Murphy will join the board on Jan. 1, 2017.
Murphy is chairman of The Blackstone Group’s principal European entity. His early career was in the food and drinks sector, primarily with Grand Metropolitan plc (now Diageo plc) and Greencore Group plc, where he was chief executive officer (CEO), before becoming CEO of Exel plc, Carlton Communications plc and most recently Kingfisher plc (2003 to 2008). He is a non-executive director of British American Tobacco plc and Intertrust NV and has held non-executive directorships in a number of London-listed companies, including Merlin Entertainments plc from 2013 to 2015.
“I am delighted to welcome Gerry to the board of Tate & Lyle and very much look forward to working closely with him during the first quarter of calendar 2017 as we transition the chairmanship,” Gershon said. “Gerry’s extensive experience in the food industry and as chief executive, investor and independent director in leading international companies equips him well to guide Tate & Lyle in the years ahead.”
Upon Murphy’s appointment as a non-executive director, he will join the Corporate Responsibility and Nominations Committees and will assume chairmanship of the Nominations Committee with effect from April, 1 2017.
“I am honored to succeed Sir Peter as chairman of Tate & Lyle and I am very excited about working with Javed Ahmed, the board and the leadership team to help deliver the Company’s growth agenda,” Murphy said. “Having started my career in the food industry, joining Tate & Lyle feels like coming home.”
It is further announced that, having led the chairman succession process, Liz Airey has informed the board that she intends to step down as senior independent director on Dec. 31 and will retire from the board at the Annual General Meeting in July 2017. Douglas Hurt will assume the role of senior independent director, in addition to his role as chairman of the Audit Committee, with effect from Jan. 1, 2017.
“I would like to thank Liz for her 10 years of outstanding service and significant contribution to the board and, in particular, for her time served as chairman of the Audit Committee and as senior independent director,” Gershon said.
Tate & Lyle is a global provider of ingredients and solutions to the food, beverage and other industries, with operations in over 30 locations worldwide. Tate & Lyle operates through two global divisions, Specialty Food Ingredients and Bulk Ingredients, supported by its Innovation and Commercial Development and Global Operations groups. Tate & Lyle Bulk Ingredients includes bulk sweeteners, industrial starches and fermentation products. Corn co-products from both divisions are primarily sold as animal feed.
