Costa Coffee group Whitbread hires Alison Brittain as new chief executive
Whitbread, the owner of the Costa Coffee and Premier Inn brands, has named Alison Brittain, currently head of Lloyds Banking Group's retail division as its new chief executive.
Ms Brittain aged 50, will replace Andy Harrison, who said in April he would retire from full time executive life at the end of February next year.
Ms Brittain is one of the UK's top female bankers and has previously said she would "bash the bonus bullies" and change the sales culture at the taxpayer-owned bank.
The Lloyds boss will join the leisure group on 4 January 2016. She has previously held senior roles at Santander UK and Barclays as well as a non-executive role at Marks and Spencer.
The bank said that Ms Brittain would be replaced on an interim basis by David Oldfield, currently responsible for IT and operations. He will be replaced by Karin Cook, currently commercial banking chief operating officer.
“Alison has played a significant role in leading the transformation of our retail business and I thank her for her contribution”, said António Horta-Osório, Lloyds Baking Group chief executive. “I am also delighted we have proven executives able to step up to fill the positions created by her move.”