Rooney Anand

Rooney Anand

Greene King chief executive Rooney Anand has been appointed non-executive director and senior independent director at Morrisons. He will take up the new role on 1 January 2016. Anand is a highly experienced retail executive who has worked at a range of companies including United Biscuits and Sara Lee. 

He joined Greene King in 2001 as MD of its brewing division and was appointed CEO in 2005. He is credited with changing Greene King from a regional brewery and pub business to a brand-led pub, restaurant and hotel operator. 

Recently he completed Greene King’s £770m takeover of the Spirit Pub Group, which will make the company the largest managed pub group in the UK. 

“Rooney had the vision at the start of the credit crunch to reinvent Greene King as a branded food-based pub retailer,” said Morrisons chairman Andrew Higginson. 

“He is a widely admired and successful plc CEO. His experience in retail, in fmcg and in turning around the fortunes of a major retail business will all be put to good use at Morrisons. With the recent appointments of Irwin Lee, Belinda Richards, Paula Vennells and Neil Davidson, I am also pleased to say that Rooney’s appointment completes the process of renewing and rebuilding the board of Morrisons.”

Anand said he was “excited” to be joining the team at Morrisons. “I look forward to working with Andy and the board to help to contribute to the company’s return to the forefront of the British supermarket industry,” he said.