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FD news: Villa CFO puts in transfer request

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24th Feb 2016
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Welcome to FD news, our round-up of business arrivals, departures and other executive morsels.

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Villa CFO puts in transfer request

22 February – The chief financial officer of Premier League strugglers Aston Villa is stepping down from the club's board after nine years.

Robin Russell was appointed by club owner Randy Lerner shortly after the American’s takeover of the midlands club in September 2006

The club has not officially announced the change, but documents filed with Companies House on February 11 detail his resignation as a director and company secretary.

Along with his CFO duties at the club, Russell also served as interim chief executive in the summer of 2014 before the arrival of current occupant Tom Fox.

Before joining the Villans, Russell worked for Barclaycard and MBNA Europe Bank, where he was CFO for 11 years.

Russell’s resignation comes with Villa almost certain to lose their Premier League status, with the midlands club currently bottom of the table, eight points from safety with 12 games remaining.

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Bennett perfect fit for Moss Bros

19 February – Menswear retailer Moss Bros has appointed Tony Bennett as its new group finance director.

Bennett will join the company in August, following the retirement of current incumbent Robin Piggott.

A retail specialist, Bennett moves from upscale men’s retailer Charles Tyrwhitt, where he worked as finance director since 2009. Previously he also held roles as head of commercial finance at Selfridges Retail and chief financial officer at the Confetti Network.

Moss Bros chief executive Brian Brick said:  “Tony has considerable experience across a variety of different consumer businesses, with different channel strategies and will no doubt bring valuable insights to the business.”

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Merlin summons new FD

16 February – Merlin Entertainments, the company behind attractions such as Alton Towers and Legoland, has announced the appointment of Anne-Françoise Nesmes as their new finance director. Nesmes will take the place of Andrew Carr, who retires in August.

Nesmes joins from pharmaceutical giant Dechra, and has previously held senior finance roles at GlaxoSmithKline, Caterpillar, ADP, Tetra Pak and John Crane.

In a statement John Sunderland, chairman of Merlin, said: “We look forward to welcoming Anne-Françoise to the board later in the year. Her extensive finance and international experience will enable her to make a significant contribution to our business as we continue to grow.”

Merlin remains one of the biggest theme park operators in the world, offering 110 attractions across 23 countries, but suffered a slump last year following a crash at its Alton Towers park which left five people with serious injuries.

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Up Hill task for Oxford Instruments

12 February – High-tech systems and tools provider Oxford Instruments has announced the appointment of Gavin Hill as group finance director.

Hill will start the role on 9 May after the resignation of Kevin Boyd, who served as the company’s FD for nine years and is moving to Spirax-Sarco Engineering.

Hill served as group FD for Synergy Health from April 2010 until its merger with Steris Corp in November last year, and is currently assisting with the two companies’ integration.

Prior to that Hill was corporate finance director of Serco Group PLC, and has also held various finance and corporate roles at Syngenta AG and AstraZeneca PLC.

Commenting on the appointment Oxford Instruments Chairman Nigel Keen said: “We are delighted with Gavin's appointment as group finance director. He brings excellent financial and listed company credentials, which will make a significant contribution to the future growth of the business and to the board”.

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Network Rail reveals new CFO

09 February – UK railway authority Network Rail has appointed Jeremy Westlake as its new chief financial officer.

Westlake will join on 15 February, taking over from Patrick Butcher who is taking up a role at transport services company Go-Ahead Group.

Westlake is the former head of finance at Alstom Transport in France and comes armed with experience of the French railways.

He will have responsibility for group finance, treasury, internal audit and risk, planning and regulation, and long-term planning and funding.

Mark Carne, Network Rail chief executive, said the role of CFO in the company was to ensure “best possible value” for customers and to plan and have funding in place to deliver the railway Britain needs in the future.

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BT finance director to step down

08 February – BT Group’s Tony Chanmugam will step down from his role as FD following “a standout quarter” in which profits climbed 9pc to £220m.

Chanmugam’s role came into question after the company revealed a management shake-up ahead of its £12.5bn takeover of EE.

The telecoms giant confirmed it had already started the search for Chanmugam’s successor who has been in the role since 2008.

“No formal decision has been taken on a replacement or around the potential timing of any change,” BT Group said.

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