‘time to move on’. The company did not give a specific reason for her departure.
Back will take on her responsibilities for post and parcels, with finance chief Stuart Simpson handling day-to-day operations.
Williams, who left BA in 2016, is seen as a safe pair of hands who can improve relations with unions as the company tries to make millions of pounds in savings and become more efficient – a goal that has put it in conflict with workers angry at pay and conditions. The 62-year-old, who is also chairman of Halfords, deputy chairman of John Lewis and a non-executive director at Aviva, is set to reduce his commitments elsewhere to focus on working at Royal Mail.
Owen said Williams was a seasoned business leader, with a range of experience in regulated, customer-focused industries.
Back added: ‘Since Keith Williams joined us in January 2018, his broad experience has been very helpful indeed.
‘I am delighted that we will be working even more closely with him in the future.
‘Sue Whalley has worked tirelessly and I have worked closely with her for a number of years.
‘My colleagues and I very much appreciate the work that she has done for Royal Mail and the positive change she has brought to many areas in the business.’
Back’s appointment sparked a furore earlier this year when it emerged that the 64-year-old, who took over from Moya Greene, had been handed £6m to change his former contract – and stood to earn annual pay worth up to £2.7m.
The lucrative deal was branded excessive by critics and opposed by 70pc of shareholders at the annual general meeting.
It prompted the resignation of former chairman Peter Long in September, with Owen taking over in the aftermath of the revolt. Orna Ni- Chionna, the head of the pay committee, later admitted to MPs that the company was ‘embarrassed’ over how badly it misjudged opposition to Back’s pay.
Then in October, the group issued a profit warning, causing shares to plummet.