Archie Norman came to prominence in the business world in the 1990s as chief executive of the supermarket chain Asda up until its sale to US retailer Walmart.
He was then elected to parliament as the Conservative member for Tunbridge Wells and was in William Hague’s shadow cabinet. He stood down as an MP in 2005 and returned to business, setting up a private equity firm that bought HSS Hire.
Since leaving parliament he has also been a director of Railtrack and chairman of both ITV and telecoms business Energis.
Since 2017 he has been chairman of retailer Marks & Spencer.
Dominic Murphy, managing partner and co-head of the UK team at CVC, the private equity owners of M Group Services, said: “Archie’s exceptional business experience and expertise, combined with his extensive experience as both a CEO and chairman, make him the perfect non-executive chair for M Group Services. We’re delighted he’s accepted this position.”
M Group Services chief executive Andrew Findlay said: “I’m delighted to welcome Archie to our group and look forward to working with him as we continue to evolve to deliver at the pace of change needed to support essential infrastructure that needs to adapt to a changing world.
“With an extensive track record in business change and value creation, Archie is a strong advocate for the role of people and culture in long term business success. This aligns strongly with our values and behaviours. Our commitment to our people is key to the success of our business and I look forward to working with Archie on the next stage of our evolution.”
Archie Norman said: “This is an exciting time to become chairman of M Group Services. There’s a need to not only maintain, but also to renew and reimagine the essential infrastructure that keeps our country running and supports all aspects of life. I’m delighted to be helping M Group Services to tackle this once in a generation challenge and evolve at this pivotal time.”
M Group Services began life as a part of Morrison Construction that was acquired by Anglian Water in 2000 and then spun out as Morrison Utility Services in 2008 under its first round of private equity owners. New private equity owners took over in 2016, rebranded it as M Group Services then sold it again in 2018. CVC Capital Partners took over in 2024, its fourth owner since 2008.
