Ted Baker appoints Ray Kelvin nominee to its board

Ted Baker has appointed Colin La Fontaine Jackson, a nominee of the brand's founder and former CEO Ray Kelvin to its board.

The appointment of La Fontaine Jackson his the result of a new relationship agreement between Ted Baker and Kelvin, which was drawn up to bring "the benefits of access to Ray's unique brand experience and insight, while at the same time introducing clear guidelines that will ensure board independence is maintained and that the interests of shareholders are prioritised and protected."

This agreement also formalises Kelvin's relationship with the company through the board of directors, the company said.

Kelvin, who stood down from the company last year following accusations of staff harassment, which he denies, is entitled to nominated a board member as long as he retains an aggregate interest equal to or greater than 10% in the issued ordinary share capital of the company. He currently holds an interest of approximately 11.8%.

La Fontaine Jackson, whose appointment as non-executive director is with immediate effect, has 25 years' experience across various industries. He founded corporate finance boutique Hopton Advisers in 2014 and has previously worked for Quayle Munro, ING Barings and Charterhouse Securities. He qualified as a solicitor with Clifford Chance.

Ted Baker chairman, John Barton, a former Next chairman who joined the board on 1 July, said: "We are pleased to welcome Colin to the Board and to be able to access Ray's great experience in building the brand over the last 30 years as we continue to make progress with Ted's new Formula for Growth."

Ted Baker's leadership team has been transformed following Kelvin's departure last year. He was initially replaced by long-standing COO Lindsay Page but he stood down in December, along with former chairman David Bernstein, after a strong of profits warning.

Rachel Osborne, who had joined as CFO from Debenhams last September, was made acting CEO and the appointment was confirmed as permanent earlier this year. David Wolfe was confirmed as CFO in May while Anthony Cuthbertson, formerly of Topshop, was named as global creative director.

Osborne announced "Ted's Formula for Growth" turnaround plan in June at the same time as a share placing to raise £95m in cash. As a result of the fundraising Kelvin's shareholding was reduced from 35% while investment firm Toscafund nearly doubled its stake to 26.4% making it the largest single shareholder in the company, a title Kelvin previously held.