NatWest chair Rick Haythornthwaite to stand down from Ocado role

Leaving: Rick Haythornthwaite (pictured) told Ocado that he will not pursue re-election to its board at the next annual general meeting in April 2025

Rick Haythornthwaite will step aside from his chairmanship of Ocado due to time commitments at NatWest Group, where he currently holds the same role. 

Haythornthwaite replaced former Marks & Spencer chief executive Stuart Rose when he joined Ocado in January 2021, just after completing a 14-year stint as Mastercard’s global chairman. 

The 67-year-old has told the online grocery retailer that he will not pursue re-election to its board at the next annual general meeting in April 2025.

He was chosen last September as chairman-designate of NatWest after Sir Howard Davies said he would leave the banking giant in accordance with corporate governance rules advising that people serve at most nine years as board chair.

‘I have given extensive thought to my workload, listened to all parties and reflected on how I ensure that I deliver effectively on all fronts,’ Haythornthwaite said.

‘With the benefit of time and greater visibility of the expected growth in requirements of the publicly-listed portfolio, it has become evident that pressure on my time is likely to increase over the medium term.’ 

Having started his career at BP, where he became head of its Venezuela operations, Haythornthwaite has held a wide array of senior positions at major businesses.

He was chief executive of cement manufacturer Blue Circle until its acquisition by French rival Lafarge, as well as engineering and information technology provider Invensys.

Haythornthwaite has also been on the board of Imperial Chemical Industries, ceramics maker Cookson Group, and British Gas owner Centrica.

Alongside his post at Ocado, Haythornthwaite is a non-executive director of the AA Group, chairman of fintech business Embedded Finance and a senior adviser at investment bank Moelis & Company.

His appointment at NatWest came amidst the ‘debanking scandal,’ which erupted after subsidiary Coutts shut down the bank accounts of ex-United Kingdom Independence Party leader Nigel Farage.

The saga resulted in Dame Alison Rose’s resignation as CEO when she was found to have disclosed information about Farage’s financial affairs with a reporter. 

She later forfeited £7.6million in bonuses, although she will still receive a payout of £2.4million as part of her contract.

A review by law firm Travers Smith determined NatWest had not broken the law in closing Farage’s accounts, but criticised the bank for ‘serious failings’ in its treatment of the GB News presenter.

The controversy overshadowed a bumper year for the Edinburgh-based company, whose pre-tax profits soared to £6.2billion in 2023, its best result since the global financial crisis, thanks to higher interest rates and lending volumes.

NatWest Group shares were 2.7 per cent up at 280.1p on late Thursday afternoon, while Ocado Group shares were 3 per cent lower at 426.2p.

This post first appeared on Dailymail.co.uk