Steven Esom appointed new chair of BRC Trading

Steven Esom, former executive director of food at Marks & Spencer and managing director of Waitrose, has been appointed as chairman of BRC Trading, the commercial arm of the British Retail Consortium (BRC).

He will take over at the beginning of April from David Adams who has been acting as interim chairman since Gordon Brown stepped down from the role in August 2010. David Adams will then become a non – executive director of BRC Trading.

Director general of the British Retail Consortium, Stephen Robertson, says “BRC Trading is going from strength to strength. It’s a measure of its success that someone of Steven’s calibre has chosen to take on this role. As it enters its second decade, we have big ambitions to grow the company further and we are all really looking forward to working with Steven on the next phase of our development.”    

Keith Evans CEO of BRC Trading, adds, “With the BRC Global Standards supplier-certification scheme at the heart of what Trading does, Steven’s years of experience in retailing, and in food in particular, will be invaluable. His work chairing a steering group for the Food Standards Agency has demonstrated his ability to mediate between diverse opinions across the food sector and he is held in high regard.”