Ocado Group appoints tech knowledgeable Adam Warby as subsequent chairman

Ocado Group has named Adam Warby to replace Rick Haythornthwaite as chair from the start of December.

Warby will join the online grocer’s board as a non-executive director on Friday before taking up the chairmanship role the following month.

He is already the chairman of leadership advisory group Heidrick & Struggles, chief executive emeritus of IT consulting business Avanade, and a senior advisor at private equity giant KKR.

Warby started his career in sales at IBM, then moved to consulting and management positions at Microsoft, and became chair at Swiss-based SoftwareOne.

His arrival at Ocado follows a challenging period for the FTSE 250 company, which is struggling to boost sales and turn profitable amidst a post-pandemic shift back to shopping in supermarkets.

In its half-year results covering the six months ending 2 June, the firm recorded a £153.9million pre-tax loss, partly due to costs associated with rolling out technology at warehouses.

However, Ocado raised its full-year earnings before nasties and cash flow outlook, with the latter expected to improve by £150million on an underlying basis instead of £100million.

Since then, it has hiked its annual revenue forecast following a strong third-quarter performance, when retail sales rose by over 15 per cent year-on-year to £658million.

The Hatfield-based group believes sales at its e-commerce grocery division, a joint venture with Marks & Spencer, will grow by a low double-digit percentage.

Ocado has also agreed deals to provide robotic equipment to warehouses run by American retailer Kroger and build a third customer fulfilment centre for Japanese hypermarket operator AEON.

Tim Steiner, chief executive of Ocado, said: ‘Our world-leading technology is now live with 11 of our 13 partners globally, and we continue to expand the scope and reach of our technology into new markets and sectors.

‘As we work with our partners to scale their online capabilities and hone their operations, Adam’s expertise as a leader in global technology and consulting will be a valuable asset to the board and leadership team.’

Rick Haythornthwaite, 67, announced his departure from Ocado in April to devote his time to chairing NatWest Group.

He joined Ocado in January 2021 when the firm was enjoying runaway sales growth whilst shops in Britain were either forced to temporarily close or subject to severe operating restrictions.

Since then, Ocado shares have plummeted by more than 90 per cent due to slowing expansion and cost-of-living pressures driving consumers to discount supermarkets.

They were 0.3 per cent down at 349.1p on Thursday afternoon, meaning their value has shrunk by over half this year alone.

Haythornthwaite said: ‘It has been a huge pleasure to be the chair of Ocado over the last four years and to have had the opportunity to help a visionary technology business that continues to drive change in the online grocery industry and beyond.

‘I look forward to seeing this market-leading business continue to thrive under Adam’s stewardship in the years to come.’