Ocado finance boss Duncan Tatton-Brown steps down

He will be succeeded by current Rolls-Royce chief financial officer Stephen Daintith, but a start date is yet to be confirmed.

Daintith has previously held roles at the Daily Mail and Dow Jones.

Tatton-Brown, who is leaving for family reasons, will continue in his role until November 22. 

He will stay on as non-executive director for three Ocado subsidiaries, Ocado Retail – the name given to Ocado’s joint venture with M&S – vertical farming specialists Jones Food Company and automated food preparation company Karakuri.

Ocado founder and chief executive Tim Steiner said: “Duncan joined us in 2012 when Ocado was a very different business to what it is today. He has made a critical contribution to our growth as a company and the successful execution of our strategy. As importantly, he has been a highly valued colleague to us all and we will miss him.

“Following a thorough search and selection process, I am delighted to be welcoming Stephen to Ocado Group. Stephen has a wealth of valuable experience and I am looking forward to working closely with him to drive Ocado forward and take full advantage of the opportunities that we see ahead.”

Tatton-Brown said: “I have enjoyed my time at Ocado tremendously. This is an amazing business with huge growth opportunities ahead of it. Family circumstances, however, mean that this is the right time for me to step down from my role as chief financial officer.

“Ocado now has the financial capital required to take advantage of the global acceleration of online channel shift. I will remain on a number of boards connected to Ocado and so I am fortunate that I will continue to have a front row seat in the extraordinary journey Ocado is on.”

Incoming finance boss Daintith added: “I am delighted to be joining Ocado Group at such an exciting time. Ocado has become established as the partner of choice for the world’s leading grocery retailers, offering a scalable and sustainably profitable solution that provides their customers with the best online delivery experience.

“I look forward to playing my part in ensuring the continued success of the group in the years ahead.”

Details of the switch emerged as Ocado gears up to officially launch its joint venture with M&S on September 1. 

The highly anticipated partnership, which was struck last year when M&S shelled out £750m for a 50% stake in Ocado Retail, will take M&S’ food proposition online for the first time.