Angling Direct adds former French Connection COO to its board

Angling Direct has announced the appointment of Neil Williams, the former chief operating officer of French Connection Group, as an independent non-executive director effective immediately. 

A chartered accountant who qualified at KPMG, Williams joins with extensive retail, consumer and public markets experience. 

He held his board role at French Connection for some 30 years, until the clothing company was acquired and subsequently delisted from the main market of the London Stock Exchange in November 2021. 

In addition to his non-executive director role, Williams will also serve on the fishing tackle and equipment retailer’s audit and remuneration committees. 

Andy Torrance, non-executive chair of Angling Direct, said: “We are delighted to welcome Neil to the board as an independent non-executive director. Neil brings extensive public markets and retail experience from his time at French Connection and his insights will be invaluable as we continue to execute our medium-term strategy. 

“His expertise will provide strong support to the executive team as they drive the company forward.”

Williams added: “I am delighted to be joining this very successful company at an important point in its development and look forward to using my past experience to help the excellent management team drive the business to the next level over the coming years.”