Taylor Wimpey appoints new chief executive

News07.02.2211.15 AM by Stephen Delahunty

Taylor Wimpey has promoted group operations director Jennie Daly to be its new chief executive.

Jennie Daly will start her new role in April

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Jennie Daly takes over from Pete Redfern, who had spent nearly 15 years in the role #UKhousing

Ms Daly will begin her new position as chief executive of the country’s third largest house builder after the conclusion of the developer’s annual general meeting in April this year.

She takes over from Pete Redfern, who announced in December that he will be stepping down after nearly 15 years at the helm of the FTSE 100 company.

Ms Daly is currently group operations director of the Buckinghamshire-based firm and a member of the board of directors, where she oversees the land, planning, design and supply chain functions, as well as manage the logistics business.

She joined Taylor Wimpey in 2014 from Redrow where she was managing director of its Harrow Estates business and has almost 30 years of experience in the housebuilding and land and planning industries.

Irene Dorner, chair at Taylor Wimpey, said: “Jennie has extensive experience in the housebuilding sector and has demonstrated exceptional leadership and a razor-sharp operational focus. Her strong focus on execution combined with her customer and people-focused skills set her apart from the other candidates we were considering.”

Ms Daly described the company as “outstanding” with a strong land bank and strategic land pipeline as well as a talented and committed team.

She added: “I am energised by the opportunities at Taylor Wimpey and look forward to working closely with the board and our teams to deliver on the significant potential at the company.”

Mr Redfern will step down from the board following the company’s annual general meeting later in the year, but will be on hand to ensure an orderly transition until his notice period ends in December 2022.

Mr Redfern had led Taylor Wimpey through some choppy waters, including the 2008 financial crisis when there were fears it could collapse.

In more recent times, the firm has been one of four of the big house builders involved in the ground rent scandal, which is being investigated by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).

Following the news of his departure, Taylor Wimpey announced it would remove terms from its leasehold contracts that cause ground rents to double in price every 10 years, after an investigation by the competition watchdog.

The developer has so far set aside £165m to tackle fire safety issues in the wake of the Grenfell Tower fire.

In August last year, the firm upgraded its profit target after a strong half-year bounce back from the pandemic saw it build a record number of homes.