(Reuters) – British online supermarket and technology group Ocado <OCDO.L> said on Thursday Duncan Tatton-Brown would step down as chief financial officer after eight years in the role and be replaced by Rolls-Royce <RR.L> finance chief Stephen Daintith.
The company said Tatton-Brown, who is stepping down due to family circumstances, would continue as CFO until Nov. 22 after which he would be a non-executive director of three Ocado units.
“Ocado now has the financial capital required to take advantage of the global acceleration of online channel shift,” said Tatton-Brown, whose tenure with Ocado has seen the company’s share price shoot up more than 4000%.
Daintith’s appointment comes at a time when Ocado has predicted it and other online players will double their share of the UK grocery market within a few years, building on huge gains during coronavirus lockdowns.
Before joining Rolls-Royce in 2017, Daintith served as the CFO of Daily Mail and General Trust <DMGOa.L> and News International. He also held senior positions at Dow Jones, British American Tobacco <BATS.L>, Forte and the Civil Aviation Authority.
He will remain in his current role at Rolls-Royce to support an orderly transition as he helps oversee 1 billion pounds ($1.32 billion) of cost cuts this year, the aerospace engineer said.
Ocado said his start-date will be confirmed when known.
(Reporting by Tanishaa Nadkar in Bengaluru; editing by Uttaresh.V)
