The board of the Lyndale Group has announced the appointment of Tony Gearty as chief executive. He has been md of the group's core retail bakeries division, trading as Sayers, Hampsons, Mountstevens, Spinks and Burtons, since November 2000. Under his leadership the division has been improving its product offering and modernising its retail image. He said: "I look forward to continuing to build on these opportunities and to leading an enthusiastic team of 3,500 staff." Former chief executive John Jesky decided to step down to pursue commercial and charitable interests. {{PEOPLE MOVES }}