John Rishton, the former chief executive of Dutch retailer Ahold, is set to take a seat on Unilever’s boards of directors, the consumer goods giant said today (17 December).

Rishton, who was Ahold boss between 2007 and 2011, will be put for election to Unilever’s boards in May.

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He left Ahold last year to join engineering giant Rolls Royce as CEO. Rishton joined Ahold in 2006 as CFO and Unilever chairman Michael Treschow cited the Englishman’s financial experience for his nomination to the company’s boards.

“He is distinguished in his field and will further strengthen the financial expertise of the boards, which will add considerably to the business,” Treschow said.

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