Land Securities has appointed DSGi group finance director Kevin O’Byrne as non-executive director.

O’Byrne has been DSGi group finance director since 2004 and was previously chief financial officer for Hemscott Publishing Group and European finance director for The Quaker Oats Company.

Land Securities has also appointed Sir Christopher Bland and Rick Haythornthwaite as non-executive directors. Bland will assume the role of chairman of Trillium in the run-up to its demerger. His recent roles include chairman of BT.

Haythornthwaite will assume the role of chairman of the retail business following the demerger. He is chairman of Mastercard at present.

Land Securities non-executive director Paul Myners will assume the role of chairman of the London business when it is demerged. He said: “These appointments demonstrate that we are making progress on our demerger plans and mean that when these companies become independent businesses, they will have the right balance of experience, energy and expertise on their boards to make an immediate impact.”

Land Securities could not confirm a time frame for the demerger. It said final execution of the plan will take place when preparatory work has been completed and when market conditions are favourable.