Grafton appoints Eric Born as CEO

Building materials distributor Grafton has appointed Eric Born as its new chief executive officer.

The company said on Friday that Born will join the group on 28 November, succeeding Gavin Slark, who will stay on until the end of December to facilitate an orderly transition.

Grafton said Born brings "a wealth" of international business experience to the role having served for five years as CEO of global aviation services provider Swissport International, and for a similar period as CEO of supply chain solutions firm Wincanton.

He was formerly President, West & South Europe of Gategroup, the largest global airline catering provider, and in the decade prior to that he held a variety of senior roles in the retail sector in Switzerland and the UK.

Born, a Swiss national, has also served as non-executive director of Serco and John Menzies.

Grafton chair Michael Roney said: "Eric Born is a very experienced CEO and business leader with a proven track record of creating shareholder value in publicly listed and private equity owned national and international businesses of scale in the retail, logistics and aviation services sectors.

"We are very pleased to welcome Eric to Grafton and are confident that he has the skills and experience to lead our group through the next stage of its growth and development."