Royal Mail boss Greene to leave after ‘defining’ eight years

ROYAL Mail boss Moya Greene is to stand down later this year after eight years in charge of the company that saw her steer it through a controversial privatisation and settle a long-running pensions dispute with workers.

The Canadian executive, who was previously boss of Canada Post, will hand over to Rico Back, currently head of Royal Mail’s European business, General Logistics Systems, on June 1.

Ms Greene, 63, will step down from Royal Mail’s board in July and remain with the company until Sept 14. She will leave with a year’s salary and bonus, worth around £1m.

Mr Back will be supported by Sue Whalley, another senior Royal Mail executive who will be promoted to chief executive of the company’s UK post and parcels business. Ms Greene, one of just six female bosses in the FTSE 100, will continue to hold a number of significant appointments in the City, as she is already a non-executive director of easyjet and is set to join the board of the blue chip mining group Rio Tinto later this year.

She is also a trustee of the Tate galleries, but said she had no plans to take on any additional roles in the immediate future. Ms Greene said it had been her “pleasure and a great privilege to serve as CEO of this cherished UK institution”, adding she was looking forward to “going on walks with my husband and reading things, which aren’t related to business”.

Peter Long, the chairman, hailed Ms Greene’s “tremendous contribution during a defining time for us”.

He added: “When Moya joined in the summer of 2010, the company was balance sheet insolvent. Since then, Royal Mail has been transformed. We are one of the most favourably viewed brands in the UK.”