The number of female chief executives in the FTSE 100 is set to fall when Alison Brittain leaves Whitbread.
The 57-year-old, who has decided to retire from full-time executive life, will depart from the Premier Inn owner at the end of February.
That will reduce the number of female chief executives in the Footsie to nine.
Checking out: Whitbread boss Alison Brittain, who has decided to retire from full-time executive life, will leave the Premier Inn owner at the end of February
She will be replaced by Domino’s Pizza boss Dominic Paul.
Brittain took over as chief executive in December 2015 and oversaw major moves including the £4billion sale of coffee chain Costa to Coca-Cola in 2018.
She also opened Whitbread’s first Premier Inn in Germany, where it now has 40 hotels and £35million annual sales.
Her departure was announced just weeks after she received a drubbing from shareholders over pay.
More than 38 per cent of voters at Whitbread’s annual general meeting rebelled against her £2.16million payout, which included a bonus of more than £1million – despite Whitbread reporting a £15.8million loss and taking £118million in taxpayer support.
The rebellion followed a similar uproar a year earlier when Brittain deferred a £729,000 bonus earned during the pandemic, a payment which she later scrapped.
She has been paid a total of £17.2million in her six years at the helm of the company.
Brittain’s next move will be closely watched. In an interview this month with The Sunday Times, she said: ‘I’m a bit too energetic to sit in the garden, and I don’t think anybody in my house would welcome me being home full-time.’
Yesterday, she said she would be ‘fully committed’ for the coming months before handing over to Paul, who joins after two years in charge of Domino’s pizza chain.
Whitbread shares fell 3.9 per cent, or 102p, to 2542p.
#fiveDealsWidget .dealItemTitle#mobile {display:none} #fiveDealsWidget {display:block; float:left; clear:both; max-width:636px; margin:0; padding:0; line-height:120%; font-size:12px} #fiveDealsWidget div, #fiveDealsWidget a {margin:0; padding:0; line-height:120%; text-decoration: none; font-family:Arial, Helvetica ,sans-serif} #fiveDealsWidget .widgetTitleBox {display:block; float:left; width:100%; background-color:#af1e1e; } #fiveDealsWidget .widgetTitle {color:#fff; text-transform: uppercase; font-size:18px; font-weight:bold; margin:6px 10px 4px 10px; } #fiveDealsWidget a.dealItem {float:left; display:block; width:124px; margin-right:4px; margin-top:5px; background-color: #e3e3e3; min-height:200px;} #fiveDealsWidget a.dealItem#last {margin-right:0} #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemTitle {display:block; margin:10px 5px; color:#000; font-weight:bold} #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemImage, #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemImage img {float:left; display:block; margin:0; padding:0} #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemImage {border:1px solid #ccc} #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemImage img {width:100%; height:auto} #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemdesc {float:left; display:block; color:#004db3; font-weight:bold; margin:5px;} #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemRate {float:left; display:block; color:#000; margin:5px} #fiveDealsWidget .dealFooter {display:block; float:left; width:100%; margin-top:5px; background-color:#e3e3e3 } #fiveDealsWidget .footerText {font-size:10px; margin:10px 10px 10px 10px;} @media (max-width: 635px) { #fiveDealsWidget a.dealItem {width:19%; margin-right:1%} #fiveDealsWidget a.dealItem#last {width:20%} } @media (max-width: 560px) { #fiveDealsWidget #desktop {display:none;} #fiveDealsWidget #mobile {display:block!important} #fiveDealsWidget a.dealItem {background-color: #fff; height:auto; min-height:auto} #fiveDealsWidget a.dealItem {border-bottom:1px solid #ececec; margin-bottom:5px; padding-bottom:10px} #fiveDealsWidget a.dealItem#last {border-bottom:0px solid #ececec; margin-bottom:5px; padding-bottom:0px} #fiveDealsWidget a.dealItem, #fiveDealsWidget a.dealItem#last {width:100%} #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemContent, #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemImage {float:left; display:inline-block} #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemImage {width:35%; margin-right:1%} #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemContent {width:63%} #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemTitle {margin: 0px 5px 5px; font-size:16px} #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemContent .dealItemdesc, #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemContent .dealItemRate {clear:both} }
