easyJet Appoints New Chief Executive
Andrew Harrison has been appointed Chief Executive of easyJet, following the announcement on 16 May that Ray Webster would be retiring. Andrew, who was previously the Chief Executive of RAC plc prior to its acquisition by Aviva plc earlier this year, will be taking up his new post on 1 December 2005.
Andrew joined Lex Service plc in 1996 as Chief Executive and led its transformation from a vehicle distribution company into RAC plc, a strongly-branded, consumer-facing services company with 6.5 million members. RAC plc delivered strong growth in a variety of consumer services, which included BSM, financial and legal services, as well as good expansion in business services, winning large contracts. The successful integration of Lex and RAC resulted in a strong rise in profits and a tripling of the share price during Andrew’s tenure as Chief Executive.
Since 2000 Andrew has been a Non-Executive Director at Emap, where he chairs the Audit Committee. Prior to Lex Service, Andrew was an Executive Director of Courtaulds Textiles plc since 1990.
Andrew Harrison said: “easyJet has an exciting future ahead, continuing to deliver rapid growth and further building upon its strong position in the rapidly expanding European low cost airline market. I look forward to leading the easyJet team to make this happen.”
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