Lady Karren Brady, the boss of West Ham United and a judge on TV show The Apprentice, has been appointed as non-executive chair of Taveta, Sir Philip Green’s family firm which controls his retail empire Arcadia.
Brady replaces Lord Anthony Grabiner, who is stepping down from the role after 15 years, according the The Guardian. In a statement Sir Philip Green thanked Grabiner for his service and added: “I am delighted to announce that Baroness Karren Brady will be appointed as non-executive chairman. Baroness Brady joined the Taveta board as a non-executive director in September 2010 and will assume the role immediately.”
Arcadia turns over around £2bn from its brands which include Topshop, Topman, Dorothy Perkins, Miss Selfridge, Burton and Evans. It used to control BHS before the department store was sold to a group led by Dominic Chappell for £1 in 2015. It collapsed controversially just one year later leaving 11,000 staff without jobs and a hole in its pension fund, which Green later helped to fill with a personal contribution of £363m following an MPs’ inquiry.
Brady, who is one of the UK’s best known businesswomen, said it was “a privilege to have been invited to chair the board”.
