Logistics group Wincanton has appointed a new chief executive following the decision by its current CEO to retire later this year.
The Chippenham-headquartered firm, the largest UK business of its kind, said Adrian Colman, its chief executive for the past six years, will step down from its board in October. 
He will be replaced by James Wroath, currently chief operating officer, North America, for LSG Sky Chefs, the world’s largest provider of airline catering and in-flight services and part of German flag carrier Lufthansa.
Wincanton said his appointment follows a comprehensive search process undertaken by the board’s nomination committee as part of its succession planning and supported by an external search firm.
Before joining LSG Sky Chefs in 2015, James Wroath was a senior vice president for Swiss-owned global transport and logistics group Kuehne & Nagel in the UK and North America. He also carried out senior roles in contract logistics and transportation at Kuehne & Nagel between 2006 and 2015. Prior to that, he worked in senior distribution roles with Scottish & Newcastle.
He is expected to join Wincanton no later than the end of October while Adrian will remain as chief executive and board director until that then
Wincanton chairman Dr Martin Read CBE said: “We are delighted to have appointed a candidate of James’ calibre and look forward to welcoming him to the board. He has deep experience in logistics and the broader business services environment and will be focused on exploiting Wincanton’s respected market position, its extensive national coverage and its strong operational base to deliver profitable growth.”
He also acknowledged Adrian’s “significant contribution”, having helped successfully rebuild the group’s financial position and “considerably improved the reliability of its earnings”.
Wincanton provides supply chain services to brands ranging from Ikea to Britvic and Screwfix and across a wide range of industries including retail, construction, defence and energy.
It operates from 200-plus locations across the UK and Ireland totalling 7.6m sq ft of warehousing and uses around 3,600 vehicles. Its annual revenues are more than £1.1bn and it employs 17,700 people, including 4,000-plus drivers.
