Dudley Cloake has been appointed chairman of stores sector charity Retail Trust.

Cloake, the former personnel director of John Lewis Partnership, replaces outgoing chairman Barry Gibson who chaired the good cause since 2003.

Retail Trust chief executive Nigel Rothband said that Cloake’s personnel experience would help the charity expand its services to retail HR departments, “supporting retail workers through the changing economy”.

Cloake has been on the board of the Retail Trust for five years. He worked for the John Lewis Partnership for 34 years before retiring in 2003.