Wetherspoon’s finance director poached by Greene King

1st Oct 2014 09:20

JD Wetherspoon's finance director, Kirk David, has resigned in order to join rival pub chain Greene King.Wetherspoon chairman Tim Martin thanked Davis for his work and said the group had begun looking for his successor.Davis will replace Green King's chief financial officer Matthew Fearne, who was forced to step down from the position for health reasons.Fearne has been absent from work since February due to long-term illness. The company reported that he is undergoing medical treatment and will not be able to return to work for the foreseeable future.Greene King's chief executive, Rooney Anand, said: "We are very sorry to see Matthew step down, particularly in these very sad circumstances. I would like to take this opportunity to thank him for his huge contribution to Greene King over the past few years. The board, his colleagues and I wish him and his family the very best."At the same time, I am pleased to welcome Kirk to the company. He has extensive and relevant financial experience, both in consumer retail and more recently, in the pub sector. The board and I want to welcome him to Greene King and look forward to working with him"David has extensive experience in the retail sector, having previously worked in senior financial roles with Tesco and Marks & Spencer. David joined Wetherspoon as deputy financial director in 2008 and was promoted to finance director in 2011.Following the announcement at 9:18 on Wednesday, Wetherspoon's share price dropped 0.25% to 796.03p per share, whilst Greene King's share price rose 0.83% to 791.50p per share.