UK baker Hovis has appointed former Dairy Crest executive Martyn Wilks as its new CEO.
Wilks, who left Dairy Crest in March after seven years as the dairy processor's executive MD, took the reins at Hovis today (18 May). He replaces Bob Spooner, who left Hovis in January.
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"Martyn has extensive experience in a business that is very similar to our own," Hovis executive chairman Nish Kankiwala. "He has strong relationships with our key customers and his innovation experience is a perfect fit for the ambitions we have to develop our business and grow the category."
Hovis competes in a challenging UK bread category with privately-owned Warburtons and Associated British Foods, which owns the Kingsmill brand. In March, it emerged Tesco had delisted Kingsmill bread as part of a range review.
Wilks, whose career also includes stints at Mars Inc and United Biscuits, said: "I am joining the company at a time when Hovis has recently seen the strongest growth performance out of the three major bread brands in the UK and it is also currently perceived as the healthiest brand in the market."
In January, Hovis announced CFO Michael Kennedy had left the UK bread maker as the company seeks to meet its "ambitious growth targets". Mark Stanworth, the CFO at baby and child products manufacturer Mayborn Group, joined Hovis as interim CFO. The company has yet to make an announcement on the appointment of a permanent finance chief.
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