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National Grid's Holliday To Join DEFRA Board

(c) Sky News 2016

The boss of National Grid (LSE: NG.L - news) will join the ranks of business leaders recruited to Whitehall boards when he is named as the new lead director of the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA).

Sky News understands that Steve Holliday, who will step down this year as chief executive of the power utility, will take on the DEFRA role alongside a broader new crop of Government directors.

An announcement is expected on Friday.

The latest appointments will include that of Doug Gurr, the president of Amazon's operations in China, who Sky News revealed this week would be joining the board of the Department for Work and Pensions.

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Mr Gurr's appointment to the DWP board has sparked controversy because of the ongoing row about the tax contributions of multinational technology companies.

The appointment of Mr Holliday, a former non-executive director of Marks & Spencer (Other OTC: MAKSF - news) , will be less contentious.

He has also been a vice-chairman of Business in the Community, and will join DEFRA months after the Government Spending Review slashed its annual budget by billions of pounds.

Mr Holliday will replace Iain Ferguson, the former boss of Tate & Lyle (LSE: TATE.L - news) , as DEFRA's lead non-executive.

The recruitment of business leaders to Whitehall department boards has received a varied response, with Lord Browne, the former lead non-executive in Whitehall, acknowledging that it had had a "mixed report card" before he stepped down last year.

He was replaced by Sir Ian Cheshire, the former Kingfisher (LSE: KGF.L - news) boss who was recently appointed as chairman of Debenhams (Other OTC: DBHSF - news) .

Other departmental board changes include the appointment of Mark Price, the boss of supermarket chain Waitrose, at the Cabinet Office, while Baroness McGregor-Smith, the chief executive of outsourcer Mitie, is expected to switch from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (Shenzhen: 150308.SZ - news) to the Department for Education.