Thwaites appoints new managing director
Northern brewer and pub retailer Daniel Thwaites has appointed Peter Morris as its new managing director.
Morris joins the Blackburn-based company after holding a variety of industry posts, most recently as operations director at Scottish &Newcastle Pub Enterprises, managing 900 pubs.
He replaces Brian Hickman, the former managing director who left Thwaites suddenly last November.
Thwaites' Chairman Ann Yerburgh, said: "We are delighted to welcome Peter to Thwaites and believe that his experience and reputation within the brewing industry will help us significantly as we confront a challenging marketplace.
"We interviewed many candidates, but Peter was the one who shone through not least for his enthusiasm and knowledge of all the main aspects, including free trade, managed houses, leases, tenancies and distribution.
"We feel we are putting the day-to-day running of our business in very safe hands."
A native of Liverpool, Peter earned a degree in business studies at Salford University before taking up a graduate trainee position with Whitbread in 1979.
He went on to hold many managerial positions within Whitbread, particularly in distribution and free trade, and was appointed Sales Director when the company acquired Boddingtons in Manchester.
He later moved into a key position within Whitbread's leased pub business and was responsible for the running of 300 tenanted and leased pubs in the West of England and South Wales.
He also had a three-year spell in charge of the managed house division on the South Coast.
In 1998, he joined Scottish and Newcastle as Operations and Sales Director for Pub Enterprises in London and the South East, progressing to take on the entire southern division of some 900 pubs.
Married to Marie and with two children, Alex (19) and Ellen (9), Peter, 50, currently lives in Fleet, Hampshire, but is due to re-locate to his native North West.
He said: "I am immensely excited to be given the opportunity to lead Thwaites, a brewery renowned not only for its heritage and tradition, but also for its modern and progressive outlook.
"These are very challenging times in the industry at large, but I feel Thwaites is very well placed to look forward with confidence."
