Former BT boss joins Ocado amid pressure for US listing
OCADO has hired Gavin Patterson, the former boss of BT, as a non-executive director as the company comes under pressure to move its stock market listing from London to New York.
It said that Mr Patterson would join the board next month, citing his “considerable expertise leading large multinational organisations”.
Mr Patterson was recently president and chief revenue officer of US software giant Salesforce and stepped down from that role at the start of last year. He was BT’S chief for five years, but was ousted from the post after a tumultuous period during which it bought EE, the mobile operator, fought Sky for football rights and suffered an accounting scandal.
He is also chairman of Kraken Technologies, the software platform owned by Octopus Energy that is licensed to rival suppliers such as E.ON.
Tim Steiner, Ocado’s chief executive, said Mr Patterson would be a “great addition” to the board because it had shifted its focus from being an online grocer to selling its automated warehouse technology to others.
He said: “Gavin’s considerable experience at the helm of multinational business-to-business technology companies will be a valuable asset to our board and leadership team.”
It comes amid questions over the future of the company on the London Stock Exchange. The Telegraph revealed last month that Ocado had discussed with investors the idea of moving its listing to the US. It follows the recent collapse of the company’s share price.
It is trading around 90pc lower than its pandemic peak.
An exit would be a blow to the London market, from which several companies have de-listed in recent months.
Ocado bosses have, however, been frustrated by the failure of some London investors in to recognise that it has become a technology company. It owns the Ocado grocery business as a joint venture with Marks & Spencer. Under the terms of their agreement, from next year results for the grocery business will be reported by M&S, not Ocado.
Tensions have emerged over the venture after M&S said in November its performance had been disappointing.