David Potts Morrisons CEO

Morrisons CEO David Potts

Morrisons has appointed former Tesco Northern Ireland boss Gary Mills as group retail director.

Mills replaces Martyn Fletcher, one of five senior directors ousted by CEO David Potts in March. He has more than 30 years’ retail experience beginning with Stewarts Supermarkets in Northern Ireland and then with Tesco in both Ireland and the UK. He will take up his new role on 1 August.

Mills moved from Northern Ireland in June 2014 to become Tesco’s retail director for convenience before landing the role of retail director for the North and Northern Ireland in February.

It emerged in May he had left the business as part of a wider shake-up of Tesco management.

Mills is the latest in a string of new appointments for Morrisons as Potts looks to shape the management team at the retailer.

In May, Morrisons appointed former Asda executive Darren Blackhurst as commercial director.

Last month it hired Tom Richardson from Coles as meat category director, while earlier this month it appointed Procter & Gamble MD Irwin Lee as a non-executive director on the ­company’s plc board.