Dalton Philips
Dalton Philips | |
|---|---|
| Born | Timothy David Dalton Philips 18 February 1968 |
| Nationality | Irish |
| Education | Stowe School |
| Alma mater | University College Dublin and Harvard University |
| Occupation | Businessman |
| Years active | 1989–present |
| Title | Chief Executive of Morrisons plc |
| Term | 2010–present |
| Predecessor | Marc Bolland |
| Successor | Incumbent |
Timothy David Dalton Philips (born 18 February 1968) is an Irish businessman, the current CEO of UK retailer Morrisons.
Early life
Born in Ireland, Philips is the son of a County Wicklow egg farmer. He attended from 1981 to 1986 Stowe School, Buckingham, the fee-paying English public school, where he was a boarder in Grafton House. A keen rugby union player, Philips was a member of the Stowe XV that toured Dublin and the surrounding area in the winter of 1985. He graduated from University College Dublin, and has an MBA from Harvard University.[1]
Career
His retailing career began in New Zealand, where he began as a store manager.[2] He then had 11 jobs in 14 countries, including an appointment to Jardine Matheson's Dairy Farm International.[3] He joined Walmart in 1998, and after working in Brazil, rose to the position of Chief Operating Officer in Germany, where he worked with David Wild, the Halfords chief executive. He then joined the Weston family retail operation as CEO of upmarket Irish department store group Brown Thomas in 2007, and then becoming Chief Operating Officer of Canadian retailer Loblaw in January 2007, under Allan Leighton.[1]
After Morrisons CEO Marc Bolland announced his departure to Marks and Spencers in December 2009, Philips was appointed in a surprise move as his replacement in January 2010.[2] However, Leighton worked with Morrisons chairman Sir Ian Gibson during his tenure at Asda, and is good friends with founder Sir Ken Morrison.[1][3]
At Morrisons annual AGM in June 2014, Morrisons former chairman Sir Ken Morrison blasted Phillips and his new board of directors for destroying the company he inherited from his father, Ken remarked on Dalton's strategy to save the failing Supermarket 'from the pressures of Aldi and other discounter stores' stating "When I left work and started working as a hobby, I chose to raise cattle. I have something like 1,000 bullocks and, having listened to your presentation, Dalton, you've got a lot more bullshit than me. He also remarked that Dalton should resign from the company. [4] Sir Ken's comments were backed up by his nephew Chris Blundell, who controls most of the remaining family stake in the supermarket, also told the board it needed rescuing, and welcomed the decision by chairman Sir Ian Gibson to leave the business next year after months of pressure. A number of weeks later Dalton has upset his workforce by putting 2,600 jobs at risk, All Morrisons Department Managers, Assistant Department Managers and Supervisors are at risk of losing their jobs due to Management Restructuring in a bid to save money. Sir Ken has once again blasted his decision and called it 'Disappointing' and that he should cut his own salary if he wants to save money for the company.
References
- ^ a b c Wood, Zoe (2010-01-28). "Morrisons appoints Irishman Dalton Philips as new chief executive". London: The Guardian. Retrieved 2010-01-28.
- ^ a b "Morrisons names Dalton Philips as new chief executive". BBC News. 2010-01-28. Retrieved 2010-01-28.
- ^ a b Leroux, Marcus; King, Ian (2010-01-28). "Morrisons names its new chief but keeps Bolland waiting at the checkout". London: The Times. Retrieved 2010-01-28.
- ^ "Sir Ken Blasts Morrisons CEO, Chairman and the board of directors". The Independent. 2014-06-06. Retrieved 2014-06-06.