Food etailer Ocado is recruiting 2,000 more staff ahead of Christmas, but is also on the lookout for one new hire in particular.

Food etailer Ocado is recruiting 2,000 more staff ahead of Christmas, but is also on the lookout for one new hire in particular.

Ocado, which aims to tie up deals with overseas partners as it has done at home with Morrisons, is understood to be looking for a non-executive director who could help pursue that ambition.

Because of the nature of Ocado’s business, the right person may be as likely to come from a technology background as a traditional retail one.

International experience

In either case though, they will bring experience of international business and deals – that’s the key thing.

Ocado’s international aspirations are no secret and chief executive Tim Steiner hopes the first deal can be struck this year. While time is running out, it may still happen.

Ocado finance director Duncan Tatton-Brown said recently that a deal is still being targeted for this year and could be “quite imminent”.

Good news on that front would please Ocado investors and, if the sort of non-exec being sought is found, the pace of future international deals may be accelerated.