Nigel Railton (born January 1967) is a British accountant and business executive who has been interim chair of Post Office Limited since May 2024. Previously, he had a long career with lottery operator Camelot Group where he was chief executive of Camelot UK from 2017 to 2023.
Nigel Railton | |
|---|---|
| Interim chair of Post Office Limited | |
| Assumed office May 2024 | |
| Preceded by | Henry Staunton |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1967 (age 56–57) |
| Occupation | Business executive |
Early life
editRailton was born in January 1967 and brought up in Crewe, Cheshire, where the family lived in a council flat.[1] On leaving school at age 16 he joined British Rail, a significant employer in the town, in a clerical role. He moved into accounting roles, and while continuing to work for British Rail, he took night classes in management accounting, leading to a CIMA qualification in 1995.[2]
Career
editAfter leaving British Rail in 1995, Railton worked at Black and Decker UK and then Daewoo Motors.[2] In 1998, he joined Camelot,[1] the operator of the UK's National Lottery, where he became finance director in 2006.[3] From 2014 he was CEO of Camelot Global, responsible for the group's operations outside the UK, then in November 2017 was appointed as CEO of Camelot UK Lotteries Limited.[1][2][4] He described his role as leading a "turnaround and relative rebuilding of the business" at a time of declining sales and reduced market share.[5]
He left Camelot in February 2023, around the time that Camelot UK was acquired by Allwyn Entertainment, following the 2022 decision by the Gambling Commission to award the renewal of the National Lottery franchise to Allwyn.[6]
In May 2024, Railton was appointed by Kemi Badenoch, Secretary of State for Business and Trade, as interim chair (for 12 months) of the state-owned body Post Office Limited, replacing Henry Staunton who had been sacked by Badenoch in January.[7][8] At this time the Post Office was involved in paying compensation to its branch operators who had been accused, and in many cases prosecuted, because of faults in the Horizon computer system. The scandal was the subject of an ongoing public inquiry,[9] and the Post Office was facing increased costs and delays in its project to replace Horizon.[10][11] Soon after taking up the role, Railton launched a strategic review into the future of the business which was expected to be discussed with the government in October 2024.[12][13]
Railton is also non-executive chair of Argentex Group, a company providing risk management to businesses in the areas of foreign exchange and interest rates,[7] which he joined as a non-executive director in 2019.[14] He had past non-executive appointments at Uthingo (South Africa) and at Premier Lotteries Ireland.[14]
References
edit- ^ a b c Walsh, Dominic (8 June 2018). "Life-changing opportunity that put lottery boss on the right track". The Times. Retrieved 11 October 2024.
- ^ a b c Tatum, Megan (29 May 2018). "Nigel Railton big interview: playing the numbers game". The Grocer. Retrieved 11 October 2024.
- ^ Inquiry witness statement 2024, paragraph 8.
- ^ Bright, Emily (22 November 2017). "Nigel Railton made permanent CEO at Camelot". The Grocer. Retrieved 11 October 2024.
- ^ Inquiry witness statement 2024, paragraph 23.
- ^ "UK's next National Lottery operator Allwyn acquires Camelot UK". Reuters via Yahoo Finance. 19 November 2022. Retrieved 11 October 2024.
- ^ a b Simpson, Jack; Lawson, Alex (1 May 2024). "Ex-Camelot boss Nigel Railton named as new Post Office chair". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 11 October 2024.
- ^ "Post Office: Ex-Camelot boss Nigel Railton named as chairman". BBC News: Business. 30 April 2024. Retrieved 11 October 2024.
- ^ Sweney, Mark (22 September 2024). "Post Office inquiry poised to hear present-day staff deliver their verdict". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 11 October 2024.
- ^ Flinders, Karl (11 October 2024). "Post Office set to axe in-house-developed New Branch IT software". Computer Weekly. Retrieved 11 October 2024.
- ^ Croft, Jane (8 October 2024). "Post Office chair says it has 'strained' relations with Horizon IT firm Fujitsu". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 11 October 2024.
- ^ Gapper, John (20 September 2024). "The Post Office should become humbler and slimmer". Financial Times. Retrieved 11 October 2024.
- ^ Brocklehurst, Neil (3 October 2024). "One News Special: Strategic Review and Branch Technology" (PDF). CWU. Retrieved 11 October 2024.
- ^ a b Inquiry witness statement 2024, paragraph 9.
- "Witness Statement (WITN11390100) – Nigel Railton". Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry. 8 October 2024. Retrieved 11 October 2024.
External links
edit- BBC video (1:27) in the CEO Secrets strand, 19 February 2020