Associated British Foods plc announced that Eoin Tonge has been appointed as the next Finance Director of the company. Eoin will succeed John Bason who will be retiring as Finance Director and will be stepping down from the ABF Board. Eoin will join the business with a start date to be agreed but no later than February 2023.

He is currently Chief Financial Officer and Chief Strategy Officer at Marks and Spencer Group Plc, a position he has held since May 2022, having joined as Chief Financial Officer in June 2020. Prior to that, Eoin was Chief Financial Officer of Greencore Group plc from 2016 to 2020 and, before that, was Managing Director of Greencore's grocery division and Chief Strategy Officer. After stepping down from the ABF Board, John will subsequently become Chairman of a newly constituted Strategic Advisory Board and Senior Advisor at the Company's retail business, Primark.

He has agreed to stay on as Finance Director until the end of April 2023 to ensure a smooth transition. The Primark Strategic Advisory Board will provide external expertise to Paul Marchant, Primark Chief Executive, and to the Primark Leadership Team as the business continues its expansion and development. The Board will have members chosen for specific and relevant areas of expertise.

The Board will not have a governance role and Primark's financial and operational reporting relationship with ABF will remain unchanged.