Ex-Railtrack boss joins Woolies

Gerald Corbett: From railways to retailing

Gerald Corbett, who resigned as Railtrack chief executive in the wake of the Hatfield rail crash, is returning to the business world as the new boss of Woolworths.

Kingfisher, which owns the High Street retailer, said it had appointed Mr Corbett as executive chairman of both Woolworths and its entertainment division.

Woolworths... has a great heritage, a place at the heart of the community...and an excellent track record

Gerald Corbett

One of his main tasks will be to oversee the separation of Woolworths along with Superdrug from other parts of the Kingfisher group that include DIY chain B&Q and electrical retailer Comet.

In a statement, Mr Corbett said: "Woolworths is a fine company. It has a great heritage, a place at the heart of the community, strong market positions and an excellent track record."

Turbulent times

Mr Corbett, 48, who became Railtrack chief executive in 1997, is a former finance director of drinks company Grand Metropolitan (which merged with Guinness in 1997 to form Diageo).

He also has experience in the retail sector, having held senior positions at Dixons between 1982 and 1987.

Mr Corbett endured turbulent times at Railtrack, with UK rail passengers experiencing months of chaos after several rail disasters.

Mr Corbett became known as "the man passengers love to hate".

He studied history at Cambridge and attended London and Harvard business schools, before joining Boston Consulting Group, the international management consulting firm, where he stayed until 1982.

He is married with four children.