Anita Frew to become first female chair at Rolls-Royce

Rolls-Royce has named Anita Frew as its next chair, making her the first woman to be appointed to that role in the 115-year history of the British aero-engine group.

Frew, who is currently chair of Croda, the UK chemicals group, will join Rolls-Royce on July 1 as non-executive director and will succeed Sir Ian Davis as chair in October. Davis will retire after nearly nine years in the role.

Frew is a non-executive director of miner BHP Group and until recently was deputy chair of Lloyds Banking Group.

Rolls-Royce kicked off the search for a successor to Davis at the end of last year.

Sir Kevin Smith, Rolls-Royce senior independent director, said Frew had emerged as the “outstanding candidate” and would bring a “wealth of experience from two decades of board appointments both in the UK and internationally and her skills, and reputation with investors and government institutions will be invaluable to the group”.

Frew, 63, will take over after a tumultuous time for the FTSE 100 group, which has been hit hard by sharp falls in air travel due to the pandemic.

The company, led by chief executive Warren East, was forced to shore up its balance sheet with £7.3bn of new equity and debt last year. It also launched a disposal programme and a large restructuring that will lead to 9,000 jobs being cut — almost a fifth of the total workforce.