Sainsbury’s may have to restart the search for a new chairman following investor fury at last week’s appointment of Sir Ian Prosser.
Investors have criticised Prosser’s track record and said he did not have the skills Sainsbury’s needs.
A spokeswoman for Jupiter Asset Management, one of the supermarket’s investors, said: “Sir Ian was schooled at Bass in a industry that was long on families and short on innovation. It is unlikely he can contribute to the highly competitive strategies that food retailing demands.”
Other shareholders seemed resigned to having Prosser in the role. The fact that the Sainsbury’s family holds 38 per cent of the stock, with the remainder widely held, makes it harder to press the chain into action.
Prosser has spoken of his appointment and admitted disappointment at the reaction it had received. He said: “The chairman’s job is to help the chief executive to develop the strategy, to challenge it and set milestones for its implementation. These are things I am very well equipped to do.”
No comments yet