UK Royal Mail Chief Leighton re-appointed
Royal Mail chairman Allan Leighton has been re-appointed to his role for another three years, Trade and Industry Secretary Patricia Hewitt announced today.
She told MPs at Commons question time she was “delighted” to renew Mr Leighton’s contract, worth GBP20,000 a year for a two day week.
Later outside the chamber she added: “Royal Mail is a commercial business and we appointed a strong management team to turn that business around.
“Mr Leighton and his team have done an excellent job to help turn a £1 million a day loss-making business into a GBP1 million a day profitable, sustainable company.
“But there is still a huge task ahead to build and maintain long term profitability and to get the quality of service right.”
Mr Leighton, a former chairman of lastminute.com, who was appointed to his current position in March 2002, said in a statement that the Royal Mail’s renewal plan has been “tough, involved radical surgery and impacted on our people and our customers”.
He warned the next few years, with the mail service opened up to greater competition, “will be about real competition where customers will have a choice and service quality and innovation will be the battleground”.
“I’m positive that the Royal Mail will deliver,” he added.
