Man ousted by Vodafone twice is appointed Premier Foods CEO

The man who was ousted by Vodafone twice has been appointed Chief Executive Officer of Premier Foods.

Gavin Darby will take over from Michael Clarke on February 4th as boss of the British food manufacturer.

Darby left Vodafone as a Director in 2010 following a difference of opinion with Chief Executive Vittorio Colao.

He became Chief Executive of Cable and Wireless Worldwide in late 2011, but was replaced by Nick Jeffery last July when Vodafone took over the company.

Now Darby, who also spent 15 years at Coca-Cola, is looking forward to his latest venture.

"I am very excited to be taking on this role," Darby said in a statement.

"Although markets remain difficult, I look forward to working with the team to develop and grow the company's power brands in the coming years. Premier Foods has great potential and I fully intend to invest a significant personal sum in the shares of the company after the full year results are published in February which the company will match."

Clarke will step down from the board with immediate effect, but will remain with the company until mid-year for handover.

David Beever, Chairman of Premier Foods said: "I am delighted to welcome Gavin Darby to Premier Foods. His strong (fast-moving consumer good) background and management track record make him the ideal candidate to lead the company. The board very much looks forward to working with Gavin to continue driving sustainable profitable growth at Premier."

"Michael Clarke and the team have done a first class job in stabilising the business, strengthening its balance sheet, divesting non-core businesses and generating momentum. This is a significant achievement in a challenging market and I would like to thank Mike on behalf of the Board for his contribution."

Earlier this January the company said its fourth quarter trading and full-year results for 2012 were in line with expectations.

Earlier this January the company said its fourth quarter trading and full-year results for 2012 were in line with expectations.

Shares were down 11.20% to 107.00p at 8:30 Monday.

RD