Kier appoints ex Royal Mail director as chairman

Kier has appointed Matthew Lester as chairman of its board, replacing Philip Cox who steps down on 1 January 2020.

Lester is the former group chief financial officer of Royal Mail, having held the role between 2010 and 2017. Prior to that, he served as group finance director of financial firm ICAP and held a number of senior positions at alcoholic beverage company Diageo. He is a chartered accountant, qualifying with Arthur Andersen before spending the early part of his career with Kleinwort Benson.

Lester is also a non-executive director of Man Group (since 2011), Barclays (since 2017) and Capita (since 2017). He will stand from the board of directors of Barclays with effect from 1 January 2020.

He will be the chairman of the nomination committee at Kier and a member of the remuneration committee.

Lester said: "I am delighted to be joining Kier as its chairman. I look forward to working with the Board to deliver the Group’s strategic priorities and in continuing to build the foundations for its future."