SMP.L Share News (SMP)

(Sharecast News) - St. Modwen Properties announced the appointment of Danuta Gray as a non-executive director and chair-designate with effect from 1 October on Monday.The FTSE 250 company said that on appointment, Gray would join the remuneration and nomination committees, and would work closely with current chairman Bill Shannon over the coming months in preparation for his handover of the chairmanship at the end of the next annual general meeting in March.It said the search process was led by Ian Bull, St. Modwen's senior independent director.Gray was joining St. Modwen with "extensive" executive and non-executive experience.She was currently a non-executive director of Direct Line Insurance Group, senior independent director of Aldermore Group, a non-executive director and chair of the remuneration committee of Old Mutual, and a non-executive director of the Defence Board of the UK Ministry of Defence.Until 2012 she was chair of Telefónica O2 in Ireland, having previously been its chief executive officer from 2001 to 2010.Gray also previously served as a non-executive director of PageGroup, Paddy Power Betfair, Aer Lingus Group and Irish Life & Permanent.Prior to her time at Telefónica O2, she held "various senior positions" within BT Group from 1984 to 2001."Recruiting such a high calibre individual as our next Chairman is a clear reflection of the quality and direction of our business," said St. Modwen's chief executive officer Mark Allan."Danuta brings significant board and leadership experience and we are delighted to welcome her to the board."I am confident that St. Modwen will benefit greatly from her broad knowledge and experience in the ongoing development and delivery of our strategy."Danuta Gray added that she was "very much looking forward" to joining the company, which she said had "strong" values and a "clear and focused" strategy."There is great momentum at St. Modwen - it is at an exciting point in its development and I look forward to working with the board to achieve further success."