April 16 (Reuters) - John Barton, the chairman of No. 2British clothing retailer Next Plc, is poised as thefront runner to chair low-cost airline easyJet Plc, SkyNews reported on Monday, citing a source.
Sky News said Barton, 68, was on a shortlist of contendersvying to replace Sir Mike Rake, who will step down this summerand become the president of business lobby group Confederationof British Industry.
EasyJet Deputy Chairman Charles Gurassa was also one of thecontenders to replace Sir Mike, Sky News reported.
Sky News said ITV Chairman Archie Norman was alsospeculated to be a popular choice for the job.
EasyJet and Next could not be reached outside normal workinghours.
Next (NXT)
easyJet (EZJ)
ITV (ITV)
