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Daniel Kretinsky shocked the city when he revealed his plans to take over the owner of Royal Mail.
And it came as an even bigger surprise to many when the board of International Distribution Services (IDS), the parent company of the delivery business, unanimously backed the Czech billionaire’s £3.6bn bid.
The privatization of Royal Mail in 2013 had already been quite controversial. But the decision by IDS bosses means the 508-year-old postal service, created by Henry VIII, could fall into foreign hands for the first time in its history.
Chairman Keith Williams said the board was “very conscious of its responsibilities, particularly in relation to Royal Mail’s unique heritage”.
But they have faced a backlash from unions and politicians.
Reaction: Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky’s £3.6bn bid for Royal Mail has been given the seal of approval
The directors will pocket a total of £677,621 from the sale. Williams will receive £210,160 and Martin Seidenberg, German CEO of IDS, will receive £264,316, according to the formal takeover bid document.
The Government and the Communication Workers Union (CWU) have asked for guarantees on the future of the postal service and its workforce.
CWU general secretary Dave Ward has said the sale to a foreign owner “doesn’t seem right” as “nothing is more British than Royal Mail”.
Kretinsky has already made several promises, including maintaining the Royal Mail name and brand and retaining its headquarters and tax residence in the United Kingdom to keep it linked to Britain.
But last week Labor promised to “vigorously examine” the deal and give postal workers a “stronger voice” in a pre-election pledge.
Shareholders will vote on the deal at IDS’s next annual general meeting in September.
And the governors – custodians of a historic British institution – will urge them to allow it to fall into foreign hands.
These are the members of the board of directors who have agreed to the sale.
Hopes: Last week, Labor promised to “vigorously scrutinize” the deal and give postal workers a “stronger voice” in a pre-election pledge.
Keith Williams
President
The former British Airways boss has chaired IDS since 2019 and has been on the board for six years in total.
Williams was recruited by Royal Mail with a track record of resolving industrial disputes which it was hoped would help resolve the seemingly intractable dispute with the postal services unions.
As head of British Airways, he had helped diffuse a long-running dispute between the airline and cabin crews in 2011.
Martin Seidenberg
Director
The German businessman was tasked with a major turnaround job when he took the reins of IDS last year.
He had previously headed GLS (the European parcel service also owned by IDS) since 2020 and before that spent 15 years at courier giant DHL Group.
He joined IDS with a mandate to turn around the company’s fortunes, including lobbying Ofcom and the Government to reform the Universal Service Obligation, which includes the delivery of letters from Monday to Saturday and parcels from Monday to Friday.
Plans on the table would reduce Royal Mail’s second class service to every other day.
Michael Snape
CFO
Snape was appointed chief financial officer of the IDS group in January.
He was head of finance at Boots for five years. He also held senior positions at Tesco, Waitrose and Sainsbury’s.
Baroness Hogg
independent senior non-executive director
Baroness Hogg became the first woman to chair the board of a FTSE 100 company when she was appointed chair of venture capital group 3i in 2002.
She resigned in 2010 to become chair of the Financial Reporting Council, the accounting regulator.
A veteran of corporate boards, she received the Sunday Times Non-Executive Directors Lifetime Achievement Award in 2017.
She has also had a career in government, having been the Treasury’s lead independent non-executive director and head of the Prime Minister’s policy unit during John Major’s government.
Maria da Cunha
non-executive director
The trained lawyer joined the IDS board in 2019 after an 18-year career at British Airways, where she was chief people officer and head of legal, government and industry affairs.
He previously served on the board of De La Rue, the company that prints banknotes for the Bank of England.
In addition to her role at IDS, she sits on the panel of the Competition and Markets Authority, the watchdog, and is a director of housing association L&Q and law firm Irwin Mitchell.
Michael Findlay
non-executive director
Findlay is chairman of the London Stock Exchange and the Morgan Sindall construction group.
He had a 27-year career in investment banking, including stints at Robert Fleming & Co, UBS and Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
Lynne Peacock
non-executive director
Peacock is senior independent director of outsourcing at Serco and vice-chairman of insurer Royal London Group.
She was previously chief executive of National Australia Bank Europe and headed The Woolwich building society. She has served on the boards of Standard Life Aberdeen, Scottish Water, Nationwide and TSB.
Shashi Verma
non-executive director
Verma is Chief Strategy Officer and Chief Technology Officer at Transport for London.
It is responsible for the operation of London Transport’s revenue collection system and has implemented contactless payments across the TfL network.
Jourik Hooghe
non-executive director
Hooghe is chief financial officer of aviation services company Swissport International.
He has been executive vice president and chief financial officer of the budget airline Wizz Air.
Before that, Hooghe spent 18 years working at consumer goods giant Procter & Gamble, including time as head of global strategy.
Ingrid Ebner
non-executive director
Ebner has a background in logistics and spent 21 years at Amazon, including as director of supply chain operations in continental Europe.
She is vice president of shipping giant Maersk’s e-commerce logistics division.
Marcos Amsden
General advisor of the group and company secretary
Amsden was general counsel and company secretary at Morrisons, and acting company secretary at Yorkshire Water.
He was previously a partner at the law firm Addleshaw Goddard.
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