The chairman of Ocado has announced his intention to step down next year due to his “increasing commitment” to banking group NatWest.
Rick Haythornthwaite joined Ocado in January 2021 and was elected chair at the AGM that May.
Haythornthwaite announced that he will not stand for re-election at the annual general meeting in 2025, offering the company a year to find a replacement.
The 67-year-old joined the board of NatWest in January of this year, and will be taking on a new role as chair of the baking group later this month.
He is moving into the role as NatWest seeks to contain the fallout from a row with former Brexit party leader Nigel Farage last year.
Speaking about his intention to step down from the his role at Ocado, Haythornthwaite cited time commitments as a key factor.
He said, “Since the announcement of my appointment as group chair of NatWest I have given extensive thought to my workload… it has become evident that pressure on my time is likely to increase over the medium term.”
Haythornthwaite had previously taken on the role in Ocado in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic to help steer the company into new territory.
Chief executive of Ocado Tim Steiner said at the time, “He will play a key role in helping us to navigate a post-Covid future in which the landscape of the grocery market worldwide is changing for good.”
The news comes just over a month after Ocado’s chief financial officer said the loss-making supermarket group expects to make a pre-tax profit in the next six years.
Read More: Ocado Sees Growth Despite CFO Announcing 6 Years Until Pre-tax Profit Expected
