Marks & Spencer director named as new Punch Taverns boss

Marks & Spencer finance and operations director Ian Dyson will be the next chief executive of Punch Taverns.

Dyson has previously been finance director at The Rank Group and will take over from Giles Thorley on a date to be agreed.

He has also spent time at Hilton Group, Granada/Forte and Arthur Andersen and is a non executive director at Betfair.

Punch chairman Peter Cawdron said: “Ian is an exceptional hire who will add further strength to the high calibre team at Punch.

“Ian brings a great combination of strategic, operational and financial experience having worked in some of the UK’s leading businesses These skills will be invaluable to Punch’s future development.”

Dyson added that his background in leisure meant the Punch opportunity was an exciting one. “It also makes great use of all my leisure and retail experience and means being the CEO of a public company,” he said.